A Grand Sweep at Clothier Fields
SWARTHMORE, Pa. -- Garnet sophomore Kathryn Riley pitched two complete-game victories and had six hits while junior Christine Sendelsky hit a grand slam, as Swarthmore swept both games of a non-conference softball doubleheader from Arcadia Thursday afternoon at Clothier Fields.
The Garnet have won nine of their last eleven games, improving to 10-6 on the season with 8-2 and 3-0 victories on an overcast afternoon in southeastern Pennsylvania.
Arcadia, host of the 2007 Pennsylvania Athletic Conference softball championships with a 31-8 record, dip to 5-5 overall in 2008.
Swarthmore’s bats have been cooking since the team left eight runners on base in a 7-0 shut-out loss to Salisbury. In eight games since, the Garnet are hitting .379 (86 for 227) as a team with a slugging percentage of .533. Swarthmore has averaged 8.0 runs per game while playing sparkling defense (just four errors in 227 chances) and limitng the opponents’ offensive out-put (just 0.75 runs per game and a .172 batting average).
A pair of Swarthmore women can barely hold their hot bats: centerfielder Lauren Walker ’09 (Fallston, Mary. / The Hotchkiss School) owns a 13-game hitting streak, posting a .556 (15 for 27) batting average in her last seven games while scoring 11 runs with eight stolen bases and Riley (Dagsboro, Del. / Indian River) has a .929 slugging percentage, seven extra-base hits and 16 RBIs in the her last eight contests.
Walker (left) extended the hitting streak in her first at-bat of game one, smoking a single to left and then swiping second base. A single to center by Riley moved Walker to third and Riley immediately stole second base. The Knights’ starting pitcher, Kiersten Hughes (Mt. Ephram, N.J. / Audubon), retired the next two hitters before Walker came home on a wild pitch. Garnet junior Katherine Gold (Cherry Hill, N.J. / Cherry Hill East) came through with a two-out single to left, plating Riley for a 2-0 Swarthmore lead.
The Knights loaded the bases with no outs in the top of the second but Gold cut down the lead runner at the plate on two straight plays and then Riley fanned Hughes to end the scoring chance.
Arcadia’s Brittni Holland (Mickelton, N.J. / Kingsway) smoked a one-out triple in the third and came home on a single by junior Jamie Bee (Secane, Pa. / Ridley) for the Knights' first run. Freshman Virginia Buechel (Sparta, N.J. / Sparta) followed with a sharp single up the middle and Kristen Burns (Lewes, Del. / Sussex Tech) was hit by a pitch, loading the bases again for Arcadia. Riley settled in, fanning Ashley McCarthy (Norristown, Pa. / Norristown) and then got Knights’ catcher Amanda Celentano (Cherry Hill, N.J. / Burlington Twp.) to pop to end the inning without any more damage.
Riley displayed her hitting power in the bottom of the third, cracking a monster home run over the fence in right-center, putting the Garnet up 3-1. Swarthmore tacked on another run when Sendelsky (Edison, N.J. / John Stephens) lined a single of Hughes’ leg and then came into score on base hit to left by third baseman Melissa Emmerson '11 (Ringwood, N.J. / Lakeland Regional).
Sendelsky provided the largest fireworks of the afternoon (above), hitting a towering drive over the fence in left-center for her first home run of the season (fifth of her career). Sendelsky, true to her hard-running style, almost passed freshman pinch runner Lauren Marczi (Chester, N.J. / West Morris) on the trot around the bags.
Riley continued to cruise through the Arcadia hitters, striking out the side in the sixth on her way to her sixth win of the season. The sophomore tossed all seven innings of game one, allowing two earned runs on seven hits while striking out eight.
Riley also excelled at the plate, going a perfect 4-for-4 with two runs scored. Walker posted a 3-for-4 effort with two runs and a stolen base while Sendelsky went 2-for-3 with four RBIs and two runs.
Swarthmore jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the second game after Walker and Riley got consecutive hits and Sendelsky drilled a double down the left field line, scoring Walker. Riley then scored an Arcadia error and Sendelsky tumbled into home plate on sacrifice fly off the bat of Gold.
Riley (7-2) returned to the circle for the second game, allowing just three hits in seven in
nings for her third shutout of the season. The sophomore (right) lowered her ERA to 1.96 while striking out five in the second game. In fitting fashion, Riley completed the game by snaring a line drive for the final out.
Walker, Riley, Sendelsky and Gold all posted two hits for Swarthmore in the second game.
The Garnet travel to central Pennsylvania this weekend, opening Centennial play at Dickinson College on Saturday, March 29. The doubleheader is scheduled to start at 1:00 p.m. Swarthmore was picked to finish second in the Centennial pre-season coaches poll while the Red Devils earned the fourth spot. The two teams split a pair of games at Swarthmore in 2007 with Dickinson winning 10-2 in the first and the Garnet earning a 3-2 victory in game two.