Softball Falls at Amherst College, 10-2

AMHERST, Mass. – Elms College senior center fielder Leah Spring (South Hadley, Mass.) was 2 for 3 with an RBI but Amherst College used four-run second and third innings to help secure a 10-2 victory in five innings over the Blazers on Wednesday afternoon in Amherst, Mass.

With the loss, Elms moves to 9-18 on the season, while Amherst improves to 23-11 overall.

Amherst plated a run in the first and then scored four in the second to stake a 5-0 lead. Kelsey Ayers (Los Altos, Calif.) drove in a run with a single and Kaitlin Silkowitz (Scarsdale, N.Y.) added a run-scoring single, before Donna Leet (Seattle, Wash.) belted a two-run double to left field.

Elms scored twice in the top of the third Spring cracked a triple to left center field, plating junior first baseman Ally Witaszek (Feeding Hills, Mass.). Senior second baseman Alexandra Bonavita (Agawam, Mass.) then lifted a sacrifice fly to left field allowing Spring to race home to pull the Blazers to within three at 5-2.

The Lord Jeffs pulled away with four unearned runs in the home half of the third highlighted by an RBI bunt single by Brianna Cook (Far Hills, N.J.), an RBI groundout by Ashleigh Rutherford (Katonah, N.Y.) and a two-run triple by Ayers to set the score at 9-2.

Amherst ended the game when Ayers doubled in Arielle Doering (Branchburg, N.J.) to secure the 10-2 victory.

Caroline Sealander (Washington, D.C.) earned the win in the circle allowing two runs on three hits in 5.0 innings of work to improve to 2-1 overall.

Elms' freshman pitcher Jamie Miner (Chicopee, Mass.) suffered the loss (4-5) allowing 10 runs (six earned) on 14 hits in 4.1 stanzas.

Both pitchers fanned five batters in the contest.

Ayers was 3 for 3 with four RBI and two runs scored, Leet was 2 for 2 with three RBI and Sarah McKay (Villanova, Pa.) was 3 for 3 with two runs scored to highlight the Lord Jeffs' offensive output.

Elms concludes regular season action on Saturday, April 27 when it hosts conference rival Newbury College at 12:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m. at Cheryl R. Condon Field.