Centennial Conference Championship Central
HAVERFORD, Pa. – Just two years removed from a dramatic postseason run, and with many of those same players still on the 2018 roster, the Haverford College softball team will gets its postseason underway this Friday at the Centennial Conference Tournament. Haverford is making its fifth postseason appearance during the past six years, the team's eighth postseason trip in program history. Even year tournaments have been very good to the Fords as they won their three Centennial Conference Championships in 2006, 2014, and 2016.
The third-seeded Fords (19-11, 9-7 CC) will first meet second-seeded McDaniel (21-18-1, 12-4 CC) in the second game on Friday which is scheduled to get underway 30 minutes after the completion of the first game. Top-seeded and host Gettysburg (21-13, 14-2 CC) will meet No. 4 Washington College (16-20, 8-8 CC) in the first game of the double elimination tournament which is slated to get underway at 2 p.m. Friday.
Haverford brings the top statistical offense into the tournament as the Fords are scoring just over five runs per game. The team is 12-1 when it scores five or more runs during a game. The Fords have the highest slugging percentage (.419), second highest on-base percentage (.377), and third highest batting average (.313) among all teams in the conference. Haverford features a lineup with six different players hitting over .300, with another batting .299 this spring.
Reigning first-team All-Centennial Conference selection Julia Blake leads the Fords with a Centennial Conference-best .429 batting average, .514 on-base percentage, and 29 runs scored. She also holds the third highest slugging percentage in the conference (.604). Emma Souter leads the conference with a .639 slugging percentage and ranks 10th with a .435 on-base percentage. Her four home runs are the second best mark among her Centennial Conference peers.
Marybeth Stone brings a .362 batting average into this weekend's tournament. She is also 12th in the conference with 20 runs batted in. Alex Craig and Rachel Wolfson have respective .329 and .326 batting averages. Both players are having career years with Craig boasting her best offensive season with a 100-plus point improvement in her batting average from her previous best. In addition her hitting, Wolfson ranks 10th in the conference with six stolen bases.
Three-time All-Centennial Conference performer Jessica Koshinski is having another standout season, hitting .318 on the year. Her nine doubles, five of which have come against CC opposition, rank among the top 10 players in the conference. Nicole Swisher and Ashley Sisto have been constants in the outfield. Swisher is hitting just a tick under .300 and ranks fourth in the Centennial with 25 runs scored and eight stolen bases at the top of the lineup. An honorable mention All-Centennial Conference performer last spring, Sisto is getting on base at a .367 clip. She has worked a conference-leading 10 walks in Centennial Conference contests and is matching Swisher's eight stolen bases.
Coming off the bench, Elaina Savage just drove in her first career run during the final weekend of the regular season against McDaniel. She has two hits in her seven at-bats. Emily Gorman has appeared in 90 games during her collegiate career, spending three years as a regular in the starting lineup. She has four hits this season, with a pair of runs batted in. Allison Mackenzie has appeared in 21 games, primarily as a pinch-runner. She scored her first career run during the 2-1 victory against Franklin & Marshall.
In the circle, the Fords have a pitching staff ERA of 3.01 which is backed up by the program's highest fielding percentage (.957) in school history. The Fords have also turned a conference-leading seven double plays. Temma Levis is leading the team with a 9-4 record as she holds a 2.25 ERA in 96.1 innings. Levis has made 19 appearances and has 11 complete games during her 17 starts. She saved both games in which she came on in relief. She is fourth in the conference in victories and leading the Centennial in saves. Her ERA and complete game marks are also among the top five players in the conference.
Briana Quinn has been very strong as the second starter. She is 5-5 on the year with a 3.77 ERA and threw a complete game shutout against Swarthmore to officially clinch the Fords' playoff berth. She has three complete games and one save in her 17 appearances, making 12 starts. Johanna Batterton has made 13 appearances in the circle, appearing primarily as a reliever with only one start on the season. She boasts a 5-2 record and 3.82 ERA with one save.
The Centennial Conference Tournament will continue through the crowing of the conference's champion on Sunday. The winner of the Centennial Conference Tournament will earn the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.