The Hamilton College softball team closed out its first NESCAC West Division series of the season Sunday, hosting Amherst College in a doubleheader at the Loop Road Baseball/Softball Complex. The Continentals dropped the opener 13-5 in five innings and lost 6-4 in game two.
Hamilton (7-10 overall, 0-3 NESCAC West) held two-run leads in both games but Amherst rallied for wins on both ends of the twin bill to complete the sweep of the three-game weekend series, which was scheduled to be played at Amherst before being moved to Clinton because of weather and field conditions.
In game one, Amherst (12-6 overall, 3-0 NESCAC West) scored multiple runs in each of the first four innings. Amherst scored four times in the bottom of the sixth inning in the nightcap to complete the sweep.
The Continentals scored twice in the second and took a 4-2 lead with a pair of fifth-inning runs in game two. After Amherst took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first Hamilton needed just three batters to tie the game. A leadoff walk to Ursula Castiblanco '19 and a double by Emily Fraser '20 put runners on second and third and Daphne Assimakopoulos '17 singled up the middle to score both runners.
Jodi Weiss '19 led off the fifth with a single and pinch-hitter Phoebe Collins '18 beat out an infield single. After a four-pitch walk to Hannah Staab '17 loaded the bases Ashleah Yzaguirre '19 broke the tie with a two-run single to left. Reliever Gina Pagan helped Amherst escaped further damage by retiring the first two hitters she faced; her infield turned a double play and retired Hamilton's clean-up hitter to end the inning.
After loading the bases with one out in the sixth, Amherst closed the gap to 4-3 on an infield grounder then took the lead for good on a bases-clearing triple by Kyra Naftel.
Amherst scored twice in the first on a ground ball off the bat of Alena Marovitz and Andrea Sanders' RBI double.
Naftel led Amherst with three hits. Sanders and Annie Apffel had two apiece.
Fraser had two of Hamilton's seven hits.
Pagan earned the win with three innings of one-hit relief.
In the opener, Amherst totaled 16 hits and drew nine walks in 4.2 innings. Naftel led the offense with a five-for-five performance at the plate. She hit run-scoring singles in the third, fourth and fifth. Sanders stole three bases and scored two runs. Marovitz and Ally Kido both drove in three runs.
Hamilton owned a 2-0 lead three batters into the game following a lead-off double by Staab, triple off the left field wall by Yzaguirre and a sacrifice fly by Kendall Searcy '20.
The Continentals pulled to within 8-5 in the fourth with three two-out runs. Fraser started the rally with her first career home run – the solo shot to center field was the Continentals' first in their new facility. After Becca Butler '17 walked, Staab tripled and Yzaguirre doubled to bring in two more runs. Fraser, Staab and Yzaguirre each finished with two hits.
The Continentals are back in action Tuesday, playing a 4:30 p.m. non-conference doubleheader at Utica College.
