By Amelia Bickel
Copy Editor
The Shorewomen softball team played two Centennial Conference doubleheaders last week, falling twice to McDaniel College on Tuesday before splitting with Dickinson on Saturday.
“Our conference season may have just started, but we are enjoying every second and making sure we give 100% in everything we do,” senior utility player Jenna Harper said.
The Shorewomen scored early in their first game against McDaniel. At the top of the first inning, Harper walked as the lead-off batter and then moved to third two batters later with a single from senior infielder Lilly Wenzel. Harper was then sent home as junior catcher Cece Johnston and senior outfielder Julia Weglarz both walked.
McDaniel scored in the bottom of the first inning, but the Shorewomen responded with four runs off of four hits in the top of the second. That barrage put WC ahead 5-1. However, McDaniel took the lead in the bottom of the third with eight runs, before climbing to 14-5 in the bottom of the fourth — a score they held until the end of the game.
In their second game of the day, the WC team led early again, 1-0, with a single by Harper, a sacrifice bunt by freshman infielder Grace Allen, a walk and stolen base by senior infielder Gracelyn Goforth, and a single by Wenzel that allowed Harper to score.
At the top of the fourth, the Shorewomen had the bases loaded but were unable to score by the end of the inning. They trailed McDaniel 3-1.
McDaniel pulled even further ahead to 7-1 in the top of the sixth. The Shorewomen fought back with a single by Allen that sent senior catcher Becca Foulk and freshman outfielder Emma Trainer home. Wenzel and Johnston sent Harper and Allen home, bringing the Shorewomen closer to McDaniel’s lead, 5-7.
McDaniel responded with a run in the bottom of the sixth that increased their lead, 8-5. The Shorewomen loaded the bases and scored in the bottom of the seventh but could not catch up to McDaniel, who took the game 8-6.
“Our record may not look the way we wanted it to, but that doesn’t mean anything when it comes to conference,” Harper said after Tuesday’s games. “It is a fresh start and an opportunity for the team to become the best versions of themselves as athletes.”
On Saturday, WC started the day with a 5-2 win against Dickinson. At the start of the game, Goforth singled to left field and put herself on the base, where she was sent home with a double by Johnston. Heading into the second inning, the Shorewomen trailed Dickinson closely, 2-1.
Trainer tied the game at the bottom of the second when she doubled to left center, sending Hutchinson home. Then, Harper singled to shallow left field, sending Weglarz home and taking the lead for the Shorewomen, 3-2.
Weglarz made her 100th career hit at the bottom of the fourth inning with a single to right field. Goforth batted both runners in with a triple to the right field, taking the lead 5-2, which the Shorewomen held to the end of the game.
At the start of their second game against Dickinson, the Shorewomen pulled ahead, 5-0, with a sacrifice fly by Johnston, a walk by Weglarz, a double by Allen, a single by Foulk, and a groundout by freshman outfielder Lindsay Worley.
Dickinson fought back with two runs at the top of the third, but the Shorewomen remained in the lead at the bottom of the fifth, 6-2. However, Dickinson pulled forward at the top of the sixth and seventh with a total of 11 runs that took the lead from the Shorewomen, 13-6.
At the bottom of the seventh, the Shorewomen scored two runs with a single by Goforth, a triple by Wenzel, and a double by Weglarz that narrowed the gap between WC and Dickinson, 8-13. Despite their efforts to pull ahead, the WC team continued to trail until the end of the game, although they held Dickinson to 13-8. Now, the Shorewomen stand at 7-19 on the season and 2-4 in the Centennial Conference.
The Shorewomen will play two more doubleheaders in the coming week: first at Haverford College in Haverford, Pa. on April 7 and then at Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pa. on April 11.
Photo Caption: The Shorewomen completed their second week of the Centennial Conference season on Saturday.
Photo courtesy of WC Athletics