The Lady Jeffs swept a doubleheader against the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts last week before dropping two of three against Wesleyan over the weekend, bringing their record to 22-11 (4-8 NESCAC West). The Jeffs had no problem dispatching the Trailblazers (10-18) but could not solve Cardinal first-year Su Pardo, who allowed just six hits and two runs in two complete-game victories. Theresa Kelley ’13, Caroline Sealander ’15 and Arielle Doering ’14 picked up wins with strong efforts, as Doering went the distance in game two against Wesleyan.
After losing three games to archrival Williams over the weekend, women’s softball rebounded to post a 6-4 win over Wellesley on Monday. The team fought hard against the Ephs (10-15, 4-2 NESCAC), only to end up losing three close games by a total of four runs. Williams’ series sweep leaves the Lord Jeffs (19-9, 3-6 NESCAC) in serious danger of missing postseason play.
Softball took care of business during a busy end-of-week stretch, going 6-1 over four days to improve their record to 18-6. The Lord Jeffs swept doubleheaders against Westfield State and Smith and before winning two out of three against Hamilton.
Softball started the season off strong over the break, compiling a 9-3 record in their Florida tournament before going 3-2 back up north. The Jeffs used strong pitching from co-captain Teresa Kelley ’13 to grind out close wins over Plymouth State and Bowdoin, while the team’s bats — led by Donna Leet ’15, Kaitlin Silkowitz ’14 and Carolyn Miller ’14 — came alive in decisive wins over teams such as William Paterson, Framingham State and Southern Maine. All three Florida setbacks came in close games, including an 8-7 loss to 15th-ranked Plattsburgh State.
Women’s basketball is headed back to the Final Four, defeating Tufts and Widener Univ. to earn their berth in Friday’s national semifinal. The team capitalized on near-perfect foul shooting to gut out a defensive battle with Tufts, 47-42, before using a trademark second-half run and huge individual performances to defeat Widener, 59-45. With the victories, the Jeffs (30-1) clinched their fifth consecutive Final Four appearance and will be looking for their second title in three years.
Women’s basketball opened NCAA tournament play in style over the weekend, winning their two opening-round games by a combined total of 64 points. The team jumped out to a 21-3 lead and cruised to a 67-39 victory over Farmingdale State before dropping 41 second-half points on the Univ. of New England in a 71-34 beat down. The victories set up a tantalizing rematch as the Lord Jeffs (28-1) will host Tufts on Friday in Sweet 16 action.
Women’s basketball claimed the NESCAC championship in decisive fashion over the weekend, beating Bowdoin 60-45 before using 19 second-half points from Marcia Voigt ’13 to triumph over Williams, 53-38, in the title game. With the win, the fifth-ranked Lord Jeffs (26-1) captured their fourth NESCAC title in five years, avenging their sole loss earlier this month in Williamstown and assuring themselves of an automatic NCAA tournament bid.
