By Claire Mattox
Elm Staff Writer
After coming back from a strong showing (6-3) in their Florida spring training trip, the Shorewomen took on Stevenson College on March 21. Stevenson took the first game with a score of 5-1, and junior Brittany Walter was 3 for 3 in the game as she knocked in Washington’s sole run. In the second game, the Shorewomen came back from a 2-5 deficit to win 6-5.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, junior Shaelan Nottingham hit a double and was knocked in by freshman Kristen Cooper’s homerun to trim the lead to one for Stevenson. Senior Sally Snover then hit a double to right field and was hit in by sophomore Kylie Nottingham’s single up the middle to give Washington the final lead.
On Sunday, the Shorewomen faced their first Centennial Conference matchup in Franklin & Marshall College. In two extremely close games, the Shorewomen swept the Diplomats with scores 9-8 and 6-5. F&M took an early 3-0 lead in the first inning with a two-run homer. Washington would not give up. The Shorewomen put together a six-run inning, ignited by Cooper’s grand slam and sophomore Lauren Dockrill’s two-run home run in the second. The Diplomats battled back in the fifth inning with selective hitting to even the score at 8 after Washington had added two runs. In the bottom of the seventh, Cooper garnered a walk and then was advanced to second by Snover’s sacrifice bunt. Anderson hit a walk-off single to drive in Cooper and win the game 9-8.
The second game followed the same dramatic fashion as the two teams flipped the lead four times. In the bottom of the seventh with two outs, the Shorewomen were down 5-4. For the second time in a day they would rally to take another win from the Diplomats. Kristen Cooper earned a walk and was advanced to second base on a single from Shaelan Nottingham. With runners on first and second, Snover launched a game-winning double to right field that got the winning run in just under the tag at home plate.
The Shorewomen faced Haverford College on Tuesday at home, hoping to keep their undefeated conference record alive. In the first game, Washington developed an early 5-0 lead that they would not relinquish. Cooper launched her third home run of the season to ignite the Shorewomen. Kylie Nottingham and Suzanne Patinella put together key hits in the third to extend the lead and win with a final of 8-3. In the second game of the day, Washington was down 0-2 in the bottom of the sixth when they went on a dramatic rally.
The Shorewomen would score 6 runs in the inning off of hits from Patinella, Cooper, S. Nottingham, Glascock, and Graham, as well as walks from Dockrill and K. Nottingham. Washington would take the win with a score of 6-2, sweeping Haverford for the third straight season.
Kristen Cooper has been named Centennial Conference player and pitcher of the week, as well as Shorewoman of the week, as she batted .571 with two home runs and had an ERA of 0.00 in 12 2/3 innings.
The team faces Widener on Thursday at home and then Muhlenberg on Saturday as they hope to keep their undefeated conference record alive.