WILLIAMSTOWN, MA — Down to its last out, the Williams College softball team rallied for a 5-4 win in the first game of a key doubleheader with rival Amherst Saturday, then rolled to a 10-0, 5-inning victory in the nightcap to clinch the Little 3 title and an 11th straight berth in the NESCAC Tournament.
Williams improved to 19-15-1 overall and finished 7-5 in the NESCAC's West Division with the sweep, while the Lord Jeffs finish 6-6 in the West and moved to 14-16 overall.
Amherst came into Saturday needing just one win over Williams for its first NESCAC Tournament berth since 2006. The Jeffs trailed 3-0 early but rallied to tie the game at three in the second inning. It stayed that way until the top of the seventh inning, when Jillian Masi drew a lead-off walk from Eph hurler Mary Beth Daub.
Carolyn Miller's sacrifice bunt moved Masi to second. A wild pitch advanced her to third. After a walk, sophomore Reilly Horan looped a single into center field for a 4-3 Amherst lead. The Ephs escaped further damage when Ally Ensor tracked down Annemarie Iker's deep fly to left on the warning track.
Amherst hurler Tessa Kelly retired the first batter of the bottom of the seventh, but the Ephs got some life when an error put Carly Ameen on. Caitlyn Cain drew a walk to put runners on first and second, but Theresa Legan flew out to center to put the Ephs down to their last out.
Kaitlin Dinet then lined the first pitch she saw from Kelly into the gap in left-center field. Ameen easily scored and Cain came sliding home with the winning run all the way from first to end the game.
Daub earned the win, tossing all seven frames and allowing seven hits and three walks while striking out two. Kelly took the hard-luck loss, allowing seven hits while walking two and fanning two over 6 2/3 innings.
Williams took a 3-0 lead in the first on a two-run, opposite-field double by Ensor and an RBI-double to right center by Ali Graebner after the latter had fouled off seven consecutive pitches from Kelly.
Amherst tied the game in the second when Katie Kervick launched a long two-run homer to center field. After Masi singled, Miller drove her home with a double off the wall in right center field.
That turned game two into a winner-take-all contest, and the Ephs wasted no time getting the jump on their rivals with four runs in the bottom of the first. Cain, who was 3 for 3 in the nightcap and 5 for 7 on the day, ignited the rally with a single up the middle. Legan sacrificed her to second and Dinet was hit by a pitch. A fielder's choice left runners on first and second with two outs, but Cedar Blazek singled through the left side to load the bases.
Graebner was then hit by a pitch from Amherst starter Christina Anderson to force in the game's first run. Sophomore Amanda Correnti followed with a line drive single to center and Merrilee Weston looped an RBI-single to right center to score Graebner with the fourth run.
Correnti had a big game, going 2 for 3 with four RBI. Sophomore Megan Casey got the start for the Ephs less than 24 hours after taking the loss in an 8-4 decision to Amherst. She did not allow a hit for the first 2 2/3 innings — Miller broke that up in the third with a single to center, but no harm came from it.
The Ephs put the game out of reach with a six-run third inning. Blazek led off the frame with her team-leading sixth home run of the season, a solo shot to left field. Kelly relieved Anderson, but walked the first batter she faced and then gave up a two-run homer to Correnti that soared over the 200-foot mark in center.
Weston beat out a roller to third and Ameen lined a single to center. Amherst replaced Kelly with Arielle Doering, but she was greeted by an RBI-single from Cain that made it 8-0. A couple of RBI-groundouts made it 10-0 Williams.
Casey took care of the rest, throwing five innings and allowing just two hits and allowing three batters (hit batsman) to reach base. She did not walk a batter and struck out three. Ephs Dinet, Blazek, Correnti and Weston all had two hits in the game.
Miller and Kervick had the hits for Amherst, with Anderson taking the loss from the circle.
