Gettysburg Address on Repeat
SWARTHMORE, Pa. -- The Garnet softball team ended up on the wrong end of both sides of a Centennial doubleheader at Gettysburg Sunday afternoon, dropping the first contest 2-1 to the Bullets before falling 3-2 in the second contests.
Swarthmore dips to 12-19 overall, 2-10 in the Conference while the Bullets improved to 22-9-1 and 7-4-1 in Centennial play.
The Bullets scored an unearned run off Swarthmore starter Alexandra Zelaski ’09 (Middleburg Heights, Ohio / Midpark) in the first inning and maintained the 1-0 lead behind hurler Kristy Rubino until the seventh inning.
The Garnet scrapped together a run to tie the game in the top of the final frame. Junior Kathryn Riley (Dagsboro, Del. / Indian River) drew a leadoff walk and two outs later came home on a single to center by sophomore Melissa Emmerson (Ringwood, N.J. / Lakeland Regional).
Gettysburg responded with the game-winning run in the bottom of the seventh as leftfielder Caitlin Bay walked. Bay would score on the very next play, racing home as Swarthmore misplayed the Gettysburg bunt attempt.
Zelaski (3-10) suffered the loss despite allowing just five hits and zero earned runs in 7.0 innings. Rubino(10-6) earned the victory by limiting the Garnet to just two hits over 7.0 innings.
Emmerson had both hits for Swarthmore, driving in her second RBI of the season.
The second game played out much the same as the first. Gettysburg assumed a 1-0 in the first inning and held the slim margin for four innings.
Swarthmore got on the scoreboard with a little two-out magic in the top of the sixth inning. Freshman shortstop Elizabeth Cushing (Middletown, Del. / Padua Academy) reached on an infield single and Riley followed with her third walk of the afternoon (she leads the team with 14 base-on-balls in 2009). Sophomore Krista Scheirer (Norristown, Pa. / Germantown Academy) came through with the big hit, doubling into right-center to drive in both Cushing and Riley, giving Swarthmore a 2-1 lead.
The Garnet held the lead until that fateful seventh inning, when the Bullets pulled off another comeback as Erin Ober singled in the game-winning run with two outs in the inning.
Bullets’ starting pitcher Beth McCullough (11-3) picked up the win, striking out seven batters in 7.0 innings while Riley (7-8) took the loss despite striking out six batters and allowing only seven hits on the afternoon.
The Garnet look to rebound on Thursday, April 23 at 16th-ranked Rowan before returning home for consecutive doubleheaders with Centennial foes Haverford (April 25) and McDaniel (April 26).