Game 2 Box Score
WILLIAMSTOWN, MA. — Timely hitting coupled with strong pitching and solid defense helped the Williams College softball team sweep a doubleheader with Springfield College Wednesday at Cole Field, 1-0 in the opener and 4-2 in the nightcap.
With those wins, Williams evens its record at 11-11 on the season. The Ephs are at Western New England University Thursday for a doubleheader beginning at 3:30 p.m. Springfield saw its record slip to 15-10 overall.
In Wednesday's first game, Springfield's Ashley Marino — who had thrown her second no-hitter in 17 days on Tuesday — and Williams' own Emma Harrington were locked in a fantastic pitcher's duel that had the game scoreless until the bottom of the seventh.
Eph junior Kaitlin Dinet led off with a looping liner down the right-field line. Pride right fielder Kelsey Dunn raced in an made a terrific effort to catch the ball, but it fell in front of her, then curled past her as Dinet raced into third base with a triple. Merrilee Weston then smacked Marino's first offering high off the fence in center field for a walk-off single.
Those heroics made a winner of Harrington, who scattered seven hits over seven innings while walking three and striking out five. She was at her toughest when the Pride had runners on base.
In the top of the seventh, the Pride put runners on second and third with two outs. Clean-up hitter Breann Joyce smacked a deep fly ball to right that Eph right fielder Ali Graebner tracked down at the fence, making a nice over the shoulder grab to end the inning.
In the Pride sixth, Chelsea Lender walked and eventually moved to third on a stolen base with two outs, but Harrington fanned the final Pride batter to end the inning. In the top of the fifth, Kelsey Dunn led off with a single but was gunned down trying to steal second by Eph backstop Amanda Correnti. Leader singled, and with two outs, Kelly Blake singled, but Harrington reached back and struck out Joyce to end the threat.
Williams had three hits in the win, one through six innings. Ally Ensor was 1 for 1 with two walks in the game. Blake was 3 for 4 for the Pride. Marino was the tough-luck loser, going six-plus innings, allowing three hits and one run while walking two and striking out four.
In the nightcap, the Ephs scored four runs early to take a 4-0 lead and junior Kaitlin Dinet hurled a complete-game four-hitter to earn her first victory of the season from the circle.
With one out in the Williams first, Mo Frank singled up the middle. Ensor — who was 3 for 3 with 3 walks on the day — then beat out a single to the shortstop hole. A wild pitch moved the runners up, and Ali Graebner laid down a perfect safety squeeze to score Frank.
The Ephs added two more in the third when Ali Hart ripped a one-out single. With two outs, Hart stole second and scored when Ensor lined an RBI-single to left. Graebner followed with a double to deep right that scored Ensor for a 3-0 lead.
The Pride cut their deficit in half in the top of the fifth when Brittany Lally had a one-out single and moved to third when Catie Holik doubled to right. Amy Entel pinch-hit and scoed Lally with a groundout to second, and Dunn then reached on an error that allow Holik to score, but Dinet retired Leader on a fly out to end the frame.
Dinet went all seven innings, allowing just the four hits and walking just one while striking out four. Jennifer Joseph took the loss for Springfield, tossing six innings and giving up seven hits and two walks while fanning three.
