Caroline Brehm, McDaniel
WESTMINSTER, Md. – McDaniel had to rally in both games but came out of its regular-season finale with a Centennial Conference (CC) softball doubleheader sweep of Washington (Md.) on Saturday.
The Green Terror (25-10, 14-2 CC) secured the top seed in next weekend's conference tournament with the two wins, taking the opener 5-3 and winning game two, 6-3. McDaniel will host the four-team, double-elimination tournament on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The Green Terror will take on Muhlenberg in the second game on Friday while No. 2 Haverford and No. 3 Gettysburg meet in the other semifinal. Game times will be finalized on Monday.
Caroline Brehm (Hanover, Pa./New Oxford) pitched McDaniel to the sweep, not only 13 strikeouts but also recording her 19th and 20th wins of the season to give her a CC-record 90 for her career, passing Ursinus' Lauren Davis' mark of 89.
Jamie Weisser (Chappaqua, N.Y./Horace Greeley) went 3-for-3 in the opener before walking twice and being hit by a pitch in game two.
Trailing 2-1 in the fifth inning of game one, Payton Lewis (Valrico, Fla./Durant) poked a two-out single through the left side before Lindsey Miller (Gettysburg, Pa./New Oxford) drew a four-pitch walk.
Weisser lifted a ball down the left-field line that stayed just fair and just cleared the fence for her sixth home run of the season, giving her team a 4-2 edge.
Olivia Kipe (Manchester, Md./Manchester Valley) led off the bottom of the sixth with a single up the middle before Taylor Fletcher (Linden, Va./Fauquier) drew a walk.
After Morgan Scardina (Pasadena, Md./Chesapeake) sacrificed both runners up a base, a Caitlin Justice (Stuart, Fla./Jensen Beach) RBI groundout scored Kipe for a 5-2 lead.
Paige Briganti drew a one-out walk in the top of the seventh before Hannah Spohn and Kristin Cooper notched back-to-back singles to trim the margin to 5-3.
Brehm followed with her eighth strikeout of the game and induced a foul pop-up for the final out.
A one-out Suzanne Patinella double and a hit batter followed by a wild pitch put runners at second and third in the top of the second.
Clare Hofstedt reached on a two-out infield single to drive in Patinella before the Shorewomen executed double steal for a 2-0 lead.
A Weisser double, Kipe one-out single and Megan Liebknecht (Taneytown, Md./Francis Scott Key) sacrifice fly cut the deficit in half in the bottom of the frame.
In addition to Weisser's three hits, Kipe had two in game one.
In the nightcap, Briganti drove the first pitch of the game down the left-field line and out for a 1-0 lead.
Kelsey Graham singled to lead off the third before Pantiella went yard with two outs for a 3-0 advantage.
Roxana Aviles (Manassas, Va./Osbourne) led off the third inning with a double off the center-field fence before Stacie Maring (Woodbine, Md./South Carroll) singled to put runners at the corners.
Lewis grounded a ball to the shortstop that she elected to come home on but Aviles slid under the tag to a make it a 3-1 game.
Kipe followed with a double to the wall in left field to score Maring before Weisser walked to load the bases.
Sydnee Schorr came on in relief to strike out the next three batters and strand the bases loaded.
In the fifth, Lewis led off with a single before moving to third on an error on the ensuing sacrifice attempt.
A Weisser walk loaded the bases once again before Tayler Hishon (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla./St. Thomas Aquinas) drove a ball to left field, scoring Lewis to tie the game.
After an out at the plate also allowed Weisser and Hishon to take an extra base, a wild pitch scored Weisser for a 4-3 lead.
Maring and Lewis led off the sixth with back-to-back singles before each moved up a base on a passed ball.
A Weisser sacrifice fly scored Maring before Hishon doubled to left to plate Lewis for the 6-3 final.
Maring led the way in game two with three hits while Lewis and Hishon had two each.
Notable
The Haverford Class of 2015 recorded its 97th career win (7-1) in the opener vs. Gettysburg. The Fords will be the #2 seed for this weekend's Conference tournament.
The Bullets' 3-0 triumph in the nightcap secured the No. 3 seed for the Orange and Blue and was the 250th career win for coach Annette Hunt-Shepherd.
Muhlenberg is back in the playoffs for the third straight year following a split with Franklin & Marshall. The Mules are the No. 4 seed after hosting the final four in each of the last two seasons.