Keeping The Gold Standard, <br>Garnet Stay Alive in CC Championships
COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. -- Swarthmore junior shortstop Katherine Gold had a home run and a triple as the Garnet defeated Dickinson 6-2 to stave off elimination on the first day of competition at the 2007 Centennial Conference Softball Championships hosted by Ursinus College Saturday.
Swarthmore (22-12 overall), seeded No. 2, fell to the third-seed Gettysburg 5-1 in the first game. The Bullets (23-13) used lead-off two-baggers to collect an early 2-0 lead in the third innig. The Garnet picked up a run bottom of the inning when two-time All-Centennial second baseman Christine Sendelsky '09 singled up the middle with two outs, fellow All-Centennial performer Gold followed with a base hit and Sendelsky came around to score when senior Kelly Siano reached on an error by the shortstop.
Gettysburg chased Swarthmore starting pitcher Kathryn Riley '10 (11-3) in the top of the sixth, benefiting from three walks and a hit-by-pitch to open up a 4-1 advantage. The Bullets would pick up an insurance run in the seventh with three consecutive hits off Garnet reliever Marianne Klingaman '07.
Kim Rubino (16-6) collected the win for Gettysburg, striking out seven batters while allowing only four Swarthmore hits in seven innings of work.
Swarthmore had their backs against the wall in the second game. Fourth-seed Dickinson was looking to bust out after just dropping a heart-breaker to top-seed Ursinus 1-0 in 11 innings.
Garnet sophomore right-hander Alexandra Zelaski settled things down immediately, allowing only one base runner in the first three innings. Gold provided some run support, blasting her second home run of the season, this one to straight away center, to put Swarthmore up 1-0.
Zelaski ran into some tight spots in the next two innings, escaping from bases-loaded jams in the fourth and fifth to preserve the lead. Gold again fueled the Swarthmore offense, driving in Sendelsky with a one-out triple down the right-field line before scoring on the ensuing throw to make it 3-0 Garnet.
Dickinson (17-14) began to pick at Zelaski, using a Swarthmore error and a two-run home run by Karrie Brondell to make it a one-run game. When two more Red Devil batters reached, Riley relieved Zelaski and got two more outs to keep Swarthmore ahead.
Swarthmore picked up their starting pitcher with a three-run seventh to bust open a 6-2 lead. Ashley Brandt '07 and Riley had base hits and scored as the Garnet kept their 2007 season alive to see another day.
Zelaski (6-4) earned the win after striking out two batters in 5.1 innings while Riley registered her first career save by tossing 1.2 innings while allowing only two hits.
The Garnet continue their quest for a championship on Sunday, needing to sweep three games to lift the trophy. Swarthmore faces Ursinus at 10:00 a.m. and should they win, will need to take back-to-back games from Gettysburg.