COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – The Haverford College softball team was downed by Ursinus in game one on Tuesday evening, but broke out in a big way during the second game as the Fords scored 13 runs in an offensive battle with the Bears. In game two's offensive explosion, Julia Blake and Jessica Koshinski both homered for the Fords. Every player who was in the lineup for game two either scored or drove in a run. Blake finished the game 4-for-4 at the plate with a program-record five runs scored to go along with three RBI.
Despite the 7-1 score in game one, the Bears only outhit the Fords by a 7-6 margin. However, Ursinus capitalized on a couple of crucial defensive lapses for the Fords. Nevertheless, the stage was beginning to be set for Blake as she was the only Haverford player to record multiple hits to start the afternoon. Haverford got its only run in game one with an RBI single from Temma Levis that scored Koshinski who led off the fourth with a double into the left centerfield gap.
In game two, the Fords scored in six of their seven innings – with multiple runs in four different frames. Blake scored her first run of the second game after starting the contest with a leadoff double. An RBI groundout from Kendall Chambers scored the first run of the game. In the second inning, a home run off the bat of Blake made the score 4-0 as she drove in Briana Quinn and Emily Gorman who had earlier reached on an infield single and hit by pitch. Koshinski scored the Fords' fifth run of the game in the third after starting that inning with a double and eventually scampering home on a wild pitch.
Even with scoring five runs in the first three innings, the Fords and Bears were tied after Ursinus tallied four runs in the second and one more in the third. However, back-to-back three run innings from Haverford gave the Fords a lead they held for the rest of the night. Blake started the fourth with a bunt single while Ashley Sisto laid down a sacrifice attempt but reached on a throwing error. Koshinski drove in those two runners with a single into centerfield before she came home on an RBI single from Levis back through the middle.
Haverford scored three more runs in the fifth inning to make the score 11-5. Alex Craig, Blake, and Sisto all singled with one out to load the bases in that inning. Rachel Wolfson then made it four straight hits with a two-run single into right centerfield. An RBI groundout from Koshinski pushed across Haverford's 11th run of the game. Koshinski then closed her five RBI game at the plate with a two-run blast in the top of the seventh after Blake had earlier reached on a hit by pitch.
Levis got the start in the circle for game two and looked to be on her way to a complete game victory as she quickly got the first two outs in the bottom of the seventh with Haverford up 13-6. The Bears did not go down without a fight though as three straight hits and an error scored two runs. The Fords made the move to Quinn to get the final out and she would do so by inducing a groundout to shortstop that preserved the 13-9 victory.
Softball will play its final road games of the year this Saturday as the Fords travel to Washington College for a rematch of last year's Centennial Conference Championship games. That doubleheader in Chestertown will get underway at 1 p.m. The Fords close the regular season with home doubleheaders against Arcadia and McDaniel next week.