GETTYSBURG, Pa. - The Haverford College softball team (13-21, 8-8 CC) wrapped up its 2022 slate dropping a doubleheader to Gettysburg (18-16, 9-7 CC) on Saturday afternoon at Bobby Jones Field. The Fords, needing a victory to reach the CC playoffs, were upended by the Bullets, who will advance to the CC tournament themselves after the sweep. Haverford was edged 5-4 in game one and 7-5 in game two.
Haverford struck first in game one, with an early rally aided by a pair of errors and a wild pitch. Gettysburg got the lead back in the second, with a one-out double from Julia Smith paving the way for a 3-1 lead as Giovanna Komst added a sacrifice fly in the frame. A fifth inning rally gave the Fords back the lead, with Phoebe May leading off the inning with a single ahead of consecutive RBI hits from Kaila Uyeda and Carley Parsons. Parsons tripled into the gap in right field, plating Uyeda before Abby Marquis delivered an RBI groundout to plate Parsons as suddenly the Fords were back ahead 4-3 with all the momentum.
Unfortunately for Haverford, Gettysburg tagged Casey for a pair of runs in its half of the fifth, with Komst leading off the frame with a double ahead of a walk to Lauren O'Leary. Jess Campana then delivered an RBI single to tie things, and Olivia Moser singled and cruised into scoring position on an error, giving Gettysburg a late 5-4 lead. Haverford put runners on base in the sixth and seventh innings, but Paige Forry was solid in the circle to deny the Fords. She scattered seven hits in her seven innings of work, striking out three. Maya Casey largely matched Forry, allowing six hits and striking out two in six innings. Uyeda and Parsons paced the Fords at the top of the order with two hits each. Campana was the only Bullets player with multiple hits.
In game two, Gettysburg jumped out to an early lead thanks in part to a bases-clearing double from Bailey Quinn in the first inning. With the 3-0 lead in hand, Gettysburg tacked on two more runs in the second with O'Leary and Moser tallying RBI infield singles in the frame.
Mia Kessinger knocked an RBI double into center field in the fourth, pulling Haverford closer, but Komst drilled a sacrifice fly to restore a five-run cushion at 6-1 entering the final two innings. The Fords showed an incredible amount of fight in a sixth inning rally. Parsons walked to lead off the frame, and Marquis singled ahead of a Mia Kessinger walk. Nikki Kingsland singled home a pair, and Maddie Etheridge and Tessa Pearlstein then each notched RBI groundouts, and suddenly, Haverford had new life down by just one at 6-5.
Gettysburg added an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth, and turned to stopper Megan Hughes to close things out in the seventh. Hughes had to work around a one-out single by Parsons, but induced a pair of groundouts to seal the playoff spot for the hosts. Parsons had a two-hit, two run day at the number two spot in the order to cap a solid day in the season finale. Kingsland notched two RBI while Quinn and Elliana Hopple were the big bats in game two for the Bullets, combining for five hits and four RBI.
Alexa Finkele got the start for Haverford, striking out one in her four innings of work before Casey logged the final two innings, striking out one and surrendering just three hits.
The Fords will graduate a talented senior class and will miss the contributions of the stalwart battery of May behind the dish and Casey in the circle, but should be well prepared for a 2023 run with soon-to-be seniors Parsons, Uyeda, and Marquis all having breakout seasons while junior captain Kingsland will return as an experienced stalwart leader in her senior season. A large first year class gained valuable experience and stepped into everyday roles in the lineup and pitching staff with ease in 2022 and will look to continue that success next season for a seasoned Haverford side.