MONTCLAIR, N.J. - Lauren Touey registered a career-high four RBIs to help the Haverford College softball team blank Farmingdale State College, 8-0, in six innings on Saturday evening in NCAA regional action hosted by Montclair State University. The win pushes the Fords into Sunday's championship round against 12th-ranked Montclair State which edged Haverford, 2-0, in Saturday's opener.
Needing a victory to keep the winningest season in program history alive, the third-seeded Fords (29-10) jumped out to an early lead with three runs on three hits in the bottom of the second. Julie Garlick started things off by drilling a two-out double to left field with Stephanie Wolfson on first. Touey followed with her first of two hits in the game -- a two-RBI single to center. Sarah Brody then plated Touey with an RBI-single to left to cap the surge.
Farmingdale (24-14), the Skyline Conference champion, looked to answer right back in the the third but catcher Kristin Tatum ended the top of the frame by thwarting Sam Johrden's attempt to steal second.
The three runs in the second would be all that Haverford starter Sara Tauriello (12-1) would need as she allowed just two hits through the first five innings.
The Fords remained aggressive at the plate and broke the game open with four runs on five hits in the bottom of the fifth. Elizabeth Newman led off the frame with a single to left. Rams' starter Taylor Tedeschi (9-8) managed to get the next two outs but Haverford kept the inning alive with four straight two-out hits. Tatum scored Newman with a triple before Wolfson and Garlick followed with back-to-back singles. Touey then delivered the final blow with a two-RBI double down the left-field line.
After Tauriello shut down the Rams in the top of the sixth, Dayle Comerford finished off Farmingdale, which was making its fifth appearance in the NCAA tournament in the last six years, with an RBI single up the middle that scored Newman for the final run of the game.
Every hitter in the Haverford lineup registered at least one hit in the contest as the Fords finished with 11 overall. Touey and Garlick each went 2-for-3 while Wolfson, Newman and Garlick all crossed the plate twice.
Earning her second victory of the weekend, Tauriello limited the fourth-seeded Rams to just three baserunners in the game and only one advanced past second base.
Haverford's victory sets up a rematch with top seed Montclair State (38-6) which hung on for a 2-0 win over the Fords in the first game of the day on Saturday. Senior pitcher Alex Hill (27-4) was the difference as the two-time All-American, who entered the weekend leading Division III in strikeouts and shutouts, struck out a program-record 19 batters. Newman registered the visitors' only two hits in the game while freshman Kendall Chambers reached based twice. Emily Winesett (11-3) took the loss in the circle. Haverford threatened in the seventh with two runners in scoring position but Hill closed out the contest to end the Fords' program-record winning streak at 10 and move the Red Hawks into the championship round.
Action begins on Sunday at noon. A Haverford victory in the opener would force a subsequent winner-take-all contest to determine which team advances to next weekend's super regionals.