KISSIMMEE, Fla. – After having to sit by idly as its first two doubleheaders of the 2018 season were postponed due to inclement weather, the Haverford College softball team was more than ready to roll on Sunday afternoon under the sunny skies of Florida. The Fords started their 2018 campaign with a 5-2 win over Rowan – a team receiving votes in the latest national poll – and followed that up with a 5-4 win against Skidmore to give head coach Kate Poppe her first two wins as head coach.
The Fords wasted no time whatsoever when they first came to bat, scoring four runs in the top of the first inning against Rowan. That was more than enough offense for Haverford to pick up just its third win all-time against Rowan in 24 career games. Nicole Swisher started the season with a walk while Ashley Sisto singled down the right field line. She then promptly stole second while an error on the centerfielder allowed both Swisher and Sisto to score on the play.
Julia Blake restarted the inning with a walk and Marybeth Stone followed that up with a single to prompt an early call to the bullpen for the Profs. A sacrifice bunt from Jessica Koshinski put both of those runners in scoring position, while back-to-back wild pitches allowed the Fords to hold a 4-0 lead before Rowan even came to bat.
That early offense was more than enough for Temma Levis, who pitched a complete game and allowed just two runs to the Profs' high powered offense. She minimized the damage during a bases loaded, no-out jam in the bottom of the first as Rowan managed just a one-out sacrifice fly. Another sacrifice fly in the third would be all the offense for the home team on the scoreboard as Levis left seven runners stranded over the final four innings. Swisher scored her second run in the top of the seventh after reaching on an error to set the final 5-2 score. Emily Gorman and Stone both collected two hits in the season opener for Haverford.
Coming right back against Skidmore, it was another four-run inning that paved the way to victory for Haverford. This time the big frame came in the bottom of the fifth. The Fords trailed 2-1 before breaking out the bats. Skidmore's first two runs off of game two starter Briana Quinn both came in on passed balls.
Skidmore changed pitchers to start the fifth inning and the Fords capitalized with a clutch two-out rally. Swisher and Blake reached via errors to keep the inning alive. Another error, this time with Stone at the plate, tied the game at two-all. Three straight singles off the bat of Koshinski, Rachel Wolfson, and Emma Souter gave Haverford a 5-2 lead that it would not relinquish.
That advantage just set the stage for Quinn to finish off her own complete game as she allowed just one earned run over her seven innings of work while striking out a career-high eight batters in the process. She scattered seven hits during that time. Sisto went 3-for-4 to finish her opening day with five hits while Swisher scored two more runs during the second game.
Softball will return to the fields tomorrow for games against Marietta (1:30 p.m.) and Beloit (6 p.m.).