HAVERFORD, Pa. – The Haverford College softball team got its Centennial Conference Tournament off to a great start with a 7-2 win against fourth-seeded Swarthmore on Tuesday afternoon. The Fords got a pair of three-run home runs from both Marybeth Stone and Emma Souter to account for the majority of the team's offense in the opening game of the tournament.
Today's win also bodes well going forward as the Fords are now 6-3 all-time in their opening round games of the Centennial Conference Tournament. During each of the first five tournaments in which the Fords started 1-0, they have advanced to the championship game. With today's results, the top-seeded Fords will now host second-seeded Dickinson this Friday at 4 p.m. Dickinson was a 9-1 (6 inn.) winner over third-seeded Ursinus in Carlisle. Ursinus and Swarthmore will play in Friday's game three at 2 p.m. which will also serve as an elimination game.
Despite the final score, it was the Garnet that scored first on Tuesday with an unearned run in the top of the first. Swarthmore's leadoff hitter reached on an error and came around to score on a one-out double. The Fords answered that opening score during the bottom of the second. Rachel Wolfson got that inning started with a double into right centerfield before coming home to score on Ashley Sisto's ground ball to second base.
The Fords took the lead for good in the third inning as Julia Blake and Souter both singled ahead of Stone blasting her second home run of the season over the left centerfield fence to give Haverford a 4-1 lead. Just one inning later, Emily Reinstadtler reached base to start the inning while Blake was hit by pitch before Souter sent her fifth home run this season soaring over the left field fence. That three-run blast came right after the Garnet had cut the Fords' lead to 4-2 in the top of the fourth. Getting runners on the corners with nobody out in the top half of that inning, Swarthmore tried a double steal. The Fords went for the runner at second and got her stealing while allowing the other run to cross home plate.
With a 7-2 lead to work with, Temma Levis really found her grove during the final three innings as she retired 10 of the final 12 batters she faced in her complete game effort. Levis ended up scattering seven hits over her seven innings of work as her complete game took just 72 pitches. Blake, Souter, and Wolfson each finished with two hits for the Fords offensively. Blake and Souter each scored a pair of runs to go along with their two hits.