LANCASTER, PA - The Swarthmore College softball team earned a pair of wins over Franklin & Marshall College on Tuesday afternoon. The Garnet rolled to a 5-0 victory in the opener, before rallying for a 6-5 decision in the eight-inning finale. 

Lia Fong played a crucial role in both victories. The sophomore hit a three-run homer to open the scoring in game one, and then closed out the second game with a game-winning single in the eighth. Avery McClure backed up her title of Centennial Player of the Week, logging four hits with two runs and an RBI. 

The reigning Centennial Pitcher of the Week, Lilly Goldberg, also had an impressive performance with seven scoreless innings. The sophomore surrendered just three hits with two walks, while striking out four batters. Iris Castor was equally as masterful in game two, tossing 6.2 scoreless innings of relief with five punch outs. 

Iris Barone took down another program record, totaling two steals in game one to break the Swarthmore record for career stolen bases. The senior passed Marit Vike '19 with her 89th career stolen base. 

F&M 0, SWARTHMORE 5
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Fong put the Garnet ahead with one big swing in the second inning. Elisabeth O'Connor and Serafina Tinio both reached to kickstart a one-out rally, while Fong then sent a home run down the left field line to take a 3-0 lead.

- Goldberg faced the minimum after three innings. The sophomore tallied three strikeouts without allowing a baserunner to shut down the Diplomat bats.

- Swarthmore rallied for another run in the fourth inning after loading the bases with singles from Regan Valenzuela and Linnaea Rasmussen, and a McClure walk. The Garnet plated one run on a wild pitch, making it 4-0.

- The Garnet added one final insurance run in the sixth. Kate Borza led off the inning with a pinch-hit single, and then advanced to second on a Fong sacrifice. She eventually came home to score on Valenzuela single up the middle.

GARNET OFFENSIVE LEADERS
Fong: 1-for-2, HR, 3 RBI
Valenzuela: 2-for-4, RBI

GARNET PITCHING LEADERS
Goldberg: (W, 9-3) 7.0 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 4 SO


F&M 5, SWARTHMORE 6
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Swarthmore got off to a hot start, rallying for four runs in the first. The Garnet scored their first run on an error before O'Connor brought home two with a triple. Borza then singled in another run to complete the four-run frame. 

- Franklin & Marshall stormed back with five runs over the next two innings to take a 5-4 lead. Castor, who entered mid-inning in relief, escaped further damage with a pair of groundouts to close the stanza. 

- Castor held the Diplomats in check with a 1-2-3 third inning, before stranding a runner at third base with three-straight groundouts in the fourth. 

- Swarthmore evened the score in the fifth inning on a McClure single up the middle. Emilee Espinoza started the rally with a double to center field. 

- Castor settled into the game nicely, facing the minimum in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings. Fong then won the game for the Garnet in the top of the eighth with a game-winning single to center. 

GARNET OFFENSIVE LEADERS
McClure: 3-for-4, R, RBI
O'Connor: 1-for-3, 2 RBI, R

GARNET PITCHING LEADERS
Castor: (W, 3-0)  6.2 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 SO

UP NEXT
The Garnet (17-7, 4-0) travel to McDaniel College on Saturday.