BY DERRICK WU

In print | Published May 1, 2003

The women’s softball team closed out the 2003 season this Tuesday with a pair of losses against regular season conference champion McDaniel College. The Tide battled the Green Terror in both games, holding early leads before eventually losing the first game 6-1 and the nightcap 8-4. The Tide finished the season with a 6-23 overall record, 4-12 in the CC.

In the first inning of the day game, catcher Mary Mintel ‘05 singlehandedly produced the team’s lone run with a single into centerfield. She reached second on a wild pitch, advanced to third on a passed ball and scored on an error.

McDaniel ace Samantha Abrams settled down after the first inning, striking out eight Garnet batters to earn the win.

In the second game of the doubleheader, the Garnet jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first inning. Shortstop Pam Lavallee ’03 hit a double to score Mintel and Danielle Miller ’06. Val Marone ’05 and Christine Procacci ’06 followed with two singles to load the bases. Mary Blair ’05 singled to right field to score Lavallee, and pitcher Emily Remus ’06 helped her own cause at the plate by driving home Miller on a ground out.

Remus struck out 10 batters and kept the Green Terror at bay for much of the game. McDaniel eventually tied the game at four apiece in the fifth inning, and added three more runs in the sixth and one in the seventh to win the game. “They got a bunch of runs in the last couple of innings,” Remus said.

Although the Garnet lost both games, they were pleased with their performance. “It went surprisingly well because McDaniel was at the top of our conference,” Remus said. “We were worried about getting slaughtered, but we were competitive in both games.”

Remus turned in a pitching gem, striking out 10 batters in the second game of the doubleheader. “My rise ball was working well that game,” Remus said. “They could not lay off of it.”

Remus and her fellow underclassmen give the Tide a bright future. After starting the season with a few blowout losses, the first-years have adjusted well to make the Tide a competitive ballteam in the second half of the season. “I didn’t pitch quite as well in the first half of the season, and my stats reflected that. I was worried about facing older and better ballplayers,” Remus said. “I pitched better in the second half of the season. After the first win or so, we were able to perform better, because we had more faith in ourselves. Overall, our team became more confident when we won a few games.”

Swarthmore’s young group of players will only improve in the upcoming seasons as they mature and gain more confidence in their ability.

“I think we definitely have a bright future. We’re looking to get a few more wins,” Remus said. “We’ll definitely be doing better next season.”

Unfortunately, the team will be losing five seniors next season, including shortstop Pam Lavallee. “We’re going to miss all of our seniors. They all contributed,” Remus said.

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