April 11, 2006

HAVERFORD, PA - Haverford College rallied for three runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to defeat Franklin & Marshall College 9-8 in game two and complete a sweep of the Diplomats in Centennial Conference softball at the Class of 1995 Field.

Haverford (14-12, 6-0 Centennial Conference), the first place team in the Centennial Conference, held off the Diplomats (4-23, 1-7 Centennial Conference) in game one 3-1 as pitcher Samantha Fontinelli scattered six hits and allowed one run with six strikeouts and one walk.

The Fords took the lead in the third inning as Gray Vargas-Regan walked and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt. Sarah Nagle singled to advance Vargas-Regan to third base and put runners on the corners. Nagle stole second base and moved to third on a ground out by Dana Irshay as Vargas-Regan came into score for a 1-0 lead. The lead grew to 2-0 as Nagle scored on a wild pitch by F&M hurler Bonnie Crouthamel (So., Chatham, NJ/Chatham) as the Fords plated two runs on one hit and a walk.

F&M and Haverford traded runs in the fifth inning for the 3-1 final.

Kathleen Clinchy (So., Katonah, NY/Somers) led off the fifth for F&M with a double and moved to third on a ground out before being replaced by pinch runner Leah Pearlman-Storch (Jr., Bala Cynwyd, PA/Friends Central). Pearlman-Storch came into score as Jessika Mancino (Fr., Lancaster, PA/Hempfield) singled to cut the Fords lead to 2-1.

Haverford added an insurance run in the bottom of the inning as Natalie Richman reached on a passed ball and stole second base. Vargas-Regan walked to put runners on first and second with one out before Nagle singled to load the bases. Richman scored on an error by Crouthamel on a grounder back to the mound by Irshay for the 3-1 final.

Crouthamel took the loss for the Diplomats allowing three runs on three hits, an error and two walks with six strikeouts.

At the plate, Mancino led the Diplomats going two-for-three, while Nagle finished two-for-three with a run scored for the Fords.

In game two, Franklin & Marshall scored five runs in the top of the seventh inning to take an 8-6 lead, but the Fords rallied for three runs in the bottom of the seventh for a 9-8 win.

Haverford jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the game with solo runs in the second and third.

In the second, Erica Davies led off the inning with a triple and scored two batters later on a single by Amy Havassy for a 1-0 lead. The lead grew to 2-0 in the third as Irshay reached on an error, stole second base, advanced to third on a ground out and scored on a sacrifice fly by Nora Spriggs.

F&M responded with three runs in the fifth as Pearlman-Storch singled with one out, Mancino reached on a throwing error by Haverford starting pitcher Becky Garibotto to put runners on second and third. Dana Johns (Sr., York, PA/Eastern York) reached on an error by Davies at shortstop to bring in Pearlman-Storch and move Mancino to third base. Johns stole second base and Crouthamel drove a two run single to the outfield grass as the Diplomats went ahead 3-2.

The Fords countered in the bottom of the fifth with four runs on four hits and two errors to go back in front 6-3.

Franklin & Marshall regained the lead in the top of the seventh against relievers Julia Iodice, Nora Spriggs and Nancy Anderson and Garibotto as the Diplomats plated five runs on four hits and an error.

Mancino doubled to lead off the inning and Johns walked against Iodice to lead off the inning before Garibotto replaced her. Crouthamel reached on an error at third base as Mancino scored and Johns advanced to second to put runners on first and second with no outs. Lauren Incorvaia (Fr., Manalapan, NY/St. John Vianney) followed with a singled to lead the bases with no outs, but Robyn Jones (Jr., Titusville, NJ/Pennington) popped up to the catcher for the first out of the innings. Clinchy reached on a fielder's choice as Crouthamel was tagged out, but Johns scored to cut the Haverford lead to 6-5. Meredith Morgan (Fr., Phoenixville, PA/Owen J. Roberts) followed with a single to drive in Incorvaia and Liz Iannaconi (So., Palisades Park, NJ/Dwight Englewood) drive a single to the outfield to score Morgan and Clinchy for an 8-6 lead.

Haverford rallied for the win in the bottom of the seventh as Lindsey Sullivan singled and advanced to third on a throwing error at shortstop on a grounder by Spriggs to put runners on the corners with no outs. Richman reached on an error to allow Spriggs to advance to second, and Sullivan to score to trim F&M's lead to 8-7. Following a fielder's choice force out at third to cut down pinch runner Nancy Anderson, Allison Frank laid down a successful bunt to load the bases with one out. The game ended on the next play as Havassay reached on an error at shortstop that allowed two runs to score for the 9-8 final.

F&M reliever Laura Kaesshaefer (So., Philadelphia, PA/William Penn Charter) took the loss allowing three runs on two hits in 1.1 innings, while Spriggs earned the win for Haverford getting out the final batter in the top of the seventh and being the pitcher of record during the Fords' dramatic comeback.

At the plate, Iannaconi led the Diplomats going two-for-three with two RBI, while Incorvaia was two-for-four with a runs scored.

For Haverford, Sullivan finished two-for-four with two runs scored, while Frank was three-for-four with a run scored.

Franklin & Marshall (4-23, 1-7 Centennial Conference) will continue the season on April 15 at home versus Ursinus College in a Centennial Conference doubleheader. Game one is set for 1:00 p.m.