CHESTER, Pa. (Apr. 14, 2016) – Sophomore Taylor Allen (Northeast, Md.) ignited the offense by going yard for the second straight game in the opener and junior Bree VanReenen (Elkton, Md.) drove in two runs with one swing of the bat in the nightcap to help lead the Widener University softball team to a twinbill sweep of Haverford on Thursday afternoon. The Pride won by scores of 5-0 and 3-2 to extend their winning streak to 15 straight games.
 
In the opener, Widener broke out by plating four runs in the bottom of the third inning to get all the run insurance it needed. Allen led off the frame by homering to left field to put the Pride on the board before junior Ally Horvath (Chalfont, Pa.) singled through the right side, stole second and came home on a double to right field by sophomore Lauren DelRomano (Broomall, Pa.). Sophomore Katie Sterling (Middletown, Del.) and senior Taylor Church (Glen Mills, Pa.) later hit an RBI double and RBI single, respectively, to put the Pride in control.
 
Haverford (13-15) had its chances to get on the scoreboard in the middle innings, but the Pride came up with several key plays in the circle and on defense to help preserve the shutout. After Schengrund flipped the ball over to Allen for a sure out at first base, Allen made a hard throw to VanReenen at third to gun down Julia Blake for an inning-ending double play to conclude the fourth. Schengrund then got out of a major jam with two runners in scoring position in the fifth by catching Alexandria Craig looking at strike three.
 
By winning her seventh straight decision, Schengrund won her seventh straight decision and improved her record to 11-1 for Widener. She fanned four, allowed four hits and did not issue a walk over five shutout frames. Sophomore Katie Rabuck (Hegins, Pa.) was solid in relief by throwing two scoreless innings and not surrendering a hit. Haverford's Emily Winesett took the loss after giving up four runs, which were all earned, and eight hits over four innings of work.
 
Haverford took an early 1-0 advantage in the nightcap on a sacrifice fly by Jessica Koshinski which plated Blake in the top of the first, but the hosts quickly responded by scoring twice in the bottom of the second. VanReenen provided another clutch hit by smashing a hard single to right center to score senior Heather Forward (Philadelphia, Pa.) and Sterling. Taylor Church then sent what would stand as the winning run to the dish by hitting a sacrifice fly to deep right field in the sixth.
 
The Fords attempted to rally and were able to close the deficit to a single run on a sacrifice fly by Craig in the top of the seventh. But with two outs and the winning run at the plate, Rachel Wolfson hit into a fielder's choice to end the threat. Senior Alie Alkins (Aston, Pa.) successfully fielded the ground ball and flipped it over to DelRomano at second for the final out.
 
Horvath picked up the victory and won her fourth straight decision to improve to 4-2 for Widener. She surrendered four hits and just one run, which was earned, over five innings of work. Junior Devin Coyne (Chesapeake, Va.) picked up her first save of the season after allowing one hit and one run in two innings of relief. Haverford's Sara Tauriello, who was pulled after just 1.1 innings of work, was tagged with the loss. She was charged with yielding three hits and two runs, which were both earned, and issued one walk.
 
Widener (21-3) will look to continue to extend its winning streak when it visits Albright for a twinbill on Saturday, Apr. 16 at 1:00 p.m.