CLERMONT, Fla. – The Haverford College softball team was involved in a pair of close calls Wednesday afternoon in Florida, beating Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (N.Y.) by a 2-1 count before dropping a 7-6 decision to Wesleyan (Conn.) University.

Against RPI, Lisa Karmel pitched a complete game victory for the Fords striking out three and allowing just the one run.

A scoreless game finally saw its first runs in the bottom of the fifth when Alison Crawford's RBI single put Haverford ahead 1-0. Later in the inning an RPI miscue allowed a second run to cross the plate for a 2-0 lead.

The Red Hawks cut the margin in half in the bottom of the sixth with one run but Karmel was able to shut the door and close out the win for the Fords.

Cassandra Searls and Laina Gagliardi each had a multi-hit game for Haverford with two hits apiece. Beth Davis, Gabrielle Sapienza and Crawford all added one hit in the narrow victory.

Against Wesleyan, the Fords held a 6-3 lead heading into the bottom of the seventh but allowed four Cardinal runs in the final half-inning to lose a heart-breaker.

After scoring twice in the second Haverford added four more in the fourth. Candice Smith had an RBI single during the four-run outburst while Laura Iwanyk added a two-RBI single later in the inning.

Starting pitcher Maggie Cronin threw four innings allowing just two Wesleyan runs before giving in to Searls who pitched the fifth and sixth while surrendering just one run. Lauren Gill came on in relief of Searls in the seventh but couldn't hold off the Cardinals rally in taking the loss.

The Fords (3-3) close out their spring break trip in Florida with two Thursday games, first against Wartburg (Iowa) College at 5:30 p.m. followed by a nightcap against Elizabethtown College at 7:30 p.m.