SWARTHMORE, Pa. – The Gettysburg Bullets softball team knocked off top-seeded Swarthmore 3-1 in the opening round of the 2022 Centennial Conference Softball Championship on Tuesday afternoon.
 
With the win, the fourth-seeded Bullets improved to 19-16 overall and will now face second-seeded Muhlenberg, who defeated third-seeded McDaniel 3-1, on Friday. Meanwhile, the Garnet fell to 26-5 overall and will face the Green Terror in an elimination game. The remainder of the tournament will be played at Swarthmore after the Garnet earned the top overall seed.
 
 After each team was retired in order in the first inning, the Bullets got back-to-back singles from junior Olivia Moser (Robbinsville, N.J./Robbinsville) sophomore Allegra DeCandia (Basking Ridge, N.J./Ridge) to begin the top of the second. Freshman Carlie Goldstein (Verona, N.J./Verona) drew a walk to load the bases with two outs, but a sharp lineout to second base ended the inning. Bullets starting pitcher Paige Forry (Reading, Pa./Schuylkill Valley) worked around a second and third base no-out jam in the bottom of the inning to keep the game scoreless.
 
 Gettysburg once again looked poised to break onto the scoreboard first in the top of the third as freshman Gianna Peralta (Gillette, N.J./Bergen Catholic) singled via a bunt and advanced to third after junior Jess Campana (Brick, N.J./Saint John Vianney) followed with a single of her own. However, the Garnet prevented any damage by forcing a groundout followed by a strikeout. After the Bullets were retired in order in the top of the fourth, the Garnet took a 1-0 lead after executing a double steal of second base and home plate.
 
 The lead did not last long as sophomore Julia Smith (Marydel, Md./Queen Anne's County) roped a triple to right field to lead off the fifth inning and came home one batter later to tie the game off a single from sophomore Giovanna Komst (Londonderry, N.H./Londonderry). Peralta again reached first off a bunt single in the ensuing at-bat and Komst came around to score following an error from the Garnet right fielder to give the Bullets a 2-1 lead. Moser was then hit by a pitch to load the bases with no outs for the Bullets. Gettysburg was unable to push more runs across after the Garnet forced a pop fly in the infield and a double play as Peralta was thrown out at home trying to score from third base on a fly out.
 
 Forry retired the Garnet in order during the bottom of the fifth and the Bullets added a run in the top of the sixth to take a 3-1 lead. Sophomore Bailey Quinn (Hanford, Calif./Robinson Secondary School) and Goldstein opened the inning with back-to-back singles and each advanced a base following a wild pitch. Quinn then came around to score after another wild pitch for the Bullets third run of the game. Swarthmore looked the respond in the bottom half of the sixth as they put runners on first and second base with one out, but Forry worked out of trouble again by retiring the next two batters.
 
 Forry completed her gem in the bottom of the seventh by working around a one-out error behind a pair of strikeouts to preserve the win for the Bullets.
 
 Peralta went 2-of-4 from the plate while Komst and Campana each recorded an RBI. Forry was brilliant in the circle for Gettysburg as she allowed one earned run on four hits while striking out eight and walking two during 106 pitches. Meg Ozawa suffered the loss for the Garnet after allowing two runs (one earned) on seven hits and striking out six batters in five innings of work.
 
 The Bullets return to action on Friday, May 6th as they will take on Muhlenberg in the fourth game of the Centennial Conference Championship. The game will start 30 minutes after the completion of the Swarthmore/McDaniel game that will start at noon.