MIDDLETOWN, CT. — The Williams College softball rallied for a 14-5 win in the nightcap of its twinbill with NESCAC West rival Wesleyan Saturday to stay in contention for a possible berth in the conference tournament.
With the victory, the Ephs improved to 11-10 overall, 2-4 in the conference. They will play at RPI Tuesday with the first game beginning at 3:30 p.m.
Wesleyan won the first game Saturday, 8-0 in five innings due to the mercy rule. The Ephs wasted no time getting off the mat in game two, scoring once in the first and four times in the second to build a 5-0 lead.
Sophomore Cedar Blazek, who finished the nightcap 4 for 5, had a hit and an RBI in each stanza for the Ephs. She drove in the only run of the 1st inning, then added a two-run single in the second inning to cap a four-run outburst which included a bases-loaded walk to senior Caitlyn Cain and an RBI single by Kaitlin Dinet.
Wesleyan came back with four runs in the bottom of the 3rd to cut the gap to 5-4, with a 2-run line single by junior Alexis Kral the big blow. Williams responded with four of its own in the top of 4th, ballooning the margin up to 9-4. Three Eph hits and two Wesleyan miscues contributed to the runs, three of which were unearned. Dinet did have another RBI in the frame on a sacrifice fly.
Williams added a 10th run on a screaming liner over the right-field fence by Dinet for her team-high fourth round-tripper of the year and third RBI of the game. The Ephs tacked on four in the 7th with a double by Blazek, and singles by senior Mary Beth Daub and sophomore Merrilee Weston accounting for three runs while the fourth scored on a wild pitch.
Williams senior Mary Beth Daub logged her second complete game of the series for the win as she allowed just two earned runs and walked none with three strikeouts. Eph sophomore Merrilee Weston went 3 for 5 with an RBI and run scored, while Dinet hit 2 for 4 with three RBI. Cain was 1 for 3 with three runs scored out of the lead-off spot for the Ephs.
In the opener, Wesleyan junior Dana Levy tossed a three-hit shutout and smacked a two-run homer in the 1st inning to record the game-winning hit. Dinet, Daub and Theresa Legan accounted for the Eph hits.
Megan Casey took the loss, allowing 13 hits and eight runs, all earned, over four innings.
