Release courtesy of Swarthmore Athletic Communications
COLLEGEVILLE, PA. - Capturing the first ever Centennial Conference Championship in program history, the No. 5 seeded Swarthmore softball team took down No. 1 seed Ursinus College, defeating the Bears 4-2 on Sunday, May 7.
Offensively, while both senior Cassidy Cheong and junior Alexandra Simon had excellent games, each notching two hits and a run, the star of the show was undoubtedly senior Kate Hart. Stepping up to bat with the game tied at 2-all in the bottom of the seventh, Hart launched a shot to deep left field, juicing the ball just enough to clear the fence and secure the walk off victory.
Pitching her third straight Centennial playoff game, the Garnet saw yet another godly performance out of sophomore Emily Bertrand. The righty completely shut out the Ursinus attack, allowing just six hits and zero earned runs while recording seven strikeouts over seven innings pitched.
For her incredible performances on both sides of the ball, Bertand earned the highest individual honor, being named Centennial Tournament MVP.
With the win, the Garnet capture the program's first ever Centennial Conference Championship Title, a streak stretching back to 2001 when softball was first introduced to conference play.
Hart's walk-off homer to win the championship marked the second straight year the CC title was decided by a walk-off home run. And it was sweet redemption for the Garnet, who were defeated by Sarah Karmazyn's walk-off homer in 2022 that gave Muhlenberg the title.