COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. –  The Ursinus Softball team earned their third-straight Centennial Conference series sweep by taking down Swarthmore in a doubleheader at the Snell Softball Field on Tuesday afternoon. The Bears rallied to win game one 8-6 before run-ruling the Garnet 10-2 in six innings for game two.
 
 
With the sweep, the Bears improved to 22-9 overall and 7-2 in Centennial Conference action. The 22 wins are the most for Ursinus since the 2012 season when they had 23. Meanwhile, the Garnet dropped to 15-15 overall and 3-7 in conference play.
 
 
GAME 1: Ursinus 8, Swarthmore 6
The Garnet jumped on the Bears for three runs in the top of the first inning to take the early lead. The first five batters of the inning reached, and a pair of singles brought in the runs. Ursinus countered with two runs of their own in the bottom of the second inning and cut the deficit down to 3-2. Sophomore Samantha Mallen and junior Madison Wilson hit back-to-back singles with two outs that brought in the runs with the bases loaded. Ursinus struck again with two outs in the bottom of the third when first-year Kayla Carr tied the game with a double to right field, scoring senior Allyson Meakim from second base. The back and forth battle continued as the Garnet responded with two runs from a double in the top of the fourth to take the lead back at 5-3. However, the Bears answered right back in the bottom half of the inning when Meakim poked a single to left field to score the game and re-tie at five. A home run put the Garnet back in front in the top of the fifth before the Bears dealt the final knockout blow with three runs in the bottom of the fifth. A leadoff triple from junior Sarah DiLello led off the inning and she came around to score one batter later when Mallen grounded out to second. Three-straight Bears reached with two outs to keep the inning alive and junior Sara Sullivan knocked a two-run single to left field and broke the tie. First-year pitcher Christa Andrusiewicz bounced back from a tough top of the first inning to pitch two final scoreless and close out the game.
 

GAME 2: Ursinus 10, Swarthmore 2 (6 innings)
Much like game one, the Garnet scored first in the top of the first after using a leadoff triple from Iris Barone and sacrifice fly one batter later. Ursinus had an answer yet again for the Garnet as sophomore Stephanie Wichman singled to score Mallen on second base after she led the inning off with a single. The Bears powered ahead in the bottom of the third with five runs, three of which came with two outs and went up 6-1. DiLello singled to open the frame and came around to score on a throwing error after Wilson singled two batters later. A walk and single loaded the bases for junior Amanda Panati to drive in a run via a groundout to second base. Sullivan continued her big day at the plate in the next at-bat by hammering a triple to centerfield and scored two more runs. Carr followed on the next pitch by landing a double in the far right corner of the field to cap off the inning. Ursinus continued their relentless scoring with two outs on the day one inning later when Meakim singled to score Wilson on second after she started the rally by drawing a walk. Swarthmore brought in a run off a two-out single in the top of the fifth only to be countered once more by the Bears in the bottom half of the inning when DiLello tripled in senior Anna Mefford on second bases with two outs. Ursinus closed the game out in the bottom of the sixth behind a pair of bases loaded walks.
 
 
Sullivan went a combined 4-of-6 from the plate with five RBI's combined between the two games while drawing a pair of walks in game two. Meakim tallied two hits in each contest and scored four runs plus driving in three more. Carr drove in three runs combined in the two games and Mallen recorded a pair of RBI's along with a stolen base in game two. Andrusiewicz tied the Centennial lead with her 10th win of the season in game one as she went the distance while allowing six earned runs on nine hits with three walks on 118 pitches. Wichman tossed five solid innings in game two allowing just two earned runs on three hits with one walk. First-year Riley Coneeny fired a perfect sixth inning in game two in relief.
 
 
The Bears return to action on Thursday, April 20th as they will travel to face Alvernia in a non-conference doubleheader being made up from mid-March starting at 3:00 p.m.