By Gabrielle Devaud
Elm Staff Writer
After a full week of Centennial Conference play, the Shorewomen won five of their six games. Washington College is now 20-16 overall and 11-5 in the conference.
WC closes out conference play with 11 wins, the most since winning 12 games in 1997. With this record, the Shorewomen secure a spot in the playoffs for the second time and the first time since 2005. This season, the Shorewomen were 8-1 in conference games that were settled by two runs or less. They were a perfect 5-0 in conference games that were decided by one run.
WC won both games in a Centennial Conference doubleheader against visiting McDaniel last Thursday. The Shorewomen won 7-6 in game one and won game two, 9-1, in six innings due to the eight-run rule. It was the first time WC has swept the Green Terror since 2008.
For WC in game one, senior Becca Nicely went 2-for-3 with three RBI and two runs scored to spark the offense. It was her fourth homerun in six games, this time scoring two runs. Junior Sally Snover and junior Leigh Carbutt scored twice. Snover and sophomore Brittany Walter drove in two runs, with Walter hitting a triple. Junior pitcher Meaghan Kimme got the win in the circle.
In game two, all 10 runs scored were unearned. Freshman Lauren Dockrill and sophomore Shaelan Nottingham both had two hits. Dockrill scored three times and Shaelan Nottingham scored twice. Carbutt hit a double, had two runs scored and two RBI in the victory. In the circle, Walter pitched her ninth complete game of the year, allowing just two hits and striking out five, and did not allow an earned run.
Last Friday, WC and Gettysburg College split a doubleheader in Centennial Conference play. The Shorewomen won game one by a 5-3 score, while Gettysburg won game two, 5-0.
In game one for WC, Dockrill went a perfect 4-for-4 at the plate and scored two runs. She had four of the team’s eight hits. Carbutt scored twice and had two RBI, with a two-run double. Freshman Kylie Nottingham also hit a double in game one. In the circle, junior Jill Piasecki earned the win. Kimme got the last out of the game to earn her second save of the season.
In game two, Carbutt had two hits for the Shorewomen. Walter took the loss on the mound. The loss in game two to Gettysburg snapped a five-game winning streak for WC.
The Shorewomen returned to action on Tuesday with its final conference double-header of the season. WC won both games versus Swarthmore to clinch a spot in the 2011 Centennial Conference Softball Tournament. The Shorewomen won game one by a 6-2 score and held off the Garnet to win game two by a 9-8 score.
In the first game for the Shorewomen, Carbutt went 3-for-5 with a run scored. Shaelan Nottingham was 2-for-2 with a run scored and an RBI. In the circle, Piasecki earned the win and is now 4-3 on the year. She went five innings and gave up just two earned runs and three hits. Kimme pitched the final two innings to record her third save of the season.
In game two for WC, Walter got the win and is now 8-8 on the year. She pitched the first 4 1/3 innings before Kimme came in to pitch the final 2 2/3 innings. Carbutt and Kylie Nottingham each had two hits. Carbutt scored twice and hit a double. Shaelan Nottingham also hit a double, and both she and Walter drove in a pair of teammates in the win.
Washington travels to Stevenson today for a non-conference softball double-header starting at 3 p.m.
April 22, 2011
Volume LXXXI Issue 23