Courtesy of Springfield College Sports Information
SPRINGFIELD, MA – Jaimie Moran hit a three-run home run to provide the big hit, allowing her Springfield College softball team to defeat Amherst, 6-2, in game two of a doubleheader at Potter Field on a cool and windy afternoon. In game one, the Lord Jeffs were propelled by an eight-run inning that allowed them to defeat the Pride, 10-5.
With the split, Springfield is now 5-7 overall, while Amherst is 8-3. The second game was called in the sixth inning due to darkness.
In the nightcap, senior Shanda Kogut knocked in the game's first run in the bottom of the second inning on a slap single to left, giving the Pride a 1-0 lead. Amherst wasted no time tying things up when junior Alex Chang-Graham (San Carlos, CA) led off the third with a home run.
Springfield scored five times in the bottom of the third, as seniors Amanda Lyons and Aimee Cassella led off with back-to-back walks. Junior Michelle Wlosek then hit a ball up the middle for a single, with Lyons scoring from second. Senior Danielle Spiro doubled home Springfield's third overall run, but it was Moran who put the capper on the inning with a line shot three-run homer to left field to give the Pride a 6-1 lead.
Amherst tallied its second run in the top of the sixth as the sun was going down on a walk, an error, a wild pitch, and a sacrifice fly by first-year catcher Annemarie Iker (Mill Valley, CA). Following the third out, however, the umpires called the game because of darkness.
For Springfield, first-year Megan Fitzgerald went the distance and allowed only two hits. She struck out two and walked three in raising her record to 3-2. For Amherst, the losing pitcher was starter Samantha Presnal (Belchertown, MA), who pitched 2+ innings, giving up all six runs on five hits to move to 2-2 on the season. Senior Maddie Tamagni (Salinas, CA) pitched the final three innings, giving up just one hit and no runs.
In the first game, Amherst started off by scoring twice in the first inning. Junior Jackie Tyler (Ridgewood, NJ) hit the game's very first pitch sharply to left for a single. Following a sacrifice bunt, slick-fielding first-year shortstop Carly Dudzik (Darien, CT) doubled in a run to right-center. Moments later, junior Emily Neill (Kentfield, CA) doubled home Dudzik to the exact same spot to make it 2-0. Although Amherst did not score the rest of that inning, it did manage to load the bases, knocking out Springfield ace Samantha Rhodes, who recorded 22 wins last year.
Springfield came back to score two runs in the bottom of the second to tie it at 2-2. The big hit was a two-out, two-run single by senior Angie Atkins. The Pride took a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the fourth, with Atkins knocking in a run with a sacrifice fly to center. That inning ended when Lyons hit into a double play as she flew out to Tyler in center, with Tyler then throwing out a runner at the plate.
Amherst exploded for eight runs in the top of the fifth to give Chang-Graham a comfortable lead. Springfield sophomore hurler Katie Anderson, who ultimately took the loss (0-3), had pitched well in place of Rhodes, but she committed an error on a comebacker to start off that inning. Following a walk, Neill then knocked in the tying run with a single. Iker followed with another single to score the go-ahead run, and Amherst scored six more runs that inning off a total of three pitchers.
Other big hits were provided by senior Holly Trace (Northport, AL) with an RBI-single, by Chang-Graham with an RBI-single, and by Tyler with a two-RBI single. Senior Alexa Princi (Darien, CT) added a sacrifice fly to center to score the inning's final run.
Springfield scored twice more in the bottom of the seventh on a two-run home run by Wlosek, her first and the team's first of the year. Chang-Graham went the distance, allowing five runs on 12 hits. She walked two and struck out five in raising her record to 5-1.
The Lord Jeffs will have little time to rest before traveling to take on WPI on Wednesday at 4:30 p.m.
GAME ONE BOX SCORE
GAME TWO BOX SCORE
