CLERMONT, Fla. -- After losing its third straight and down a run in its second game of te day, the Amherst College softball team was looking for a pot of gold at thhe end of the rainbow.
The Mammoths found one in the form of a 10-run top of the third inning en route to a 15-4, five-inning mercy rule triumph over McDaniel College, their first win of the 2026 season.
Amherst is now 1-3 on the season heading into an off day tomorrow. The Mammoths are back in action Thursday when they face Clarkson University at 11:15 a.m. at Hancock Park, then take on Westminster (Mo.) at 1:30 p.m.
Game 2: Amherst 15, McDaniel 4 (5 Inn.)
* McDaniel led 1-0 entering the top of the third, but Amherst sent 15 batters to the plate and scored 10 times on eight hits and a pair of walks, plus a McDaniel error. With one out,
Samantha Portz ignited the rally with a walk and took second on
May Mishima's single.
Jayla Adkins then unloaded on a ball that rolled to the fence in left center and scored both runners, giving the Mammoths a 2-1 lead. Abby Reban then hit a frozen rope just over te leaping second baseman's glove for an RBI-single that scored Adkins.
*
Laura Daniels drew a free pass before
Brooke Wild blooped an RBI-single to center to score Rebhan for a 4-1 lead. Wild stole second before
Lauren Ro dropped a single into left to score Daniels.
Julia O'Connell ten dropped down a bunt she beat out for a single that loaded the bases.
Abby Moravek then drilled a grounder back up the middle for a two-run single and 7-1 lead. Adkins capped the uprising with a bullet into left that drove home two more for a 10-1 lead and gave er 4 RBIs in the frame.
* McDaniel scored three times in the bottom of the third to make it 10-4, but Amherst scored one in the fourth and four more in the fifth to account for the final score. Moravek clubbed a moonshot to the fence to score O'Connell in the fourth with an RBI-double. In the fifth, a two-run double to right center off the bat of Ro was the catalyst.
* Amherst finished with 14 hits in 5 innings. Adkins was 3 for 5 with 4 RBIs. Moravek was 2 for 3 with 3 RBIs. Ro and O'Connell were each 2 for 3 and scored five runs between them. Wild and Rebhan were each 2 for 4.
* Moravek improved to 1-0 in the circle, going five innings. allowing four hits while walking three and striking out six.
Game 1: Coe 10, Amherst 1 (6 Inn.)
* Amherst was trailing 10-0 with two outs in the bottom of the fifth but avoided the shutout when Adkins singled to left and took second on a fielding error and
Emma Nordstrom followed with an RBI-single to right.
* The Mammoths were limited to five hits in the game. Adkins and Nordstrom were each 2 for 3 and Ro was 1 for 3 in the loss.
* Amherst first-year
Gwen Religa pitched well and trailed 3-0 after 5 frames, but Coe broke it open in a 7-run top of the fifth of three Mammoth hurlers. Religa fell to 0-2 on the young season.
