ALLENTOWN, Pa. – A big inning in Game 2 of the Haverford College softball team's Centennial Conference doubleheader at Muhlenberg College allowed the Fords to earn a split with the Mules Saturday afternoon. The home team captured the opener by a 7-6 count and the Fords took the nightcap by an 8-4 score.
Muhlenberg (10-13, 5-5 CC) held a 2-1 advantage after the opening inning of Game 2 but the Fords (13-11, 6-4 CC) broke on top with a pair of runs in the second on a two-RBI single to center field by Alison Crawford which brought in both Candice Smith and Beth Davis who had singled earlier in the frame.
In the top of the fourth Haverford sent 11 batters to the plate in a five-run, seven-hit attack that broke the game open. The big hit in the inning came from Cassandra Searls whose two-out triple scored Smith and Davis again. Searls would score the inning's fifth run on Crawford's single giving the visiting Fords an 8-2 lead.
Though Muhlenberg added a run in the fourth and another in the sixth, the pitching tandem of Maggie Cronin and Lisa Karmel held the Mules' bats quiet most of the rest of the way in the win.
Cronin (3-1) earned the victory pitching five innings and allowing three runs, one unearned, on six hits and two walks while fanning a pair. Karmel pitched the final two innings and allowed just one run on three hits, no walks and a strikeout.
Davis was a perfect 5-for-5 in the win and scored three times. Searls and Crawford, each with two hits, both finished with three RBI.
In the opener, like later in Game 2, Haverford broke on top right away with three runs in the top of the first but the Mules would finish the inning with a one-run lead after pushing four runs across the plate in the bottom half of the inning.
The Fords scored three times in the fourth, though two were unearned, to retake the lead at 6-4.
The Mules chipped away at that lead with one run in the bottom of the fifth off Searls who started and pitched six innings allowing five runs on eight hits and two walks. She also struck out five Muhlenberg batters.
Cronin took over in the pitcher's circle for Haverford to start the bottom of the seventh and surrendered a lead-off single that turned out to be the tying run which scored on a one-out single.
Cronin got the second out of the inning on a fly ball to right but an infield throwing error on the next batter allowed the winning, unearned, run to cross the plate sending the Fords to defeat.
Cronin took the Game 1 loss giving up one earned and one unearned run on two hits in two-thirds of an inning.
Davis finished the day 7-for-8 at the plate and scored five runs for the Fords. Laina Gagliardi was 5-for-7 on the day, scored once and added two RBI and Searls finished with three hits, three runs and three RBI.
Haverford travels to conference leader Ursinus College for its next games, a twin bill set for a 3:30 p.m. start Tuesday in Collegeville, Pa.