SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - Captain and starting pitcher
Sadie Leonard '26 of the No. 22-ranked Williams College softball team pitched a two-hitter complete game, did not allow a single earned run and struck out 15 batters during a 2-1 season-opening victory for the Ephs in Game 1 of a doubleheader at Springfield Saturday afternoon.
Sidney Miller '26,
Katie Blanch '27,
Haley Barrett '29 and
Miya Fujimoto '29 recorded multi-hit days for the Ephs (1-1), while Fujimoto and Barrett also tallied their first collegiate hits. The Pride (1-1) won the second game by a score of 7-3.
During Game 1, Leonard struck out the side during the first, third, fifth and seventh innings. During the top of the fourth, captain
Alysa DeQuiroz '26 led off and reached on an error by the pitcher, and then advanced to second on a single through the left side by Blanch. DeQuiroz was able to reach third on a fielder's choice during an at-bat by
Justine Dunaway '27, and then scored on a sacrifice fly to left by
Dani Jackman '28.
Springfield evened the game at 1-1 during the bottom of the fourth. Reilly Hunter led off with a single through the right side, and then scored an unearned run three at-bats later on an error. During the sixth, DeQuiroz connected on a one-out double, and then crossed home with the game-winning run on an RBI single by Blanch during the ensuing at-bat. Blanch finished with a 2-for-3 effort in the batter's box during the opening game.
During Game 2, the Pride opened a 3-0 advantage in the second, as Amelia DeRosa drilled a two-run double, and then Taylor Falotico scored on a wild pitch. Falotico opened the bottom of the fourth with a single to left, and then scored three at-bats later on an RBI ground out to shortstop by Hunter, pushing the hosts' lead to 4-0.
Williams responded in the sixth, as Fujimoto and Miller led off with back-to-back singles, and then scored on a two-run single with two outs by
Aleks Albert '28. The Pride gained a 7-2 lead in their half of the sixth as a result of an RBI ground out to third by Hunter and a two-run double by Carissa Pecchia.
Fujimoto tallied a two-out single in the seventh, and then scored on an RBI single to left by Miller. Fujimoto and Miller went a combined 4-for-8 batting, with three runs and one RBI, during the second game. Starting pitcher Julia Rimshnick earned the complete-game win for Springfield, giving up three runs and nine hits in seven innings.
The Ephs will compete in their home-opening doubleheader against RPI on Saturday, March 14, with game times set for noon and 2 p.m. on Cole Field.
