AMHERST, Mass. - First-year Donna Leet (Seattle, Wash.) broke the program's single-season RBI record to lead the Amherst softball team to a doubleheader sweep of local rival Western New England. Taking the first game of the twinbill, 5-1, Amherst overcame a 4-0 deficit in the nightcap, notching their 24th win of the season with a 15-4 (5) victory.
Finishing the day 6-for-7, Leet drove in four runs to up her season total to 34, surpassing the mark set by former Jeff Sarah Rinaldi '98 in 1998 (31). In just her first year in Purple & White, Leet has hit safely in 10-straight games and 23 of her 24 appearances.
Amherst returns to action on Friday, Apr. 13 at NESCAC West rival Hamilton College.
Game 1: Amherst 5, WNE 1
Trailing 1-0 in the bottom of the first after a Sara Barnes '12 two-out, solo homer in the top of the frame, Amherst quickly responded, pushing three across on three hits to build a two-run lead.
Kelsey Ayers '15 (Los Altos, Calif.) got the rally started with a lead-off single before swiping second to put the Jeffs' first runner in scoring position. After Golden Bears' starter Sarah Lempicki '12 struck out Kaitlin Silkowitz '14 (Scarsdale, N.Y.) to record the inning's first out, Leet tripled to right field, bringing home Ayers to tie the program's single season RBI record (31).
Reilly Horan '13 (Darien, Conn.) then kept things rolling for the Jeffs, blasting her first roundtripper of the season before Lempicki induced a Carolyn Miller '14 (Leominster, Mass.) pop-up for the second out. Looking to add to the Amherst tally, Carly Dudzik '12 (Darien, Conn.) laced a triple into the right centerfield gap, but Lempicki struck out Idalia Friedson '15 (Trumbull, Conn.) to retire the side and escape any further damage.
Hoping to cut into the Amherst lead, first-year Emily Mastropaolo reached on an error with one out in the top of the second before advancing on a Katie Eckert '14 single through the left side. With two aboard, Jeff starter Theresa Kelley '13 (Los Angeles, Calif.) bore down, popping up Jocelyn Agnelli '15 before striking out Hannah Hill '15 to end the threat.
Settling in, Kelley allowed just one hit, while striking out three over the next three innings before Amherst tacked on an insurance run in the bottom of the fifth. Ayers led off the frame with a bunt single down the third base line before stealing second. With one out and Leet up, Ayers advanced to third on a comebacker to the mound before coming home on a Golden Bear error at second base that allowed the ball to get into the outfield and the Jeffs' fourth run to score.
Leet went 3-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored, while Horan hit1-for-3 with two RBI. Ayers had a pair of base-knocks for the Jeffs, who finished with seven for the game.
Kelley scattered five hits in a complete game effort, striking out 11 without issuing a walk to improve to 13-0 on the year. The conference leader in strikeouts, she has been especially efficient of late, striking out 67 batters in her last nine outings to just one walk.
Lempicki lasted five innings in the loss, surrendering four runs on six hits. Barnes paced the WNE lineup with a 2-for-3 showing, while Eckert, Rachel Wyrwa '12 and Grace Kucharski '15 accounted for the rest of the Golden Bears' five hits.
Game 2: Amherst 15, WNE 4 (5 innings)
Hoping to get to Amherst starter Arielle Doering '14 (Branchburg, N.J.) early, the Golden Bears loaded the bases with one out in the top of the first. Bringing in the game's first score, Lempicki ripped a line drive to third before Eckert reached on an error that allowed another WNE run to score.
Wyrwa then came home on a wild pitch before a Samantha Mulhern '15 walk followed by a Avery Clark '15 single brought home Lempicki, spelling the end of Doering's day. Looking to limit the damage, Kelley entered the game in relief, getting Maria Fancese '14 (Hinsdale, Mass.) to pop-up to short before striking out Agnelli to get the Jeffs out of the frame down just four.
Trying to jumpstart the Amherst offense, Ayers led off the bottom of the inning with a double down the line before Carly Dudzik '12 (Darien, Ct.), lifted a two-run homer over the left field fence to cut the Golden Bear lead in half.
With Doering on in the bottom of the second, Silkowitz beat out an infield single to short to put runners on the corners. Ayers then found a hole through the left side, plating the Jeffs' third run, before Dudzik flicked a single to center, scoring Silkowitz. After Dudzik swiped a base to put runners on second and third, Leet ripped a single to left, breaking the program's single-season RBI record (32) by driving in Ayers to give Amherst a 5-4 lead.
Trying to add to the margin, Friedson drew a lead-off walk in the third before advancing to second on a WNE error. With one out, Silkowitz singled to load the bases for Ayers, who drove in Doering with a groundout to second. Dudzik kept things going with an infield single that scored Karina Kossler '15 (Mission Viejo, Calif.), before Leet came up with another bit two-out hit, bringing home Silkowitz to stake the Jeffs to an 8-4 cushion they would not relinquish.
Ayers and Dudzik paced an Amherst lineup that pounded out 15 runs on 14 hits, combining for 10 RBI. Dudzik enjoyed a 4-for-4 day, falling a triple short of the cycle, while driving in five runs. Ayers went 3-for-4 with a single, double and triple. Leet finished 3-for-4 with three RBI as Amherst erupted for multiple runs all five innings, including a seven run fourth.
Kelley was once again superb in the win, tossing four and two thirds shutout innings with six strikeouts. Alyssa Obin '12 took the loss, giving up five runs on five hits in an inning and a third, while reliever Carolyn Hajdusek '15 surrendered 10 runs on nine hits.
BOX SCORE (Game 1)
BOX SCORE (Game 2)
