NAPLES, Fla. – The Haverford College softball team (1-1) kicked off the season in Naples, Florida for the 33rd annual Gene Cusic Collegiate Classic held at the North Collier Sports Complex on Sunday. The Fords finished day one with a split, losing to John Carroll 10-2 before taking down Drew by the same final 10-2 in game number two.
Game 1, John Carroll 10, Haverford 2 (5 innings)
Haverford's matchup with John Carroll started with a scoreless first inning. Addie Sapirstein did the honors of registering the Fords' first hit of the 2023 season, singling up the middle. Looking to capitalize on the early hit, Sapirstein stole second base to get in scoring position with the always reliable Abby Marquis up to bat. The first-year outfielder was left on second base to end the inning as Marquis registered a fly out to left field, followed by a Mia Kessinger ground out to third base.
Susie Pieper started the day on the mound only giving up one hit in the first inning while striking out one. However, her day ended early in the second inning after John Carroll found their groove. Pieper started the inning by walking the first batter and John Carroll followed it up with back-to-back hits from Lexi Genovese and Elaina Rodriguez. Both runners advanced on a wild pitch to have runners on both second and third.
Pieper then walked the next two batters for the first run of the game, as Haverford called on Rachel McQueen to end the inning with little damage. McQueen did just that with help from her team as the second inning came to an end on a double play.
The Fords took the lead in the third inning behind some good play from Kaila Uyeda and Sapirstein. Carly Parsons was the first on base for Haverford, reaching due to a John Carroll error. Uyeda followed it up with a single to left field, as she advanced to second on the throw, moving Parsons to third. Parsons scored on a wild pitch to even the game at 1-1. Sapirstein grounded out to second base but registered an RBI, bringing Uyeda home to take the lead.
John Carroll didn't give Haverford much time to hold on to the lead, scoring three runs in the bottom of the third to take a 4-2 lead. Following a scoreless fourth inning, the Blue Streaks scored six runs in the fifth, to bring the game to a close. The Fords finished game one with four hits. In three at-bats, Uyeda registered one hit and one run scored. The other hits came from Sapirstein, Molly Kaufman (double), and Tessa Pearlstein (triple).
Rachel McQueen pitched 2.2 innings giving up five earned runs while Alexa Finkele also saw the mound, facing four batters and suffering four earned runs.
Game 2: Haverford 10, Drew 2 (6 innings)
The Fords got off to a fast start against the Rangers in game two. Uyeda started the bottom of the first inning with a double to left field and was brought home shortly after, scoring on a Marquis RBI double. With Marquis on second, Kessinger stepped up and hit a two-run home run to increase the lead to 3-0.
Anna Stowe was instrumental in the Fords' early success. The first-year pitcher had full command of her pitches and held Drew scoreless through two innings despite allowing three hits. Stowe finished with three innings pitched, allowing one earned run and walking two.
Haverford continued to dominate into the second inning. Nikki Kingland singled to right field and was able to advance to second after a Carly Parsons pop-up to third base. Uyeda then reached first due to an error by Drew, which allowed Kingsland to advance to third. Haverford added more runs after Kingsland stole home thanks to an error by Drew which was followed up by a Sapirstein double to right field to drive in another run.
With only one out, Sarah Fan singled to shortstop. Shortly after, Fan was caught stealing second base for the second out of the inning. However, during her attempt, Sapirstein trotted home to make the score 6-0 through two innings.
Haverford made it seven in the fifth inning after Marquis scored on a throwing error from Drew, getting on base earlier with a double to right field. The Fords later added two more in the bottom of the sixth inning from another Drew error, their fourth of the contest. Uyeda and Parsons scored after Kingland was able to reach first base.
With the score at 9-2, Pearlstein ended the game on a run-rule walk-off with a double to center field, to bring Kingsland home.
Haverford finished with a whopping 13 hits in their 30 at-bats. Marquis led the way with two doubles while Uyeda, Sapirstein, and Pearlstein also recorded doubles. Uyeda and Kingsland combined for five runs. McQueen pitched the rest of the way for Haverford, tossing three innings with two strikeouts.
Softball will continue action on Monday when they take on Rockford at 9 a.m., followed by a contest with Pitt.-Bradford at 11 a.m.