WESTMINSTER, Md. – The Haverford College softball team will enter the Centennial Conference Tournament as the No. 3 seed after falling to McDaniel in both ends of its doubleheader on Saturday. The Fords (19-10, 9-6 CC) fell to the Green Terror (21-18-1, 12-4 CC) by 12-4 and 4-2 scores. However, Haverford will not have to wait long to potentially avenge those defeats as these two squads will meet in the postseason opener Friday in Gettysburg.
Despite the first game ending in a six inning run-rule victory for the host Green Terror, the Fords were locked in a 4-4 battle heading to the bottom of that frame before McDaniel posted an eight run inning. Haverford took the lead in the top of the first by manufacturing a run as Nicole Swisher started the game with a leadoff single, was bunted into scoring position by Jessica Koshinski, and came around to score on an RBI single from Julia Blake. The Green Terror answered that early tally with three unearned runs during the bottom half of the first.
Haverford climbed back into the contest with a run in the fourth and two more in the fifth. Rachel Wolfson blasted the sixth home run of her career, and first this season, over the fence in left field for the Fords' offense during the fourth. Alex Craig and Swisher both singled to start the fifth and were promptly bunted into scoring position by Koshinski. Blake was hit by pitch to load the bases, while a walk to Emma Souter forced home the first run of that inning. Pinch-hitter Elaina Savage then delivered her first career RBI on a single back through the middle, tying the game at four-all.
Despite that 4-4 score heading into the bottom of the sixth, walks ultimately did in the Fords during game one as the Green Terror scored eight times during the bottom of the sixth despite just three hits in the inning. Haverford finished the game with the identical number of hits as McDaniel, with Swisher singling twice and scoring both of those times on base.
The bottom of the sixth inning proved to the difference in game two as well for Haverford. The Green Terror got on the board first in the second contest with a two-run home run during the bottom of the third inning. The Fords finally got to the Green Terror pitching staff in the sixth inning. Ashley Sisto started that inning with a one-out single. She was moved up to second on a ground out and scored on Blake's two-out RBI single back through the middle. Souter followed that up with another single into center field, while a defensive misplay allowed Blake to score from second.
Nevertheless, McDaniel answered right back in the bottom half of that frame with a pair of one-out hits proving to be the difference. Haverford stung its first two batted balls of the seventh inning with hard line drive outs but ultimately never got the potential game-tying run to the plate in the seventh. Briana Quinn got the start and struck out three batters during her 5.1 innings of work in the circle before Johanna Batterton came on to get the final two outs of the game.
Softball will now prep for the conference tournament which will start on Friday, May 4 in Gettysburg as the Bullets enter the postseason as the No. 1 seed in the Centennial Conference. Friday's game time will be announced on Monday morning.