2006 Season Review
Swarthmore head coach Renee Clarke met with her players before the start of the 2004 season, unveiling a plan to bring back successful Garnet softball. "We are going to build our 'house' - giving our fans, alumni, and friends a place to live, bringing the program back to life," stated Clarke.
After spending two seasons laying the foundation and building the walls, the Garnet furnished their new digs in 2006, breaking the school record for wins (23-17) while collecting the school's first Centennial Conference softball playoff victory along the way.
More records fell during the season, and along with it came various accolades for the Swarthmore softball players. Freshman second baseman Christine Sendelsky (Edison, NJ) became the first Garnet softball player named to the Louisville Slugger/NFCA Division III All-Region team, earning a second team selection, and also became the first freshman to make First Team All-Centennial. Sendelsky started 16 conference games at second base, finishing the season tied for the Centennial lead in home runs (three), tied for second in runs scored (12), tied for fourth in RBIs (11) and total bases (29), and fifth in slugging percentage (.558). Starting all 40 games in 2006, Sendelsky led the team in seven offensive categories: batting average (.395), hits (49), runs (40), doubles (13), home runs (four), total bases (78), and slugging percentage (.629). Her four home runs tied the school record for the most in one season, matching the total hit by Michelle Walsh '98 and Mary Mintel '05.
Senior catcher Christina Procacci (Moorestown, NJ) joined Sendelsky on the Centennial first team, starting all 40 games behind the plate for Swarthmore in 2006. Procacci set career-highs in hits (30), runs (24), RBIs (21), batting average (.300), and on-base percentage (.523), and walks (38). She finished the season fourth in Division III in walks per game (0.95) and eighth in hit by pitch per game (0.24). In 136 career games, Procacci drew 104 walks, placing her third all-time in Division III history.
Junior Kelly Siano (Fort Collins, CO) put together her best season in 2006, earning honorable mention on the All-CC team. Siano also started all 16 conference games for the Garnet, anchoring the infield at first base while committing only two errors in 115 chances (.984 fielding percentage) in Centennial play. Siano appeared in all 40 games in 2006, setting career-highs in batting average (.333), hits (39), runs (23), doubles (five), RBIs (17), slugging percentage (.427), on-base percentage (.391), and stolen bases (three). She was second on the team, to Procacci (.987) in fielding percentage (.981), making only five miscues while handling 223 chances.
The 2006 Swarthmore team was built on grit and determination, fostered during off-season workouts and a month-long pre-season in the field house. But hard work and good intentions can only go so far, and the Garnet needed to fill a huge hole in the middle of the lineup created by the graduation of centerfielder Mintel (team leader in ten offensive categories in 2005, including a .324 batting average, .529 slugging percentage, and four home runs).
The Garnet returned eight letter winners for the 2006 season, led by Procacci and junior right-hander Marianne Klingaman (Columbia, MD). Procacci, a two-year starter, broke her own Centennial Conference record for walks (35) while leading the league in on-base percentage (.518) in 2005, prompting Clarke to shift her into the lead-off spot in the 2006 lineup. Klingaman posted a staff-best 2.45 earned run average in 2005, winning five games including two complete-game shutouts (Muhlenberg 4/12, Widener 3/31).
To open the season, Swarthmore traveled to Savannah, Georgia for the SmashHit Spring Break Tournament. The Garnet went 3-3 on the week, barreling past Division I opponent Savannah State 11-1 and 11-3 on the final day as sophomore Emily Walz (Dayton, OH) tossed a two-hitter in the first game and Klingaman fanned 10 in the nightcap. Sendelsky had five hits and drove in five runs against Savannah, leading the Garnet in batting average (.476, 10 for 21), slugging percentage (.762), hits (10), runs (six), doubles (four), and total bases (16) to earn Centennial Hitter of the Week honors on March 13.
The Garnet returned to Philadelphia and ran off a 10-5 record against eight non-conference opponents, capped by a sweep at Alvernia on April 1. Walz, Klingaman, and freshman Alexandra Zelaski (Middleburg Heights, OH) combined to hold the Crusaders to just four total runs and sophomore shortstop Katie Gold (Cherry Hill, NJ) had a pair of hits in each game as the Garnet swept Saturday's doubleheader, 10-2 and 4-2. More accolades poured in for the Garnet: Sendelsky became the first Swarthmore player to earn Conference honors twice in one season, hitting .750 (12-for-16) with four doubles, five RBIs, and seven runs in six games to be named Centennial Conference Co-Hitter of the Week and Co-ECAC Player of the Week on March 27. Classmate Zelaski was also named the Centennial Pitcher of the Week and ECAC South Region Co-Pitcher of the Week for the week of April 3 - at that point in the season, Zelaski (7-2) boasted a 1.76 ERA (fourth in the Centennial), a team-high 59 strikeouts (also fourth in the Centennial), and 3.93 K/BB ratio.
Swarthmore entered the Centennial portion of the schedule with an overall record of 13-8, opening up at home with 2005 conference champion Ursinus and reigning Centennial Pitcher of the Year Mallory Greene. Procacci delivered a game-winning two-run single in the bottom of the fifth inning to send the Garnet to a 2-1 victory in the opener. The Garnet continued on a strong run through the Centennial, sweeping Dickinson on April 8 and then freshman outfielder Kristin Caspar (Briarcliff Manor, NY) delivered the game-winning run with a one-out single in the bottom of the seventh inning to send Swarthmore to a 7-6 win over Gettysburg on April 15.
Swarthmore's win in game two was the 17th of the season, breaking the 18-year old school record set by the 1988 squad (16-6). The Garnet also put to bed an 11-game skid to the Bullets, dating back to a 4-3 Swarthmore win in 2000. Klingaman was the story of game two, going 2-for-3 with a home run, two runs, and two RBIs. It was the first career home run for Klingaman in just her sixth at bat of the season. The two-run shot in the fifth gave Swarthmore its first lead of the game at 6-4. Klingaman had taken the mound in relief in the top of the inning and pitched three innings to earn her fourth win of the season. Siano also had a good game at the plate, going 3-for-4 with a double and two runs.
The Garnet swept a pair of Centennial twinbills with Washington (Md.) and Franklin & Marshall, putting the team in position to claim a conference playoff berth with a split at McDaniel on April 30. Swarthmore was in a tough spot: the Green Terror had a streak of 13 consecutive playoff appearances and had not lost to the Garnet since 1983. McDaniel won the first game 5-0, forcing Swarthmore into a win-or-go-home spot in game two. Siano ripped a clutch two-out two-run single to fuel a four-run sixth inning as the Garnet defeated McDaniel 5-3 in the second game, earning the Swarthmore women the No. 3 seed in the Centennial Conference Championships at Haverford on May 6.
The Garnet faced Ursinus and Greene in the opening round, falling 7-3 despite three hits from sophomore Dhalia Perez (Fairfield, CT). Swarthmore faced McDaniel in the afternoon, staving off elimination with an 8-4 victory. Gold was 3-for-4 with three RBIs and two runs scored while senior Danielle Miller (Pittsburgh, PA) added two runs, a hit, and d
rove in a run. Zelaski (11-5) picked up the win, spreading nine hits and four runs over seven innings, striking out two batters. On day two of the championship, Swarthmore was eliminated from the double elimination tournament by Ursinus, falling 4-1 as Siano and freshman centerfielder Lauren Walker (Fallston, MD) led the Garnet with two hits. Siano tallied the lone run for Swarthmore, coming on her second home of the season, a solo shot in the fourth inning. It was the 10th four-bagger hit by Swarthmore this season, easily breaking the school record set in 1998 and matched in 2005.
The Swarthmore softball house is furnished and ready to accommodate all those looking to make a run at the Centennial Conference title in 2007; 11 letter-winners return next season, including the top four hitters in the lineup and the entire pitching staff. Just be sure to wipe your feet before you come in!