Courtesy of Hamilton Sports Information

CLINTON, N.Y. – The Amherst College softball team took the opener of Saturday's doubleheader against Hamilton College, 6-5, but dropped game two, 8-5, to split the twinbill at Ferguson Field.

The Jeffs took two out of three games against their conference rivals to claim the series. With the game one victory, Amherst (20-10, 6-6 NESCAC West) notched its third straight 20-win season. The Continentals are now 12-21 overall and 3-9 in league play following the doubleheader split.

Amherst returns to action Tuesday, Apr. 29 for its regular-season finale in a doubleheader at WPI beginning at 5 p.m.

GAME 1: AMHERST 6, HAMILTON 5
All 11 runs of the first game occurred in the sixth and seventh innings after five straight frames of scoreless play. Amherst capitalized on a pair of Hamilton errors to score four runs in the top of the seventh and go ahead, 6-3, but the Continentals scored twice in the bottom of the inning and put the tying and go-ahead runs on base before the Jeffs closed out the win.

Amherst starting pitcher Lauren Tuiskula '17 faced the minimum 15 batters over five innings (Sarah Moore '16 singled for Hamilton's only hit but was thrown out on a stolen base attempt) and was six outs away from the win. In the top of the sixth, the Jeffs scored twice following a walk to Leet and a double by Brianna Cook '16 to put runners on second and third before Alena Marovitz '17 singled both home to break the scoreless tie.

Becca Butler '17 led off the Hamilton sixth with a single up the middle and Jenn Rougeux '14 added a one-out single. Kelly Leonard '15 drilled a double to the right field corner to tie the game, then scored the go-ahead run on a single to right by Ellie Kiernan '15.

Pinch-hitter Carolyn Miller '14 and Kaitlin Silkowitz '14 opened the seventh with singles. A bunt by Kelsey Ayers '15 was thrown away to score the tying run and the go-ahead runs scored on another throwing error by the home team during an attempted rundown with Silkowitz caught between third and home. Donna Leet '15 scored Amherst's final run on an infield ground ball off the bat of Cook.

Chelsea Merritt '14 coaxed a one-out walk after falling behind 1-2 and one out later, Talia Mercado '15 doubled to bring the tying run to the plate. Rougeux hit a short pop-up in front of home plate that was misplayed, scoring one run and bringing Jackie Buechler '17 in to pitch in relief of Tuiskula. Hannah Staab '17 lined Buechler's first pitch off the first baseman to score Mercado and pull the Continentals to within a run but Buechler struck out Hamilton's final batter on three pitches en route to the win.

Silkowitz, Ayers and Alena Marovitz '17 had two hits apiece for Amherst with Marovitz and Leet driving in a pair of runs each. Tuiskula struck out four and picked up her third win of the spring. Buechler's save was her first.

GAME 2: HAMILTON 8 AMHERST 5
The Jeffs scored four runs with a two-out second-inning rally to take a 4-1 lead before Hamilton picked up a run in the bottom of the inning. Sarah McKay '16 started Amherst's outburst in the second, fouling off six pitches before reaching on a single to left. After Nicolette Miranda '16 singled, Silkowitz singled in a run, Ayers added a two-run single and Leet closed out the rally with a RBI single. A run-scoring double by Cook in the top of the fourth extended Amherst's lead to 5-3.

The Continentals then scored five runs in the bottom half of the inning to erase Amherst's two-run lead, then retired nine of the last 10 Jeff batters. Hamilton strung together five consecutive hits in the finning with Moore tying the score with a RBI single and Merritt singled in the go-ahead run.

Staab led off the fourth with an infield single and was bunted to second. Kiernan singled for the first of five straight Continental hits. Sam Miller '14 doubled home Staab to cut Amherst's lead to 5-4 and Moore followed with a single to left that brought Kiernan home with the tying run. Merritt's single to second base put the Continentals ahead to stay and run-scoring singles by Becca Butler '17 and Rougeux  gave Hamilton a pair of insurance runs.

Leonard (7-12) earned the win with five innings of one-run relief. She set the Jeffs down in order in the fifth, allowed a one-out double in the sixth, and closed out the win by retiring the side on seven pitches in the seventh. Miller, Butler, Rougeux and Staab each finished with two of Hamilton's 15 hits.

Five Jeffs recorded two hits while three others tallied one to give the visitors 13 total. Cook was a perfect 2-for-2 while Ayers, Leet, McKay and Miranda all went 2-for-4 with a run scored.