AMHERST, MA – The Amherst College softball team picked up a pair of conference wins over Hamilton College Sunday afternoon, cruising to an 11-1 result in the first game before using some late-game heroics to earn a 4-3 victory in the nightcap. Amherst improves to 9-7 (2-0 NESCAC West), while Hamilton drops to 1-11 (0-2).
The Continentals took a 3-2 lead in the top of the eighth inning of the second game but could not hang on for the win. Carolyn Miller '14 (Leominster, MA) tied things up at 3-3 when she led off the bottom half of the frame with a solo home run, taking the first pitch she saw over the fence in left center. After Theresa Kelley '13 (Los Angeles, CA) tripled with two outs, Annemarie Iker '12 (Mill Valley, CA) provided the winning hit and secured the sweep with an RBI-single to left.
The lead changed hands three times in the nightcap, with Hamilton chalking up a run in the third inning thanks to a sacrifice fly by Lisa Faraci '13. Amherst tied it up in the fourth on an RBI-double by Iker and took a 2-1 lead in the fifth when Miller drove in Arielle Doering '14 (Branchburg, NJ) with a sac fly.
The Continentals brought the score to 2-2 in the sixth, as Faraci led off with a double down the left field line, allowing pinch runner Jennifer Rougeux '14 to score the tying run when Melissa Kaknis '13 singled to left.
Hamilton regained the lead at 3-2 in the eighth when Leigh Sherrow '11 singled, moved to second on a sac bunt, advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on a single up the middle from Liz Reid '11. The Continentals' celebration was short-lived, however, as Miller's homer and Iker's walk-off single helped the Jeffs pick up their sixth consecutive win in the NESCAC West rivalry.
Iker and Kelley each had two hits in the second game, while Reid was 3-for-4 with an RBI for the visitors. Kelley struck out eight, allowed seven hits and did not walk a batter in 7.2 innings, as she improved to 6-5 with a pair of wins on Sunday. Amy Appel '13 pitched well but took the loss, giving up four runs on seven hits with three strikeouts in 7.2 innings.
The first game was a much different story, as Amherst scored 11 unanswered runs after falling into an early 1-0 hole. The Continentals got on the board in the top of the first when Ashley Perritt '14 singled, advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt and scored on a throwing error to make it a 1-0 game.
Amherst responded immediately and strung together three hits in the bottom of the first, but it was Kelley's three-run blast that made the difference. The Jeffs added two runs in the third on a 2-RBI double by Iker and would put the mercy rule into effect with another six runs in the fourth.
Kelley and Iker each had two hits and three RBIs, while Doering and Christina Anderson '13 (Port St. Lucie, FL) added two hits apiece. Kelley earned the win by allowing only three hits in five innings, striking out six and walking none. Chelsea Merritt '14 took the loss after surrendering six runs on seven hits and three walks in 3.2 innings.
The Lord Jeffs will return to action Wednesday, Apr. 6, when they host Westfield State in a non-conference doubleheader.
GAME 1 BOX SCORE
GAME 2 BOX SCORE
