GETTYSBURG, Pa.  – The Gettysburg College softball team stared down elimination three times in the Centennial Conference Championship on Saturday to move one step closer to the program's first conference crown in over a decade.
 
Gettysburg (24-14), which dropped its playoff opener to Washington College (17-22) on Friday, knocked McDaniel College (21-20-1) out of the tournament with a 5-2 victory to open Saturday. The Bullets avenged the first defeat with a 6-3 decision in nine innings against the Shorewomen to reach the championship finals against Haverford College (21-12), which had won both of its playoff contests. Gettysburg broke out the bats for its highest-scoring output of the season in a 14-6 five-inning decision over the Fords.
 
The victories force a deciding showdown between Gettysburg and Haverford scheduled for Sunday at noon at Bobby Jones Field.
 
Senior Aileen Reilly (Huntington Station, N.Y./St. Anthony's) became the program's all-time leader in victories against McDaniel, but it took some work to get there. The Green Terror put runners in scoring position in each of the first four innings, but only managed to score one run in the first inning.
 
Gettysburg connected on just one hit through the first four frames, but it was a big one. After two runners reached on a walk and error, sophomore Sarahrose Jonik (Glenmoore, Pa./Villa Maria Academy) lifted her team-best fourth home run of the spring over the fence in right-center to spot the hosts a 3-1 lead.
 
McDaniel pulled to the score to 3-2 with an RBI groundout in the fifth, but RBI singles by freshman Madison Cannatelli (East Wenatchee, Wash./Chaparral) and junior Meredith Taylor (Hamilton, N.J./Northern Burlington) in the sixth and seventh, respectively, provided some breathing room for the Bullets.
 
Reilly closed the game with a 1-2-3 seventh, striking out the final batter for her sixth whiff of the day. It was her 56th career victory, eclipsing the previous record she shared with 2006 graduate Shannon Kiry.
 
Haverford was down to its final at bat against Washington in Saturday's second affair, but the Fords rallied to take the lead on a grand slam by Emma Souter, who finished 3-for-4 with five RBI in the 6-3 decision.
 
Washington jumped in front of the Bullets early in Friday's meeting, but Saturday was a different story in game four of the tournament. The hosts grabbed the early advantage on fielding miscues to take a 2-0 lead in the first inning.
 
The Shorewomen cut the lead in half with a run in the fourth, but Baker launched a double to right field to bring home a run for Gettysburg. Caroline Braungard tied the game with a two-run double in the sixth and neither team managed to score in the seventh despite the Bullets putting the first two runners on base.
 
After leaving the bases loaded in the eighth, Gettysburg seized its opportunity in the ninth as senior Wendy Folfas (Westminster, Md./McDonogh School) plated the game-winning run with a single to right-center. The ball was misplayed by the center fielder, allowing another run to cross the dish for a 5-3 lead.
 
Junior Morgan Clauser (Columbus, N.J./Northern Burlington) polished off three scoreless innings by stranding a runner at first in the ninth inning to earn the victory. Reilly tossed the first six innings, allowing three runs on 12 hits with four strikeouts.
 
Folfas went 3-for-4, while sophomore Taylor Doi (Foster City, Calif./San Mateo) went 2-for-4 with two runs scored.
 
Saturday's final contest witnessed the Bullets jump out to a 9-0 lead. Jonik posted a triple and a double in the first two innings, while Doi and senior Stephanie Leonardo (East Haddam, Conn./Choate Rosemary Hall) each drove in a pair of runs. Freshman Shelby Baker (Pickerington, Ohio/Pickerington) provided the big blow with a three-run homer – her third dinger in the last five games – in the second inning.
 
Haverford made a game of it with five runs in the third inning, including two coming home on a double by Marybeth Stone. The teams each picked up a run in the fourth inning to set the score at 10-6 heading into the fifth.
 
The Bullets loaded the bases to start the fifth frame and Doi drew a walk to bring home a run. After a run scored on a fielder's choice, Cannatelli registered another big hit on the day with a two-run single up the middle to give Gettysburg a 14-6 lead.
 
The Fords needed one run to avoid an early ending, but Clauser shut the door on a bases-loaded situation with a strikeout.
 
Clauser improved to 13-4 with the win. Jonik, Folfas, and junior Sophia Blasius (Ramsey, N.J./Ramsey) all posted two hits. Jonik scored two runs and Blasius drove in two. Doi tallied a hit, two walks, three runs, and three RBI. Leonardo scored twice and drove in two runs.
 
Gettysburg seeks its first CC championship since 2007. The team has finished runner-up in two of the last three campaigns. If the teams are unable to play on the field due to weather conditions Sunday, the title and automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Championship will go to the Bullets as the highest remaining seed.