Game 1
Box Score
Game 2
Box Score
Photo
Gallery
WILLIAMSTOWN, MA — One day after setting
the all-time hits record at Williams, senior Joey Lye stayed
white-hot, reaching base seven times in a doubleheader and helping
the Ephs sweep Hamilton, 10-2 and 3-2, at Cole Field.
The wins improved Williams to 11-12 overall, 6-3 in conference
play, while Hamilton dropped to 5-21 overall and 1-7 in the NESCAC.
The Ephs are back at it Monday as they hit the road for a twinbill
with Springfield beginning at 3:30 p.m.
Lye went 6 for 7 on the day with a walk, scored four times and
drove home a run while upping her NESCAC-leading batting average to
.584.
“She's the consummate lead-off hitter, and she
obviously has had a phenomenal career,” Ephs head coach Kris
Herman said. “She has been a great leader on and off the
field for this program. All five of our seniors are playing very
well right now and doing a great job on the field.”
Williams senior Becky Sansone's two-run single with one out
in the bottom of the fourth inning of the nightcap provided the
winning runs in the 3-2 victory. Starter Emily Fowler-Cornfeld and
reliever Mary Beth Daub combined to blank the Continentals over the
final three innings.
In the opener, Williams scored four times in the first and four
times in the sixth en route to the 10-2 win that was stopped after
six innings due to the mercy rule. Senior Morgan Simpson went 3 for
4 with 5 RBI in the win, ending it with a walk-off two-run homer to
straightaway centerfield in the bottom of the sixth.
Hamilton scored first in the first game when Liz Reid beat out a
chopper to short and Rachel Rapoza scored on a throwing error on
the play. But Williams responded with four runs off Continental
starter Megan Coughlin in its half of the frame.
Lye started things with a line drive single to left. Caitlyn Cain
reached on an error and, after Sansone flew out to center, Lye
scored on a throwing error. Simpson singled Cain home for a 2-1
lead. Fowler-Cornfeld then doubled to the right-center gap, but
Simpson was thrown out at the plate on a nice relay from
Hamilton's Robin Brown to Amanda Nardi to catcher Amber
O'Connor. Libby Copeland-Halperin then drove a Coughlin
offering over the fence in center for a two-run homer.
The Ephs sixth-inning rally began with two outs and nobody on. Lye
doubled to left center. Cain singled home Lye. Sansone hit a
frozen rope into the right-center field gap to score Cain, and
Simpson crushed her two-run homer to center to end matters.
Lye was 4 for 4 with three runs scored. Copeland-Halperin was 2
for 3 with two RBI. Simpson's three-hit, five-RBI game
included a two-run triple in the fifth, so she finished a double
short of the cycle.
For Hamilton, Reid was 2 for 3 with a run scored. Coughlin took
the loss, allowing 12 hits and six earned runs in 5 2/3 innings.
Daub picked up the win, giving up four hits and one walk while
striking out five over six innings.
In the nightcap, Lye's RBI-single up the middle in the
bottom of the second gave the Ephs a 1-0 lead, but Hamilton scored
twice in the third for a 2-1 lead. O'Connor walked and was
sacrificed to second by Rapoza. Kathryn Kroleski singled to right
center, with O'Connor holding up at third. Reid beat out
another infield chopper to short, and when the throw to first was
wide, O'Connor ran home with the tying run. Coughlin then
singled up the middle to score Kroleski with the go-ahead run.
But Williams answered in its fourth after Oriana Mcgee reached on
an error, Lye singled and Cain walked. Sansone followed with a hot
shot down the right field line that scored two for a 3-2 lead.
Fowler-Cornfeld retired the Continentals in order in the fifth,
then relinquished the circle to Daub. With Liz Farrington on second
with two outs in the sixth, Daub retired the dangerous
O'Connor on a comebacker. She walked Kroleski with one out in
the seventh, but struck out the next batter and retired Coughlin on
a groundout to end the game and pick up a save.
“I thought Mary Beth pitched very well this weekend,”
Herman said. “We had strong performances from all three of
our pitchers this weekend.”
O'Connor and Kroleski were both 2 for 3 for Hamilton. Mandy
Hyne took the loss, allowing eight hits over six innings, walking
four and striking out one. She allowed just one earned run,
Fowler-Cornfeld earned the win, giving up seven hits and two walks
over five innings. She struck out two and was charged with only one
earned run.
