GETTYSBURG, Pa. – Playing in a rematch of last year's Centennial Conference Championship game, the Haverford College softball team witnessed a record during each of its games with Gettysburg on Thursday afternoon. In game one, Temma Levis tied the school record for wins in a single season as she pitched a complete shutout during a 4-0 Haverford win for her 12th win of the season. Levis ties Sara Tauriello '16 in the school record books with that mark as Tauriello won 12 games during both the 2014 and 2015 seasons.
A more inconspicuous record came in game two as the Fords became the first team in Centennial Conference history to tie a second conference game in the same year. After not recording a conference tie during the first 23 years of the program, Haverford currently has two on its record as the Fords (21-9-2, 8-2-2 CC) and Bullets (14-17-1, 4-7-1 CC) were locked in a 6-6 deadlock after seven full innings before darkness fell on the field.
Levis pitched her second shutout in as many weeks, and third overall this season, as she limited the host Bullets just two hits during the opener. Levis dropped her ERA to 1.13 as she ran her season record to 12-2 in the process. She has now thrown a complete game in 11 of her 17 starts as her ERA sits at 0.81 with opponents hitting just .152 off of her in conference play.
Haverford got on the board with double steal attempts during the first and fourth innings of the opening game. With Julia Blake on third in the first after walking and moving into scoring position on an Emma Souter single, Souter was caught in the attempt but managed to stay in a rundown long enough to allow Blake to score. In the fourth inning, it was Souter and Marybeth Stone who both successfully completed a double steal as Souter crossed the plate. The Fords added their final two insurance runs during the sixth inning as Nicole Swisher started that inning with a walk before Souter drove her in on an RBI double. Souter then scored on Stone's RBI single down the right field line.
That was more than enough help for Levis who carried a perfect game into the fifth inning before a lead off single from the Bullets in the bottom half of that frame. Gettysburg's only other hit in the opener came in the seventh. In addition to her steal of home, Souter led Haverford's offense at the plate with a 2-for-3 game as she scored two runs and drove in another.
Haverford's pitching was again strong in the second game as four Fords combined to allow just one earned run over the seven inning game. However, the Bullets scored five times in the fifth with the help of three Haverford errors as none of those runs were earned. Gettysburg also hit a leadoff home run to start the home half of the third and led 6-2 after three innings.
The Fords got their first run with a leadoff double from Blake in the top of the first before she scored on a sacrifice fly from Souter. Haverford also had the bases loaded in the third and brought home one of those runs on an RBI groundout from Swisher. Haverford again had the bases loaded in the fourth inning, but saw a run cut down at the plate before a sacrifice fly from Ashley Sisto and some help from the Bullets defense. With the bases again loaded in the fifth, RBI singles from Rachel Wolfson and Levis tied the game at six-all. Haverford put the go-ahead run on third with one out in the seventh, but saw that run cut down at the plate on a grounder to the shortstop.
Softball returns to action for three doubleheaders next week as the Fords are at Ursinus (Tuesday, Apr. 23) and Moravian (Thursday, April 25). Haverford will host Senior Day on Saturday, April 27 against Franklin & Marshall. After the conclusion of the regularly scheduled Centennial Conference games, the Fords will find out if the ties against Washington College and Gettysburg will need to be resumed in order to determine the final playoff standings for the conference tournament.