AMHERST, Mass. -- Tuesday's doubleheader between the Amherst College team and its counterparts from Worcester Polytechnic Institute featured a pair pf magnificent pitcher's duel's that both ended up in the Engineers favor by 1-0 and 2-1 counts.
The double dip took the Mammoths' record to 7-24 for the season while WPI improved to 17-12-1. Amherst will have Senior Day Saturday when it hosts Middlebury for a doubleheader beginning at 11:30 a.m.
Game 1, WPI 1, Amherst 0
* The only run of this game came early -- in the top of the first. With two outs and nobody on, Sandy Fairbairn ripped a single through the left side of the Mammoths' infield. Riley O'Brien followed by drilling a pitch into the right-center field gap that scored Fairbairn from first and went for an RBI-double.
* The Mammoths biggest threat came in the bottom of the second when Dan Torres Werra led off with a double to center.
Sadie Pool followed with an infield single. She took second on a throwing error on the play, while Torres Werra moved to third with no outs. WPI hurler Naomi Boldebuck escaped te jam with a strikeout, infield pop up and another K to end the threat.
* Amherst would get a one-out single to right from
Dylan Briggs in the bottom of the fifth, but Boldebuck would go on to retire the final eight batters she faced to complete the four-hit shutout. The WPI hurler improved to 6-3 by allowing four hits over seven innings, walking one and striking out nine.
*
Annalise Knop took the loss, going the first two innings and allowing the single run.
Abby Moravek was stellar in relief, throwing five innings and allowing six hits and one walk while striking out five.
Game 2, WPI 2, Amherst 1 (6 Inn,, Darkness)
* Amherst took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first, scoring after Olivia Aitekn worked a walk, went to second on groundout and scored when
Randi Finkelstein grounded a single back up the middle to score Aitken from second to make 1-all.
* Destiny Lum's RBI-single in the top of the second tied the game and WPI went ahead with a run in the third. The Engineers loaded the bases with no outs on back-to-back singles and a fielding error. O'Brien then lofted a sacrifice fly to left for a 2-1 lead, but Torres Werra retired the next two batters to keep it a one-un game.
* With the sunlight dimming and no lights, the Mammoths made a valiant effort to tie the game in the bottom of the sixth. Finkelstein reached second on an error and was sacrificed to second by Torres Werra. With two outs, Bruggs drew a walk, but
Heidi Li's fly ball to left was caught to end the threat and, it turned out, the game, as the umpires halted play due to darkness.
* Torres Werra was the heard-luck loser, throwing six innings and allowing six hits while walking one and striking out two. WPI's Kaitlyn Barr was the winner, allowing four hits over six frames while walking three and striking out three.
* Finkelstein was 2 for 3 with an RBI for Amherst.
