Garnet, Mules Split Winds
SWARTHMORE, Pa. -- Swarthmore junior Kathryn Riley drove in three runs and struck out nine hitters as the Garnet softball team used late-inning magic to pick up a 5-4 win over visiting Muhlenberg. The Mules wins win streak had reached eight straight following a 9-3 win in game one.
A sharp win blowing off the hill, momentarily blocked by the passing commuter trains, reached 30 mph as dark clouds came and went. It took an hour for everyone to get the blood shaking and 1-1 tie jumped to a 3-1 Swarthmore lead, in a finger-snapping instant (similar to her three-run home run in Collegeville). Sophomore first baseman Krista Scheirer (Norristown, Pa. / Germantown Academy) drove in two Swarthmore runs with a sharp shot to right-center.
Muhlenberg joined the parade, scoring eight runs on five hits in the top of the seventh to pick up the win. Mules’ starter Ashley Brewer (7-5) fanned eight while allowing just one earned run in 7.0 innings pitched.
Garnet captain Alexandra Zelaski ‘ 09 (Middleburg Heights, Ohio / Midpark) suffered the loss (3-8) despite allowing just five hits in 6.1 innings.
Game two was another cold snap, quickly returned after 20 minutes in some shelter. The teams need 2 ½ innings to warm up. Swarthmore jumped first, plating three runs in typical Garnet fashion. Senior Lauren Walker (Fallston, Md. / The Hotchkiss School [MD])leads off with a hit, and takes a quick break before stealing second. Junior All-Region lefty Kathryn Riley ’10 (Dagsboro, Del. / Indian River) snaps a single through the right side and Walker scores standing up. One out later, Scheirer finds right-center again with some power, hitting a double to put two Garnet runners in scoring position. Michele Perch ’10 (Kinnelon, N.J. / Kinnelon) put Swarthmore ahead, 3-0, by bring both Swarthmore runs in on a base hit.
Mules followed. Two big-flys accounted for two runs in and a one-run lead for the hometowners.
Swarthmore jumped back in front, 4-2, in the fourth. Same windy whistle heard on the south of campus: Walker leadoff hit. Walker steals second. Riley’s base hit brings Walker around third for her second run of the day.
Some people on Tuesday ran for the warm cover. The softball players just ke pt circling the base paths. Muhlenberg catcher RiRi Ferrigno broke one school record, and tied another, with a two-run home run in the fifth. The game was tied and the last express train flew past, missing the third act.
Frozen due to scoreboard malfunction and cold laptops, the ending was written: "The sixth inning starts, Walker found a way to first base. Walker steals second. Riley smacks another base hit and Swarthmore finds itself ahead, 5-4, on the way to their first Centennial Conference win.”
Perch and freshman Marley Spector (Woodmere, N.Y. / George W. Hewlett) picked up two hits for Swarthmore while Riley rolled threes (hits, RBIs, 35 wins –career), spreading six hits over 7.0 innings.
The Garnet softball teams is busy all week, traveling to Arcadia on Thursday before returning to Clothier Fields for a Centennial doubleheader with McDaniel this weekend. First pitch is slated for Saturday, April 11 at 1:00 p.m.