SWARTHMORE, PA - The Swarthmore College softball team captured a pair of wins over Penn State Berks on Thursday afternoon. The Garnet won the opener 5-1, before overpowering the Nittany Lions 9-0 in a five-inning finale. 

The Garnet took game one behind an outstanding pitching performance from Lilly Goldberg and Iris Castor. The Garnet ace tossed five innings, while allowing one run on four hits with six strikeouts. Castor then tossed a pair of scoreless innings in relief with five strikeouts. Linnaea Rasmussen led the way for Swarthmore's offense, totaling three hits with three RBI. 

Lane Barron was equally as impressive in game two, pitching five innings with no runs and one hit allowed. Avery McClure helped kickstart the offense with three RBI, tallying four on the afternoon. 

PSU BERKS 1, SWARTHMORE 5
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Goldberg tossed 10 pitches, all strikes, as she struck out the side in a clean opening frame. The Garnet then added a run in the bottom half after an Iris Barone leadoff triple. The senior speedster raced home to score on a Regan Valenzuela ground out, making it 1-0. 

- Goldberg rolled through the opening three innings without allowing a hit, adding two more strikeouts in a 1-2-3 third. Rasmussen then brought across a pair in the bottom half with a two-run double to take a 3-0 advantage. 

- The Nittany Lions rallied for a couple hits in the fourth, but lined into an inning-ending double play to squander a scoring opportunity. Swarthmore added a run in the bottom half after Berks extended the inning with a two-out error. McClure came through with the big hit, lining an RBI single up the middle. 

- Berks brought across a run in the fifth to shrink its deficit to three runs. Castor then entered in the sixth, cruising through the frame with two strikeouts and a putout at first base. 

- Rasmussen drove home her third run with an RBI single in the sixth, making it 5-1. Castor then shut the door with a clean seventh inning, striking out the side and stranding a runner at second base. 

GARNET OFFENSIVE LEADERS
Rasmussen: 3-for-3,, 3 RBI, 2B
McClure: 3-for-4, RBI, R

GARNET PITCHING LEADERS
Goldberg: (W, 6-3), 5.0 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 6 SO
Castor: 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 SO


PSU BERKS 0, SWARTHMORE 9
HOW IT HAPPENED
- After a quick 1-2-3 first inning from Barron, the Garnet bats exploded for five runs in the bottom frame. Barone opened her second-straight game with a triple, tying the program record for career triples. The senior then came home to score on a wild pitch. McClure, Kate Borza and Serafina Tinio then singled home runs before the Garnet plated one more on a fielding error, making it 5-0. 

- McClure added two more runs in the second with a double to center field. Barone singled to open the inning, while Emilee Espinoza scored after reaching on an error.

- Swarthmore scraped across two runs in the third with some two-out magic. Elisabeth O'Connor kept the inning alive with a walk and then scored on a Barone double. Regan Valenzuela then brought home the team's ninth run with a single, building a 9-0 cushion.

- Barron entered the fifth inning with a no-hitter. Rasmussen kept the bid alive with a heads-up play, fielding a tough ground ball that deflected off Barron's glove. However, the Nittany Lions broke up the bid with a hard-hit liner off the shortstop's glove. 

GARNET OFFENSIVE LEADERS
McClure: 2-for-3, 3 RBI, R, 2B
Barone: 3-for-3, RBI, 3 R, 3B, 2B

GARNET PITCHING LEADERS
Barron: (W, 4-3), 5.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 SO

UP NEXT
The Garnet (12-6) travel to Neumann University on Tuesday.