Garnet Eliminated from Playoffs
COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – The Garnet softball team saw its season come to a close Saturday afternoon, falling to Ursinus and Haverford at the 2008 Centennial Conference Softball Championships at Eleanor Frost Snell Field on the campus of Ursinus College.
Top-seeded Ursinus scored twice in the bottom of the seventh inning, downing Swarthmore 4-3 in opening-round action and then the Garnet dropped a 7-3 decision to Haverford in the first elimination game.
In game one, the fans were treated with a match-up of the two First-Team All-Centennial pitchers, Ursinus’ Lauren Davis (Mullica Hill, N.J. / Clearview Regional) and Swarthmore sophomore Kathryn Riley (Dagsboro, Del. / Indian River).
The pair combined to strike out fifteen hitters on the afternoon with just one base on balls issued.
Swarthmore stuck first, plating an unearned run in the top of the third. Freshman Krista Scheirer (Norristown, Pa. / Germantown Academy) walked and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by classmate Maggie Vizcarra (Long Beach, Calif. / Long Beach Polytechnic). Junior Kristin Caspar (Briarcliff Manor, N.Y. / Briarcliff Manor) topped a ball back to the pitching circle and reached on a infield single. The throw went wide of first base and Scheirer scored to make it 1-0 Swarthmore.
The Garnet put another run on the board in the top of the sixth with timely hitting by a pair of bruised and battered Swarthmore captains. Junior outfielder Lauren Walker (Fallston, Md. / The Hotchkiss School) lined a one-out single to center and stole second. Shortstop Katherine Gold (Cherry Hill, N.J. / Cherry Hill East) smoked a single through the right side, driving in Walker for a 2-0 Garnet lead.
The Bears tied the game the bottom of the sixth on a two-out, two-run single by designated player Jamie Miles (Shamong, N.J. / Seneca).
The Garnet surged back ahead in the next inning. Second baseman Christine Sendelsky (Edison, N.J. / John P. Stevens) locked horns with Davis in a ten-pitch at-bat. The Swarthmore captain fouled off five pitches in a row before smoking pitch No. 10 back up the middle for a base hit. Freshman Melissa Emmerson (Ringwood, N.J. / Lakeland Regional) bunted Sendelsky up to second and Scheirer followed with a base hit to right to put runners at the corners for the Garnet.
The next hitter, Caspar, fell behind 1-2 but was hit in the ribs on the fourth pitch. A wild pitch allowed Sendelsky to scamper home, putting the Garnet in front 3-2.
The Bears scored a pair of unearned runs in their final at-bat with All-Conference catcher Kaitlyn Sutherland (Perkiomenville, Pa. / Perkiomen Valley) delivering the winning hit, a two-out, two-run single to right field.
Davis (24-4) picked up the win for the Bears while Riley (16-8) suffered the loss despite striking out nine batters with no walks.
Game two pitted long-time rivals Swarthmore and Haverford, 5-0 losers to Dickinson in the first round. The Fords got on the board with two runs in the bottom of the first and then opened a 3-0 lead on a home run by Allison Frank (Chatham, N.J. / Chatham).
Swarthmore got a pair of runs back in the fourth as Walker drove in Scheirer with a ground out and pinch runner Zoe Hendrickson (Strafford, N.H. / Coe-Brown Northwood Academy) scored on a wild pitch.
The Fords tacked on three more runs in the top of the seventh to open up a 7-2 lead and Swarthmore added the final run of the afternoon in the bottom of the frame when Gold launched a double of the left field fence.
Haverford starting pitcher Cassandra Searls (Green Brook, N.J. / Mount Saint Mary Academy) picked up the win to improve to 6-3 overall. Riley took the loss for Swarthmore, slipping her record to 16-9.
Swarthmore concludes the season with a 21-18 overall record, 10-6 in the Centennial.