By Aaron Rodenhausen
Sports Editor
The Washington College softball team continued their Centennial Conference season this week with a pair of doubleheaders. The Shorewomen first played at Haverford College in Haverford, Pa. on April 7, then traveled to Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pa. on April 11.
WC held Haverford to a 0-0 stalemate for two innings, but the host Fords tallied the first two runs of the day in the bottom of the third. The Shoremen first went up on the board in the top of the fourth. Freshman infielder Grace Allen batted in senior infielder Gracelyn Goforth, narrowing the gap to 1-2.
However, the Fords surged ahead with 10 runs in the bottom of the fourth to 12-1. The Shorewomen, unable to overcome the deficit in the top of the fifth, succumbed as the mercy rule kicked in.
“I would say our greatest challenge was their hitting,” senior utility player Jenna Harper said. “Haverford has a roster full of solid hitters that were unfortunately hitting whatever our pitchers threw.”
The WC team entered the second game of the day resolute, despite the blow to morale. Haverford recorded the first runs of the game with three in the bottom of the second inning, but Harper earned the Shorewomen’s first hit in the top of the third.
In the top of the fourth, WC managed to put several players on base but only earned one run. Freshman outfielder Emma Trainer’s single up the middle of the plate resulted in an improved score of 1-4.
Unfortunately, that would also be the Shorewomen’s last run of the day. The mercy rule ended the game in the seventh inning, with the Fords up 8-1. With that, Haverford advanced to 18-5 overall and 6-2 in the Centennial, while WC fell to 7-21 and 2-6, respectively.
“In the second game, we did everything we could to tighten our defense and take away some of their hits. Unfortunately, with their challenging pitchers and hitting abilities, it brought on another loss,” Harper said.
Next, the Shorewomen faced off against the Muhlenberg Mules. The Mules charged ahead to a 7-0 lead in only the first two innings, but Goforth tripled to right field in the top of the third and sent Harper home for WC’s first run. Muhlenberg responded with six runs in the bottom of the third but lost their momentum in the fourth, when they only managed one.
Even so, the Mules had gained enough of a lead to hand the Shorewomen their third mercy rule defeat of the week so far. After five innings, the game concluded with WC down 2-14.
However, the Shorewomen would repeat the pattern of playing a far closer second game. By the third inning of the next match, the Mules had only advanced to 3-0. Trainer earned WC’s first RBI in the top of the third when she sent Allen home, diminishing the deficit to only two runs. Goforth and Trainer each tallied an RBI in the top of the seventh, but the WC team could not catch Muhlenberg before the game ended, 6-3.
The Shorewomen slipped to 7-23 on the season and 2-8 in the conference, with Muhlenberg rising to 22-8 and 5-3, respectively.
“When you lose in conference, you can’t really start at square one. All we can do is learn from our mistakes and come back to play another day,” Harper said.
The Shorewomen’s next chance will come on April 18, with a doubleheader against visiting Ursinus College to commemorate the team’s Senior Day.
Photo Caption: WC softball faced two challenging opponents this week: the Fords and the Mules.
Photo courtesy of WC Athletics.