HAVERFORD, Pa. – The Haverford College softball team rallied from an early deficit and scored three runs in the bottom of the sixth to claim a 5-4 victory during game one against Lebanon Valley. The Fords (13-8-1) looked poise to do the replicate those comeback feats in game two against the Dutchmen (13-11), but were ultimately denied by a 5-3 final.
During both games of the non-conference doubleheader, LVC scored in the top of the first to take an early lead. During the first game, the Dutchmen's two runs both came in unearned fashion. Lebanon Valley added on another run during the fourth before Haverford started its game one rally.
A Nicole Swisher triple with two outs in the fourth seemed to get Haverford jump-started as Swisher came home on an RBI groundout from Rachel Wolfson. The Dutchmen answered that with a sacrifice fly in the top of the fifth. Haverford provided its answer in the bottom half as Emma Souter led off the frame with a double before back-to-back ground outs, including a productive RBI out from Ashely Sisto, set the score at 4-2.
Haverford's big sixth inning started at the top of the lineup as Julia Blake and Swisher had back-to-back singles. Swisher's single got away from the LVC outfield and allowed her to get all the way to third while Blake scored from first. After a ground out to third held the Swisher in scoring position, Marybeth Stone was hit by a pitch and took second on the defensive indifference. Souter had an RBI groundout to tie the score at four-all before Briana Quinn ripped the first pitch she saw down the right field line for a triple that scored the go-ahead run.
After putting her team ahead with her bat, Quinn went out and capped the win in the circle during her third inning of relief. She induced three straight outs on the infield to retire the Dutchmen in the seventh and preserve the victory. Quinn ended up allowing just two hits and one run over her three innings of work to improve to 4-3 this season as the pitcher of record. She came on in relief of Temma Levis who pitched four innings, scattered five hits, and allowed just one earned run.
In game two, Lebanon Valley was up 5-0 after just one and a half innings. LVC pounded out four hits during a big second inning in which they scored four runs to claim the early advantage. Emily Reinstadtler came on in relief during the second and finished the game as she pitched 5.2 innings. Reinstadtler did not allow a run that rest of the way as the Dutchmen had just four total hits after the second inning.
Haverford got two of those runs back in the bottom of the second to counter LVC's big inning. Back-to-back doubles from Stone and Souter got the frame started. Genevieve Dallmeyer-Drennan came on to run from Souter and eventually scored on a passed ball to make the score 5-2.
Haverford also had two hits in the fourth inning as Souter and Reinstadtler had consecutive one-out knocks. Souter eventually came home on an RBI ground out from Allison Mackenzie to make the score 5-3 after four innings. Even with the momentum seemingly swinging back in its favor, Haverford was set down in succession during the final three innings to deny the Fords a doubleheader sweep.
Softball will have the upcoming weekend away from action before returning to Centennial Conference play next Tuesday, April 9 against Muhlenberg. That conference doubleheader in Allentown will get underway at 3 p.m. The Fords will return home to host Neumann (Thurs., Apr. 11) and Dickinson (Sat., Apr. 13) next week on the Class of '95 Field.