A Golden Oldie in Allentown
ALLENTOWN, Pa. -- Garnet senior Katherine Gold hit a home run with two RBIs while sophomore Kathryn Riley tossed a one-hit shutout as Swarthmore swept both ends of a Centennial doubleheader at Muhlenberg Tuesday afternoon.
The Garnet won for the 11th time in 14 games, improving to 14-8 overall and 3-1 in the Centennial with 2-0 and 7-4 (8 innings) victories over the Mules (5-17 overall, 2-6 CC).
In the opening game, Swarthmore generated its first run in the top of the second inning. Freshman Melissa Emmerson (Ringwood, N.J. / Lakeland Reg.) scored on a deep sacrifice fly to right off the bat of sophomore outfielder Monica Cody (Torrance, Calif. / Marymount).
The Garnet tacked on the run in the top of the fifth started by Riley looping a single to left that got past the leftfielder, allowing Riley (Dagsboro, Del. / Indian River) to slide into second. One out later, freshman Maggie Vizcarra (Long Beach, Calif. / Long Beach) singled through the left side to put runners on the corners. Gold (Cherry Hill, N.J. / Cherry Hill East) drove in Riley with a soft single, putting Swarthmore out front 2-0.
Riley (left) battled through temperamental contact lenses, spending the first couple of innings dousing her eye with solution. The Muhlenberg hitters could tell little difference, as Riley breezed through her first five innings, allowing just one base runner (via walk) while striking out five.
The Mules’ Allie Saltstein broke up Riley’s no-hit bid with a single up the middle to lead off the sixth.
Riley’s line after game one reeked of efficiency: 7.0 innings of work featuring six strikeouts, eight ground-ball outs and six fly-ball outs. She earned her fourth shutout of the season, dropping her ERA even lower to 1.73 (she was at 2.94 at the end of spring break).
Swarthmore cruised right along in game two, opening a 3-0 lead after Gold connected for her second home run of the season in the top of the fourth inning. Her second RBI of the day brought her season total to 17, tied for second on the team.
Muhlenberg has struggled at the dish in 2008, ranking last in the Conference with a .198 team batting average. The Mules found awoke their slumbering bats in the bottom of the fifth, stunning the Garnet with four runs off five hits. The biggest swing came from freshman Ashley Brewer, who crushed a three-run home run to put Muhlenberg in front 4-3.
The Swarthmore hitters, tops in the Centennial with a .308 batting average and 5.68 runs per game, came to their pitchers’ rescue, plating the tying run in the top of the sixth. Vizcarra drew a lead-off walk and pinch runner Cody moved up on a wild pitch. A double down the line by Emmerson put runners in scoring position for freshman Lauren Marczi (Chester, N.J. / West Morris). The newly pink-haired freshman beat out an infield single, bringing Cody home to make the score 4-all.
“That’s why I love my teammates,” said Riley. “I would have thought about that pitch [to Brewer] for the rest of the week, but now it’s so much easier to prepare for McDaniel.”
Riley got back to mowing down Mules’ batters, allowing just two hits over the final three innings.
Gold led off the eighth inning with an opposite-field double and was moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by Emmerson. Marczi wasted little time stinging a double into right-center to drive in Gold and the Garnet tacked on two more runs to hand the 7-4 lead to Riley.
Marczi (right) has been part of the outfield rotation much of the season, taking advantage of the playing time given to her. She is hitting .438 in RBI opportunities including the two big spots Tuesday afternoon, finishing 2-for-3 with two RBIs.
Riley (11-4) fanned the final two hitters to pick up her second victory of the day. She went 8.0 innings with six strikeouts and just one walk. Riley is the first Swarthmore pitcher to surpass 100 strikeouts in a season . Riley also collected three hits with a run scored and an RBI.
Swarthmore’s hustling defense stood out on Tuesday, highlighted by freshman catcher Kira Kern (Newtown, Pa. / Council Rock North), who battled the chain link fence to catch a foul pop in the third inning of the second game.
The Garnet remain on the road for their next contest, a Centennial doubleheader on Saturday, April 12 at McDaniel College. First pitch is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. Swarthmore returns home the following day for the re-scheduled Conference doubleheader against Gettysburg College at 1:00 p.m. The Garnet busy schedule this week includes eight Centennial home games, as Gettysburg joins Washington (4/15), Ursinus (4/17) and Franklin & Marshall (4/19) on the Swarthmore dance card.