SWARTHMORE, Pa. – The Haverford College softball team picked up two more crucial Centennial Conference victories with a sweep of Swarthmore on Tuesday afternoon. The Fords won the two games by respective 5-2 and 8-3 scores in a road matchup of teams that entered the day in a tie for second place in the conference standings. After Tuesday's results, the Fords now have the same conference winning percentage as Dickinson for the top spot in the Centennial Conference standings.
In addition to helping their own cause in the postseason race, the Fords (20-9-1, 7-2-1 CC) added another point to their column in the Hood Trophy standings as Haverford now holds a 6.5-5 point advantage with 6.5 points still up for grabs during the next three weeks. Haverford's 20th win this season marked the 10th time in program history that the Fords have reached that mark. That success includes six of the past seven seasons.
Putting constant pressure on its rival throughout both games, Haverford got off to a great start in game one by scoring at least one run during each of the first three innings. A Garnet error proved costly in the first as Marybeth Stone doubled down the right field line with two outs, pushing the first run of the game across the plate. Haverford again capitalized on a Swarthmore error in the second as Ashley Sisto singled with one out, stole second, and came around to score on the defensive miscue. The Fords added two more in the third inning as Nicole Swisher's double and Emma Souter's single started that frame. Stone and Rachel Wolfson brought in those runs to make the score 4-2 after three innings.
Despite just two hits during the first three innings, Swarthmore was able to get a pair of runs on the board. However, those would be the final two hits that reigning Centennial Conference Pitcher of the Week Temma Levis allowed as she went the distance for her 11th victory of the season. The Fords finished the game with a 10-2 advantage in hits as Haverford's No. 2 through No. 5 hitters went a combined 9-for-16 in the opening game, a .563 batting average. That middle of the Fords' lineup came through one last time in the seventh as Souter doubled for her third hit of the opener while Stone drove in her third run of the game with an RBI single to set the final at 5-2.
After scoring in multiple innings during the opener, Haverford made use of the big inning during game two to complete the sweep. The Fords scored four times in the third and three times in the fourth during an eventual 8-3 win. Six different Fords had multi-hit second games as Haverford racked up 16 hits in the back end of the doubleheader. That included a 4-for-4 game at the plate from Levis.
It was that top of the order which got things started for the Fords in the third as Julia Blake led off the frame with a double and was bunted into scoring position. Souter singled home the first run for Haverford, while an RBI triple from Wolfson, and RBI single from Levis made it 3-0. Sisto brought the final run of the inning home on a double to make it 4-0.
The Garnet got one of those back in the bottom half, but Haverford was right back on the offensive during the fourth inning. Singles from Emily Reinstadtler and Blake got the inning started before Stone and Wolfson brought home two more runs to set the score at 7-1. Haverford added one final insurance run in the seventh as Blake singled and stole second before Swisher drove her in with a two-out RBI.
After three strong innings from Johanna Batterton in the circle, Briana Quinn came on in relief and picked up her seventh win of the year as she pitched the final four innings, allowed just five hits, and conceded just two runs which both came in the bottom of the seventh inning.
Softball will be back on the road this Thursday for another Centennial Conference doubleheader at Gettysburg. Playing a rematch of last year's Centennial Conference Championship, those games are scheduled to get underway at 3 p.m.