Krista Goes Deep, Bears Earn Sweep
COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. -- Swarthmore sophomore Krista Schreirer hit a three-run home run off one of the top pitchers in Division III Tuesday afternoon but the Garnet ended up on the wrong side of a Centennial softball doubleheader at Ursinus.
The Bears (13-5, 2-0 CC) came from behind to win the first game, 4-3, and then rode the 2008 Centennial Conference Pitcher of the Year, junior southpaw Lauren Davis, to a 4-0 victory in the second contest.
Garnet freshman hurler Marley Spector (Woodmere, N.Y. / George Hewlett) locked horns with Davis in the first game, limiting the Bears to just two hits through the first six innings of play. Spector used a variety of pitches to keep Ursinus off-balance, while the Swarthmore offense looked for any opening against Davis (combined 23 strikeouts in 14.0 innings Tuesday).
The opening came in the top of the sixth when an Ursinus error extended the inning. With runners on first and third and the Bears ahead 1-0, Scheirer (Norristown, Pa. / Germantown Academy) (below) drilled a Davis offering over the fence in right-center for her first collegiate round-tripper. The four-bagger ignited the Garnet dugout and put the visitors up, 3-1.
Similar to last year’s Conference playoffs, the Bears rallied in their last at-bats with key hits and some sloppy fielding by Swarthmore. Three Ursinus hits and two Garnet miscues led to three runs and a victory for the home team.
Swarthmore freshman outfielder Sasha Wijeyeratne (La Verne, Calif. / Vivian Webb School) achieved a significant milestone in the first game, getting her first collegiate hit in the third inning--a single to left field off Davis.
Davis picked up the win after fanning 12 with just one walk, allowing three runs (all unearned). Garnet junior Kathryn Riley (Dagsboro, Del. / Indian River) took the loss (5-5) after failing to get an out in relief of Spector.
It was all Davis in the second game—the junior posted the second-best earned run average in the country during the 2008 season and her skill shone through again, holding Swarthmore to three hits while fanning 11 to improve to 13-5 on the season.
Alexandra Zelaski ’09 (Middleburg Heights, Ohio / Midpark) pitched effectively for the Garnet, giving up four runs on six hits as she fell to 3-7 on the season.
Senior centerfielder Lauren Walker (Fallston, Md. / The Hotchkiss School [CT]) posted two hits in the second game for Swarthmore.
The Garnet look to snap its recent four-game slide in Centennial action this Saturday, traveling to Gettysburg College for a 1:00 p.m. doubleheader.