Softball Catcher posed to snag a pitch

It was a big week for Amherst softball, as the Mammoths swept Smith College in a mid-week doubleheader and took two of three games from Williams in the weekend series.
In the first game of the week, Amherst needed only six innings to defeat Smith by a score of 9-0. Andrea Sanders ’20 had a huge day at the plate, racking up two hits and two RBIs while scoring two runs. Sammy Salustri ’19 also had a two-hit, three-RBI performance, and Kyra Naftel ’19 added a multi-hit game of her own.

This past weekend, Amherst softball played its first home series of the year, taking on NESCAC rival Middlebury.

In the first game, Amherst jumped out to a quick 5-0 lead, thanks to a big first inning from the offense.

Middlebury battled back, scoring two runs in both the fourth and fifth innings to cut the lead to 5-4.

The Mammoths, however, tacked on some insurance runs, with three in the bottom of the fifth and another in the bottom of the sixth to secure a 9-4 victory.

Amherst softball kicked off last week’s action with a Wednesday double-header at Worcester Polytech Institute (WPI).

In the first game, WPI got off to a quick start, jumping out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning. WPI continued to swing the bat well, extending its lead to 7-0 in the fourth.

Amherst showed some resiliency late in the game, tacking on a run in the fifth and two more in the seventh to cut the deficit to four runs. However, it was not enough to top WPI’s early lead, and the Engineers left the diamond with a 7-3 win.

Over spring break, the Amherst softball team travelled to Clermont, Florida to compete in The Spring Games, the country’s largest college softball event.

This weekend, the women’s basketball team topped both Becker College and Saint Joseph’s College to reach the third round of the NCAA Division III tournament.

Amherst, the reigning national champions, entered NCAA action ready to play and defend their title.

The Mammoths jumped out to an early 19-2 first quarter lead in Friday’s game against Becker.

Amherst softball played four games this week, contesting doubleheaders against Keene State College on Wednesday and Tufts on Saturday.

In the first game of the week, Amherst fell behind 2-0 against Keene State. However, Amherst scored three runs in the third, four runs in the fourth and two more runs in the fifth to secure a 9-2 victory.