Championship Central
Top seeds Swarthmore and Muhlenberg both defended their home fields with shutout wins in Centennial Conference softball championship openers on Thursday to advance in the winner's bracket of the double-elimination tournament. The tournament now shifts to top-seeded Swarthmore for the weekend.
In Swarthmore, Pa., the 22nd-ranked and top-seeded Garnet opened the Centennial tournament with an 8-0 victory over Haverford in five innings. The Garnet jumped on the fifth-seeded Fords early with two runs in the opening frame. Swarthmore tacked on a run in the fourth then piled on five runs in the fifth to end the game early. Lilly Goldberg pitched all five innings for her 15
th complete game and fourth shutout of the season. She allowed four hits and struck out four without walking a batter. Emilee Espinoza led the Garnet offense, going 4-for-4 with three RBIs and two runs. Iris Barone and Elisabeth O'Connor tallied two hits apiece with O'Connor driving in a pair and Barone scoring three times.
In Allentown, Pa., second-seeded Muhlenberg defeated third-seeded Gettysburg, 3-0, in the first on-campus softball playoff game in program history. Freshman Eden Clark became the first Mule freshman to pitch a complete-game shutout in a postseason game. Clark allowed only four hits and struck out six for her fourth shutout of the season, and it came against a Bullet squad that had touched her up for eight runs and 13 hits in 4.2 innings just six days prior.
The Mule offense was prolific everywhere except on the scoreboard, recording 14 hits in six turns at bat but leaving 11 runners on base. Muhlenberg finally broke a scoreless tie in the bottom of the fourth on a two-out RBI single by Sofia Gallahue and tacked on two runs in the fifth on three straight hits - an infield single by Scooter Hulsen, a single up the middle by Izzy Wilmot, and a double down the line by Kineta Bradley.
Hulsen went 3-for-4 and stole a pair of bases, while Gallahue had a pair of hits in her first postseason game and also recorded the final out of the game with a catch in right field.
Haverford and Gettysburg will square off in an elimination game at 11 a.m., followed by Muhlenberg vs. Swarthmore for a spot in the championship. The winner of the Haverford/Gettysburg and the loser of Muhlenberg/Swarthmore will face off in the third game of the day in Swarthmore.
Tuesday, Apr. 28 | at #4 seed
Game 1: #5 Haverford d. #4 Franklin & Marshall, 11-3 (5 inn.) | Box Score
Thursday, Apr. 30 | at #1 & #2 seeds
Game 2: #1 Swarthmore d. #5 Haverford, 8-0 (5 inn.) | Box Score
Game 3: #2 Muhlenberg d. #3 Gettysburg, 3-0 | Box Score
Saturday, May 2 | Swarthmore, Pa. | TICKETS
Game 4: #5 Haverford vs. #3 Gettysburg, 11 a.m.
Game 5: #2 Muhlenberg vs. #1 Swarthmore, 30 minutes after game 4
Game 6: Loser of game 5 vs. Winner of game 4, 30 minutes after game 5
Sunday, May 3 | Swarthmore, Pa.
Game 7: Winner of game 5 vs. Winner of game 6, 12 p.m.
Game 8: if necessary, only if Winner of game 6 wins game 7, 30 minutes after game 7
