AMHERST, Mass. --
Jess Butler lined a one-out, two-run single in the bottom of the seventh Saturday to lift the Amherst College softball team to a 5-4 walk-off victory over WPI and a sweep of their doubleheader against the Engineers at the Amherst Softball Field.
The Mammoths won the opener in eight innings, with
Autumn Lee starring in the role of walk-off hero with a game-winning sacrifice fly in the bottom of the eighth that gave Amherst a 3-2 victory.
With the sweep the Mammoths are now 8-2 while WPI falls to 8-8 overall. Amherst is back in action Wednesday for a doubleheader at Western New England University beginning at 3 p.m.
GAME 1
* It was Butler who gave the Mammoths a boost in the opener, crushing a two-run homer to left field in the bottom of the second that scored
Rachel Lovejoy, who had led off the inning with a double to left center.
* WPI tied it with two runs off Mammoth starter
Dani Torres Werra in the top of the 4th. Jocelyn Diaz had a sacrifice fly and, with two outs, Kallie Case doubled to left to tie the game, 2-2. The Diaz fly out was recorded with a sensational diving catch by left field
Megan Taketa.
* It stayed 2-2 through seven innings. Both teams threatened in the sixth. Mammoth reliever
Audrey Orlowski worked out a first and second with one out jam but getting Diaz to fly out and striking out Case to end the frame. In the Amherst sixth, a single by Lee and a walk to Lovejoy put runners on first and second. With two outs, WPI brought in Sophia Togneri to face Orlowski and the left-hander struck out the Mammoth to squash the threat.
* The international tiebreaker rule was put in place to start the 8th, which meant each team had a runner on second with no outs. Orlowski worked around that problem by retiring three straight batters on two fly outs and a ground out to third.
*Amherst won the game in its half of the eighth. Taketa began the inning on second. A daring baserunning move by her resulted in the win. On a grounder to short, she held her ground until the throw was released to first. She then broke for third and narrowly beat the return throw from the Engineer first sacker. Lee then came through with a medium fly ball to left, more than deep enough to score Taketa without a play at the dish.
* Orlowski picked up the win, going three scoreless frames while allowing one hit and one walk while fanning one batter. Amherst finished with five hits, one each from Taketa, Lee, Lovejoy, Butler, Pool.
GAME 2
* Amherst trailed 4-2 entering the bottom of the seventh inning of this rain-soaked affair. After one out, Orlowski got things started with a single to center. Taketa followed with a line drive to left that put Mammoths on first and second. Both runners moved up on a wild pitch and WPI brought in Tognieri, who walked Lee to load the bases and then Lovejopy to force in a run that made it 4-3. Butler then drilled a 2-2 pitch between first and second that score Taketa with the tying run and Lee with the game-winner.
* Orlowski picked up the win in this one too, tossing 1 2/3 scoreless innings.
* The Mammoths trailed 2-0 but rallied to tie the game at 2 with just one hit.
Mia Castro and
Talia Bloxham led off the third with back-to-back walks and a wild pitch moved them to second and third with no outs. Taketa scored one run with a sharp one-hopper to second. Lee then drilled a single through the shortstop hole to tie the game.
* WPI regained the lead when Alicia Salvalzo and Case launched solo home runs in the span of three batters in the top of the sixth inning.
* Amherst had four hits, one each by Taketa, Lee, Butler and Orlowski.
