KISSIMMEE, Fla. – The Haverford College softball team split a pair of 5-4 decisions on Monday in Florida. The Fords (3-1) were just three outs away from continuing their perfect start to the season before Marietta scored three runs in the bottom of the seventh to come away with a walk-off win. Undeterred, Haverford came right back with a 5-4 victory of its own against Beloit to cap the evening.
In the opening game against Marietta, the Pioneers were able to scratch just one run and two hits off of Haverford starter Temma Levis during her four innings of work. She exited with the lead as Haverford scored twice in the top of the fourth. Marybeth Stone walked and came around to score on an error off the bat of Jessica Koshinski. A single from Rachel Wolfson put runners on the corners before the Fords executed a double steal to perfection and claimed a 2-1 lead during that inning.
A two-out triple from Julia Blake in the fifth inning that was followed by a double off the bat of Stone made it 3-1. Marietta got one of those runs back in the bottom of the fifth, but Haverford made the score 4-2 as Wolfson led off the sixth inning with a double and came around to score on an RBI single from Emily Gorman.
Haverford carried that 4-2 lead into the bottom of the seventh, but the Pioneers worked back-to-back walks and loaded the bases on a defensive misplay. The next batter then delivered the knockout blow with a double into the right centerfield gap that emptied the bases and gave Marietta a 5-4 victory.
Bouncing back in game two, the Fords turned the tables on their opponents from Beloit with a three-run fourth inning to claim a lead they would not relinquish on their way to a third victory in four games. Haverford struck first during its first time up to bat as Blake's RBI double scored Ashley Sisto to make it 1-0. Beloit scored twice in the top of the third, but Blake drew a leadoff walk during the bottom half of that inning and scored on a two-out single from Emma Souter.
Following another run from Beloit in the top of the fourth, Haverford erupted for its game-winning runs in the bottom half. Five straight hits, all with one out, did the damage for the Fords. Nicole Swisher and Sisto singled to start the inning before a wild pitch moved them into scoring position. Blake singled home the first run of the inning and tied the game at three. Stone again smacked a single back through the middle to give Haverford the lead. Koshinski drove in Haverford's final run with the second out of the inning coming as Beloit was able to catch Stone trying to score from second after stealing that base earlier in the at-bat.
With the lead in hand, the Haverford pitchers came through once again. First year Johanna Batterton picked up the win in her first collegiate start as she went 4.2 innings and allowed just six hits and three earned runs during that time. Levis came on in relief during the fifth inning and stranded a pair of runners before allowing just a two-out single in the seventh during her final two full innings of work, recording her first save of the season in the process.
Softball will have two more games tomorrow as the Fords get an earlier call with games against Salve Regina (11:15 a.m.) and St. Norbert (1:30 p.m.). Haverford will then have Wednesday off before closing the week in Florida with two more games on both Thursday and Friday.