Softball (14-14, 4-2 in the NESCAC) picked up its fourth win in five games with a 5-3 victory Springfield on Monday. Earlier that day, the women lost the first game of the doubleheader against the Pride, 4-2. Monday’s split came on the heels of a dominant weekend performance, during which Williams swept Hamilton in a three-game series, scoring 11 runs in each of the contests.
After the 4-2 loss in Game 1, the Ephs won the nightcap against Springfiled on the bat of Libby Copeland-Halperin ’09.
In the first inning of the second game Williams pulled ahead by two, with a walk by Katie Powers ’08 followed by a booming homerun by Copeland-Halperin. The third inning was a dose of dÃƒÂ©jÃƒÂ vu as Powers drew a walk and then scored on Copeland-Halperin’s longball of the night, putting the Ephs up, 4-0.
Joey Lye ’09 widened the gap in the fourth when she singled and came home on a double by Powers.
Springfield finally managed to get a tally on the scoreboard in the fifth, with the Pride’s Angela Atkins hitting a solo homerun. In the next inning Springfield’s Amanda Novak worked off her team’s momentum for a two-run double. For a moment the Ephs were back on guard, but Morgan Simpson ’08, working in relief, put the game on ice.
Copeland-Halperin went 3-for-3 in the win, making two homers and four RBIs, while Lye went 2-for-4 and Caitlyn Cain ’11 went 2-for-3.
Williams swept Hamilton in the three-game series last weekend. Sunday’s game ended with a score of 11-2, while the Ephs took the doubleheader on Saturday with scores of 11-7 and 11-2.
“[Last] weekend we put all the pieces together – hitting, pitching and defense,” said Simpson. “In each game, we scored early and then continued to play strongly throughout.”
At the end of the three-game series, the Ephs had tallied a total of 33 runs and 46 hits. Lye once again played notably, going 10-for-12 over the three games.
After four innings in Game 2 the Ephs were on top with a score of 2-1, but three additional scores in the top of the fifth allowed them to take a comfortable lead. On the mound, rookie Mary Beth Daub ’11 allowed eight hits and seven runs over the course of the game. She also fanned a career-best nine, earning her first collegiate victory.
In the third of the Hamilton games the Ephs managed a comfortable cushion of seven runs in the first inning. Lye led with a double and followed it up with a score on a single from Becky Sansone ’09. Powers followed with an RBI-triple, scoring on an RBI-double by Simpson. Goodman hit a single, while a single by Cain enabled a score by Simpson. Mary Gelber ’10 knocked a double that scored Goodman for five runs, and Lye brought in the sixth and seventh run with her second double, scoring Cain and Gelber.
Pitcher Simpson went 2-for-3 at the plate and had a triple, double and one RBI. Throughout five innings she allowed just three hits and no walks, striking out one.
“So many players contributed on offense, and Morgan was especially standout on defense,” said Taryn Goodman ’08. “Pitching two games in freezing weather is not easy, and she really pulled through for us.”
Lye including a 3-for-3 performance in Game 3, with two doubles, a walk, two runs scored and two RBIs.
“This weekend wasn’t perfect, but we learned from our mistakes and built off each others’ success,” said Lye. “We got on an offensive roll on Saturday and kept it up throughout the series.”
The women look for their next victory today in a doubleheader at Keene State, beginning at 3:30 p.m.