SWARTHMORE, Pa.—Trailing 6-5 with two outs in the 10th inning of the first game of Thursday evening's softball doubleheader, Swarthmore College sophomore
Elizabeth Curcio stepped to the plate with the bases loaded. Curcio came through by knocking a single up the middle to score
Hannah Thompson and
Sara Planthaber and give Swarthmore the 7-6 walk-off win over the Marywood University Pacers.
After winning the nearly two-and-a-half hour game to open the doubleheader, Swarthmore took game two over the Pacers 4-0.
Swarthmore improved to 9-5 with the pair of wins.
GAME ONE: Marywood 6, Swarthmore 7 (10 innings)
The Garnet trailed 4-3 going into the bottom of the seventh. A single by Curcio and a double by
Kalli Segel put a pair of runners in scoring position for the Garnet.
Anna Jensen smacked a single through the left side to send pinch runner
Fran Reckers home to even the game at 4-4.
With the international tiebreaker rule in effect (the last batter in the previous inning is awarded second base to start the next inning), both teams found a way to bring home a run.
Sara Planthaber, who batted 3-for-3 in the game stroked a single up the middle to score
Hannah Thompson from third and even the game at 5-5.
Neither team scored in the ninth inning—Marywood was retired one-two-three by relief pitcher
McKenzie Ward and Swarthmore loaded the bases with one out but failed to bring a runner home.
Marywood tallied a bases-loaded RBI single in the top of the 10th, but Swarthmore responded in the bottom of the frame. A sac bunt by
Marisa Mancini advanced placed-runner
Hannah Thompson to third. Planthaber reached on a walk and with two outs, freshman
Kennedy Kings drew an intentional walk to load the bases. Curcio came to the plate, took a first-pitch ball and then got a pitch she liked and drove it up the middle into center field allowing Planthaber and Thompson to dash home for the walk-off win.
Curcio finished the game 3-for-5 at the plate.
Mary Olesnavich pitched the first five innings in a no-decision, allowing two earned runs and striking out two. Ward pitched the final five innings for the win, allowing three hits and one earned run while striking out six.
GAME TWO: Marywood 0, Swarthmore 4
The Garnet capitalized on Marywood defensive miscues in the first two innings to take an early lead. Swarthmore scored twice in the first inning on three hits and an error. Two more errors and a base hit by Mancini led to a pair of runs in the second.
Frankie Ponziani pitched a three-hit gem, striking out three and inducing 13 groundouts to earn her first win of the season.
Planthaber had another multi-hit game, going 2-for-3 with a walk. Mancini and Kings also went 2-for-3 from the plate.
Swarthmore begins Centennial Conference play on Saturday with a home doubleheader against Gettysburg College.
