CHESTERTOWN, Md. – The Haverford College softball team battled back into the lead in the late innings of the nightcap Tuesday but host Washington College bounced back with a walk-off home run to win the back-end of a Centennial Conference doubleheader, 7-6, and complete the sweep of the Fords after taking the opener by a 5-1 score.
Haverford drops to 14-14 overall and 6-6 in the conference while the Shorewomen move to 13-17 and 6-10.
In the opener, Washington scored four runs in the bottom of the first off starter Cassandra Searls hitting only three balls past the infield, two for outs.
The Fords cut into the lead in the top of the next inning on Laura Iwanyk's lead-off home run and had base-runners in every inning but other than Iwanyk no one else reached third base as Washington starter Meaghan Kimme quieted the Haverford bats.
Kimme (6-7) earned the win after throwing seven innings allowing just the one run on seven hits, no walks and four strikeouts. Searls (6-3) took the loss giving up five runs, one unearned, on seven hits and five walks while fanning four over six innings of work.
The Fords broke out on top in their first at-bat in Game 2, pushing two runs across on Iwanyk's two-run blast over the fence in right-center field following Candice Smith's lead-off double.
Another run in the second gave Haverford a 3-0 lead but the Shorewomen knotted the game up with three unearned runs off Fords starter Maggie Cronin in the home half of the inning.
After re-taking the lead in the top of the fifth, the Fords fell behind again on a two-run shot by Washington's Becca Nicely in the bottom of the sixth.
Down to their final at-bat, Haverford was able to post a pair of unearned runs up on the scoreboard in the top of the seventh to once again take the lead and move three outs away from a split with the host Shorewomen.
Leigh Carbutt's walk-off two-run homerun to right-center with one out ended the game, though, and allowed Washington to chalk up the sweep.
Cronin (4-3) took the loss surrendering seven runs, three unearned, on just five hits and three walks and striking out two in six and 1/3 innings. Brittany Walter (6-10) earned the complete-game win after giving up two earned and four unearned runs off nine Haverford hits while striking out eight.
Smith finished the day for the Fords with two hits in each game. Laina Gagliardi and Erin Delaney totaled three hits apiece over the two games.
The Fords will continue to fight towards a postseason conference playoff spot in their next outing Thursday afternoon at league-leading Ursinus College for a twin bill in Collegeville, Pa.