This weekend, the Amherst women’s softball team claimed its first conference and divisional wins of the 2017 season. The purple and white swept Hamilton in a three-game series that took place over the course of two days.

In game one, Amherst defeated Hamilton 10-5. The purple and white took an early lead in the second inning when Julia Turner ’19 hit a strong ground ball to the right side to score Amherst’s first runner. Amherst then capitalized on a hit by pitch, two walks, an error and two wild pitches to extended its lead. The Continentals attempted to come back in the fifth inning, scoring three runs and cutting the Amherst lead down to seven at 10-3.

Hamilton tallied two more runs in the sixth and loaded the bases with two outs. However, pitcher Gina Pagan ’18 managed to get out of the jam and successfully closed out the game with a scoreless seventh. Pagan allowed only two earned runs and recorded four strikeouts, furthering her dominant start to the season.

Amherst tallied two more wins against the Continentals in the following day’s double-header. In the first game of the day, the Mammoths won 13-5. Hamilton took a lead in the opening inning, but the purple and white immediately tied the game 2-2. Amherst proceeded to blow the game open with four runs in the second inning.

Andrea Sanders ’20 led the charge with four runs, while Naftel, Ally Kido ’18 and Alena Marovitz ’17 each added three RBIs. Lauren Tuiskula ’17, Kate Copatic ’20 and Annie McCluskey ’20 plated one runner each in the win. Lorena Ukanwa ’19 provided another impressive performance from the mound, pitching the entire game and striking out five batters.

In game two, Marovitz and Sanders provided Amherst two early runs, but Hamilton caught up in the second inning and led 4-2 going entering the sixth. However, with the bases loaded, a single from Turner and a triple from Naftel keyed a four-run rally and secured the 6-4 victory for the purple and white. Amherst outhit Hamilton in every game of the series. Naftel and Kido extended their hitting streaks to eight games. After the weekend’s wins, the Mammoths stand at 12-6 overall and boast a perfect 3-0 conference record.

Amherst will return to the field on Wednesday, April 5 with a non-conference doubleheader against Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, which will take place at home. On Friday, Amherst will return to NESCAC play, traveling to Middlebury for another three-game series.