Game One Box
Score
Game Two Box
Score
AMHERST, MA — Down four runs with six outs to go and on
the verge of suffering a sweep to archrival Amherst and losing out
on a berth in the NESCAC Tournament, the Williams College softball
team got up off the deck to score nine runs in its final two
at-bats and post a 10-6 victory over the Jeffs in game two of a
Saturday twinbill.
The win gave the Ephs (19-18 overall, 7-5 in the NESCAC West)
second place in the division and a spot in next weekend's NESCAC
Tournament to be held at NESCAC West Division champion Wesleyan.
Williams opens play Friday at 5 p.m. against NESCAC East Division
winner Tufts University.
Williams junior Joey Lye went 5 for 8 in the doubleheader,
setting two single-season Williams records in the process. Her five
hits gave her 62 for the season, surpassing the record of 60 set by
Laura Jacobs in the 1999 season. Her five total bases on the day
gave her 85, breaking the mark of 82 set in 2006 by Alana Frost.
"We were given some opportunities and we made the most of them,"
Williams head coach Kris Herman said. "We put the ball in play and
put the pressure on them. But we did not play well, and we have a
lot to work on between now and next Friday."
The nightcap was a tale of two halves, as the teams combined for
no runs and three hits through the first three and a half innings
of play before finishing with a bang. Amherst struck first in the
bottom of the fourth when sophomore Emily Neill walked with one out
before junior Holly Trace singled to left field to break up Mary
Beth Daub's no-hitter. Daub would strike out the side in the
inning, but not before Chang-Graham laced a two-out single up the
middle to bring in Neill for the first run of the game.
The Ephs responded with one run in the top of the fifth on an
RBI-single to right field by first-year Caitlyn Cain, but Amherst
broke things open in the home half of the inning with four unearned
runs. Trace came to the plate with two outs and the bases loaded
and took advantage of a Williams fielding error from earlier in the
inning, as she cleared the bases with a double to right center and
scored on an ensuing single by King. Daub entered the fourth inning
with a no-hitter in tact but left the fifth with a four-run
deficit, as Amherst took a 5-1 lead.
Two more unearned runs came in for the Ephs in the top of the
sixth, with Cain and Lye picking up RBIs on a single and walk,
respectively. Fowler-Cornfeld pitched a 1-2-3 inning to hold the
Jeffs in the sixth.
Miller came in for relief in the sixth inning but was once again
replaced by Chang-Graham when she walked Powers to lead off the top
of the seventh. Libby Copeland-Halperin was the first of three
consecutive Ephs to reach on an error, with the floodgates opening
when Mary Gelber singled to left field to bring in Simpson for the
go-ahead run. A Cain sacrifice fly made it 7-5 in favor of Williams
before two more errors were committed, as the Ephs sent 11 batters
to the plate and scored seven unearned runs on three hits and five
errors, suddenly sitting in the driver's seat with a 10-5
lead.
Junior Emily Bularzik led off the bottom of the seventh with her
second triple of the season and the bases were soon loaded with
only one out, but Daub re-entered the game and gave up a sacrifice
fly to King before getting Chang-Graham to ground out for the final
out of the day. Amherst made a valiant run and could taste the
postseason in the seventh inning, but Williams held on for the 10-6
comeback victory to once again get the best of its archrival.
Bularzik and Trace each had two of the Jeffs' six hits in
the nightcap, with Trace driving in three runs and King bringing
home a pair. Lye was 3-for-4 with an RBI and run scored, while
Gelber and Cain had two hits apiece. Cain also had three RBIs in
the game.
Chang-Graham (9-8) was the tough-luck loser in game two,
scattering 12 hits for one earned run—nine runs in
total—in six and two-thirds innings of work. Daub also
allowed only one earned run, striking out six and walking four in
5.1 innings, but it was Fowler-Cornfeld who picked up the win to
move to 5-1 on the year.
The first game saw Williams get on the board in the top of the
first, as junior Becky Sansone stole second base after singling
through the left side, allowing senior Katie Powers to pick up an
RBI on a double to right field. The Ephs added what would be their
final run of game one in the second inning when they loaded the
bases with three singles through the infield before Sansone hit a
sacrifice fly to give her team a 2-0 advantage.
Amherst could not put together any offense in the first three
innings but put up four runs—two earned—in the bottom
of the fourth. With the bases loaded, senior Kelly King (Grosse
Pointe Park, MI) sent a fly ball to left field and wound up on
first base when the ball was dropped, as she brought home classmate
Elizabeth Neckes for the Jeffs' first run. Junior Maddie
Tamagni and first-year Sam Presnal picked up RBI-singles and
sophomore Jackie Tyler drove in King when she reached on yet
another miscue by the Williams outfield.
The Ephs were sat down in order by Amherst sophomore relief
pitcher Alex Chang-Graham (San Carlos, CA) in the fifth and seventh
innings, as the Jeffs' four-run fourth inning proved to be
all of the offense they would need to keep their playoff hopes
alive.
Junior Morgan Simpson (7-5) picked up the loss despite scattering
just five hits in 3.2 innings, striking out three and walking two.
Emily Fowler-Cornfeld pitched well in relief, allowing only two
hits and walking none.
Senior tri-captain Samantha Miller got the start for Amherst but
was pulled in the second inning, allowing two runs on five hits and
one walk in one and one-third innings. Chang-Graham earned her
ninth win of the season by allowing just four hits and no walks in
5.2 solid innings of relief. Neckes and Tamagni were each 2-for-3.
(Courtesy of Amherst SID's Office)
