SWARTHMORE, Pa.–Senior outfielder
Sara Planthaber ended her career in style as the Swarthmore College softball team capped off its 2017 season with 9-8 walk-off win over the New Jersey City University Gothic Knights on Thursday, April 27. In game one, the Garnet bested the visitors by a 4-1 score.
Planthaber recorded three hits on the afternoon, including a home run in the nightcap, and drove in two runs while crossing the plate once.
Game two featured a dramatic comeback as the Garnet scored a combined five runs in the final two frames. The Gothic Knights led 6-1 after two innings before Swarthmore began to chip away at the deficit.
Planthaber hit a solo shot in the third and drove in two more during the next inning.
Marit Vike walked and stole second, then scored on a double by
Kennedy Kings. Planthaber followed up with an RBI-base hit to make it 6-4, but was tagged out going back to first.
NJCU restored its lead to four with two runs in the sixth, but the Garnet provided an immediate answer.
Hannah Thompson led off with and single and nabbed a base before Vike had another base hit and steal to put two in scoring position with no outs.
Marisa Mancini plated both runners and Swarthmore continued to threaten until a double play snuffed out the opportunity.
Still down by two in the final frame, Swarthmore quickly gained ground on a solo homer from
Kalli Segel.
Fran Reckers walked, and Thompson and Vike had consecutive base hits to load the bases with one out. Mancini singled to bring home the tying run and Kings took a base on balls for the walk-off win.
Vike finished the game with a trio of runs, hits and stolen bases while Mancini, Planthaber, Segel and Thompson each had two hits.
Emily Bowman took the win in game two with three punch-outs in the seventh.
In game one, Swarthmore did all of its scoring in the second, which proved to be enough for the win. Segel doubled in
Emilie Morse and Vike, Reckers and Thompson took advantage of a costly fielding error to plate three runs in one play. Bowman also earned the win as the pitcher of record with only one hit allowed in 4.2 innings.
The softball team ends its season on a four-game win streak and looks to build toward a bright future with the majority of its lineup returning for the 2018 season.
