CLAREMONT, Calif. - The Haverford College softball team (4-6) wrapped up its rain-impacted stint in Southern California with a doubleheader against Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (9-3) on Athena Field Saturday afternoon. The hosts came away with a run-rule victory in the first game, prevailing 9-0, before a 4-1 victory in the late afternoon contest.
Claremont Mudd-Scripps 9, Haverford 0 (Five Innings)
The Athenas capitalized on 10 hits and five errors to defeat the Fords in game one, with Jocelyn Leal, Mia Kessinger, and Kyra Van Denburgh each collecting a hit in the loss. Rachel McQueen took the loss, pitching 1.2 innings and allowing five unearned runs on three hits, one walk, and one strikeout. Hannah Adams earned the win for Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, tossing five innings of three-hit ball while striking out eight.
Claremont-Mudd-Scripps struck early in the first inning when Giselle Lai singled to right field, advancing to second on a throwing error as Emma Suh crossed the plate for the game's first run. After Madison Gonzalez walked, both runners advanced on a passed ball before Suh scored and Gonzalez moved to third on a wild pitch. Gonzalez then came home on a Rachel Sapirstein RBI groundout, giving the Athenas a 3-0 lead after one.
After a scoreless top of the second—highlighted by a double from Van Denburgh—Suh extended the lead, driving in Delanie Stevens and later scoring herself following two Fords fielding errors.
Trailing 5-0, Anna Stowe pitched a scoreless third but ran into trouble in the fourth. After recording two quick outs, she surrendered a single to Lai, followed by a Gonzalez triple that made it 6-0. Brooke Goodman then singled through the left side to score Gonzalez before Avery O crushed a two-run homer, pushing the Athenas' lead to 9-0.
Adams struck out the side in the fifth, sealing Claremont-Mudd-Scripps' 9-0 victory via the eight-run rule.
Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 4, Haverford 1
Haverford began the second contest by plating an early run against Caroline Cappetto in the top of the first inning. Jocelyn Leal doubled into left field, then advanced to third on a groundout by Mia Kessinger. Kamaha'o Bode followed with a sharp single into right field, driving in Leal for the game's opening run.
CMS responded in the bottom of the frame, tying the score against Clarissa Smith. Suh walked and stole second, while Lai drew a walk to put two runners aboard. Pinch-runner Sophia Nguyen was caught attempting to steal third, but Avery O delivered a single down the left field line to even the score. Rachel Sapirstein then grounded into a double play to end the inning.
The Athenas took the lead for good in the second when Suh lined a two-RBI single, scoring Delanie Stevens and Danica Stirling. Bode tripled in the third but was left stranded, while the Fords put two runners on in the fourth—Abby Olivier walked, and Maddie Etheridge singled—but Cappetto worked out of the jam.
Haverford went down in order in the fifth, but Van Denburgh walked in the sixth and advanced into scoring position on a wild pitch before Cappetto and reliever Maya Weigel-Murphy once again escaped trouble. CMS added an insurance run in the bottom half, as Stevens singled to drive in pinch-runner Megan Kho.
Lauren Martin reached on an error to lead off Haverford's seventh, but Weigel-Murphy retired the next three batters to lock down her first save of the season.
Bode tallied a two-hit game and recorded the Fords' only RBI in the second contest. Sarah Fan and Sapirstein also singled. Lauren Lamme pitched three innings in relief for the Fords, striking out three after Smith's three innings (three hits, three earned runs).
The two-game set against the Athenas wrapped up Haverford Softball's 2025 Spring Break trip. The Fords will return to action on Tuesday, March 18, when they host local rival Rosemont. Game one against the Ravens is set for 3 p.m. on Class of '95 Field.