WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. – The Amherst College softball team suffered a pair of tough one-run setbacks to archrival Williams College on Saturday, dropping both ends of the teams' NESCAC West doubleheader by 4-3 and 8-7 margins.

Falling to 18-8 (3-5 NESCAC), the Jeffs lost leads in both contests as the Ephs improved to 3-2 in division play (9-15 overall). Donna Leet '15 went 2-for-3 with a home run and 3 RBI in the opener before Williams first-year Mo Frank's walk-off single ended a sloppy nightcap in which the teams combined for nine errors. 

Amherst jumped out to a first-inning lead in the first game when Kaitlin Silkowitz '14 hit a one-out single and Leet blasted her fourth round-tripper of the year. The Ephs quickly evened the score in the bottom half of the inning, however, as Ally Ensor plated a pair with a ground-rule double to left. With two on and still nobody out, Jeff starter Theresa Kelley '13 bore down and prevented a big inning, however, striking out Kacey Cramer before inducing a lineout and pop-up to retire the side. 

With Kelley settling in, Leet gave the Jeffs a lead in the third, driving in Kelsey Ayers '15 with a single, but Williams responded an inning later with the game's decisive runs as Amanda Correnti ripped a clutch two-out two-run single. Another single from Theresa Legan knocked Kelley from the game, but reliever Arielle Doering '14 kept it a one-run game as got Erica Li on a comebacker to end the frame.

Williams starter Emma Harrington kept the Jeffs in check the rest of the way as Brianna Cook '16 breathed hope into Amherst with a leadoff double in the seventh, but the Eph sophomore retired the next three Jeffs in order to preserve her complete game victory.

Leet was the only Jeff with multiple hits as Harrington scattered five hits over seven innings while striking out four and walking one. Kelley suffered just her second loss of the year, falling to 11-2, while Doering worked 2.1 perfect innings of relief to keep Amherst in the game.

The nightcap proved to be another back-and-forth affair as the Jeffs rallied from a 5-2 deficit to grab a 7-6 lead in the fifth inning but Williams had the last laugh, winning 8-7 in walk-off fashion on Frank's RBI single in the bottom of the seventh.

Amherst grabbed another 2-0 lead, scoring a pair of unearned runs thanks to three first-inning errors by the Ephs. But the hosts tied it against Doering in the second as Li drew a bases-loaded walk after an RBI single by Melissa Candejas. An inning later, a pair of Jeff errors proved costly as Williams plated three unearned runs to end Doering's day. 

The Jeffs grabbed a tally back in the top of the fourth as Cook led off with a double and Sarah McKay '16 chased her home with a two-out single, but the Ephs got the run right back on Ali Graebner's RBI knock against Amherst reliever Caroline Sealander '15.

Trailing 6-3, the Jeffs rallied in the fifth as Carolyn Miller '14 drove in Leet with an RBI double then Cook laid down a bunt to score Reilly Horan '13 and reached on a throwing error. Idalia Friedson '15 kept it going with a single to score Miller before McKay's RBI groundout plated Cook and gave Amherst the lead back, 7-6.

The Ephs responded quickly, however, tying it back up on Legan's RBI double off Sealander. Williams reliever Megan Casey, having already put out the fire in the fifth, kept Amherst quiet in the sixth before Kelley came on for the Jeffs and set Williams down in order. Miller started the seventh with a single for Amherst and Sherwill walked later in the frame, but the Jeffs could not bring either home, positioning Frank to drive in the winning run after Kaitlin Dinet singled to lead off the bottom half and advanced to third on the fourth Amherst error of the contest. 

Horan and Miller were each 2-for-4 for Amherst in the nightcap while McKay drove in two. Kelley took another tough loss despite not yielding an earned run in her 1.1 innings of relief.

The rivals will wrap up their three-game set in Amherst on Sunday with a 12 p.m. game.

GAME 1 BOX SCORE

GAME 2 BOX SCORE