WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. - The Williams College softball team extended its winning streak to 10 games, as the Ephs swept a doubleheader Saturday afternoon against Bates at Cole Field.
The Ephs (14-8, 6-0 NESCAC) defeated the Bobcats (9-14, 1-7 NESCAC), 5-3, in Game 1, and then earned a 2-1Â triumph during Game 2. Williams did not commit a single error in the doubleheader, while holding a 20-8 advantage in hits.
During the first game, Williams was led offensively by senior captain
Alysa DeQuiroz (3 for 4, 3 RBIs), senior
Sidney Miller (2 of 4, 1 run), first-year
Miya Fujimoto (2 for 3, 2 runs) and junior
Katie Blanch (2 for 4). Blanch earned her fourth consecutive win in the circle, improving to 4-1 on the season, as she earned the complete-game victory. Her command of the strike zone was exceptional, as she did not walk a single batter in seven innings of work.
Bates opened the scoring in the top half of the third on a two-out, solo home run to left-center by Sienna Pietrasiewicz. Williams responded with a three-run effort in the bottom of the fifth, as the rally was headlined by a two-run single up the middle by DeQuiroz and an RBI ground out to second by junior
Justine Dunaway.
The hosts gained more separation in the sixth, as junior
Emily Borrazzo scored an unearned run off an error, and during the ensuing at-bat, DeQuiroz scored Fujimoto on a single to center, extending the lead to 5-1. The scoring ended in the top half of the seventh, as Emma Yen connected on a two-run, inside-the-park homer to left.
In Game 2, senior captain
Sadie Leonard improved to 10-3 in the circle, throwing a two-hitter in a complete-game effort. Leonard did not relinquish any earned runs and struck out 12 batters. First-year
Haley Barrett (2 for 3, 1 double, 1 RBI, 1 run) and Borrazzo (2 for 3) performed well in the batting lineup.
Neither team committed an error in the second game, as Bates raced out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the second with Isabel Bettencourt scoring an unearned run on a wild pitch. Dunaway led off with a double to center in the bottom half of the inning, and then scored two at-bats later on a one-run single to left by Barrett. During the bottom of the seventh, Barrett drilled a one-out double to right-center, and then scored the winning run two at-bats later on the game-winning, RBI single to right by sophomore
Aprill Medrano.
The Ephs compete against Bowdoin Sunday in a doubleheader, with game times set for noon and 2 p.m. on Cole Field.
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