Hamilton College lost both ends of a New England Small College Athletic Conference West Division doubleheader against Amherst College at the Amherst Softball Field on April 3.
Hamilton (1-11 overall, 0-2 NESCAC West) was edged 4-3 in eight innings in the second game. The Continentals scored a run in the top of the eighth to grab a 3-2 lead. But the Jeffs won it with two in the bottom of the frame, including the winning run with two outs.
Amherst (9-7, 2-0) won the opener 11-1 in five innings. The game was stopped due to the eight-run mercy rule. The teams will play the third and final game of their division series at a later date.
In Game 2, Liz Reid '11 had a career-high three hits and drove in a run. Lisa Faraci '13 doubled and drove in a run. Melissa Kaknis '13 singled and plated a run. Amy Appel '13 pitched all 7.2 innings, allowed four runs and scattered seven hits. Appel walked one and fanned three.
Carolyn Miller ’14 tied things up at 3-3 with a solo home run, taking the first pitch she saw over the fence in left center. After Theresa Kelley ’13 tripled with two outs, Annemarie Iker ’12 provided the winning hit with an RBI-single to left.
The lead changed hands three times in the nightcap. Hamilton chalked up a run in the third inning thanks to a sacrifice fly by Faraci. Amherst tied it up in the fourth on an RBI-double by Iker and took a 2-1 lead in the fifth when Miller drove in Arielle Doering ’14 with a sac fly.
The Continentals brought the score to 2-2 in the sixth. Faraci led off with a double down the left field line, which allowed pinch runner Jennifer Rougeux ’14 to score the tying run when Kaknis singled to left.
Hamilton regained the lead at 3-2 in the eighth when Leigh Sherrow ’11 singled, moved to second on a sac bunt, advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on a single up the middle by Reid.
In Game 1, Ashley Perritt '14 singled and scored a run. Faraci and Sam Miller '14 added singles. Chelsea Merritt '14 started in the circle and took the loss. Merritt allowed six runs in 3.2 innings.
Amherst scored 11 unanswered runs after falling into an early 1-0 hole. The Continentals got on the board in the top of the first when Perritt singled, advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt and scored on a throwing error.
Amherst responded immediately with three hits in the bottom of the first, but it was Kelley’s three-run blast that made the difference. The Jeffs added two runs in the third on a two-run double by Iker, and put the mercy rule into effect with six runs in the fourth.
Hamilton travels to Utica College for a non-conference doubleheader on Tuesday, April 5.
