HAVERFORD, Pa.- Eastern University Softball used solid pitching and timely hitting to win a pair of close games at Main Line rival Haverford College on Thursday night. The two wins extends the Eagles' (8-2) winning streak to eight games.

Maggie McGowan celebrated St. Patrick's day with a 6-2 win in the eight inning opener. The Eagles took the lead on a single tally in the fourth inning and stretched their edge to 2-0 in the sixth on Janelle Fair's first home run of the year. 

That extra run would come in handy as the Fords were finally able to scratch out a pair of runs against McGowan in the bottom of the inning. The junior right-hander had been pitching out of jams throughout the afternoon, and it finally caught up to her when the hosts loaded the bases with no one out in the bottom of the sixth.

McGowan jumped ahead in the count on Lauren Gil, but she made a mistake on an 0-2 change and the Haverford right fielder was able to keep her hands back and single up the middle for a run. McGowan went up 1-2 on the Haverford ninth hitter, but Jordan Nieusma battled back for a bases-loaded walk to tie the game and send the top of the order up with no one out.

The next two batters hit sharp ground balls at Fair who was playing half way at short. Each time, the sophomore shortstop threw home to force the lead runner. Fair finished the inning with a nice leaping grab on a soft line drive into short left field.

Neither team scored in seventh, so the game went to the international tie-breaker so each team would start the inning with a runner on second. McGowan delivered the big blow with two outs in the eighth when she drove a 1-2 fastball off the outside corner off the right-center field fence for a two-RBI double. Moments later, Fair picked up her third RBI of the day with a long drive to the left-field fence. Molly Oberholzer picked up the final RBI of the afternoon with a flare over the shortstop's head into short left field.

McGowan, who had pitched with runners on throughout the afternoon, breezed through the eighth for her third win of the year.

Fair pitched a gem in the nightcap. The sophomore standout scattered four hits and a walk and did not allow an earned run in the 3-1 win. The Eagles manufactured runs in each of the first two innings and let their defense and pitching take care of the rest. Fair faced her only serious jam of the afternoon when the Fords put a pair of runners on in the sixth, but she emerged unscathed thanks to solid defense behind her.

Haverford picked up a run in the bottom of the seventh after an error, but Fair finished the game with her fifth strikeout of the afternoon.

The Eagles begin conference play at Misericordia University this Saturday.