After surging back from a 2-1 deficit in game one against Westfield to win 4-2, the Jeffs dropped the nightcap, 9-3.
In the first game the Jeffs jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first, on a liner by Co-captain Meg Nelson '01 and a Gina Scribner '04 RBI single to center, but afterwards the Jeff bats were quieted.
The Owls took advantage of the lull-along with Amherst fielding and pitching miscues-in the fourth inning as they put two unearned runs accross the plate to take a 2-1 lead. Staring a third straight loss in the face, the Jeffs had to put something together to stop the momentum of the visitors in the bottom of the inning. Scribner started the fourth inning rally with a double to center field, before she advanced to third on a wild pitch.
Designated hitter Emily Melia '03 drew a walk the next at bat and advanced to second when pitcher Lauren Peloquin '02 evened the score at two with her RBI single up the middle. After a pop out to second base, Tamara Baer '02 moved Peloquin to second and Melia to third with her single down the left field line.
With the bases loaded and one out, Shari Sakamoto '01 came through in the clutch again, mimicking her extra inning heroics of last week, as she ripped her game-winning, two-RBI single to go ahead of the visiting Owls 3-2.
From there Peloquin shut down the Westfield lineup, allowing only one hit and no runs the rest of the way in a complete-game, three hit, 10 strikeout performance.
Scribner continued her outstanding rookie campaign, going 3-3 with an RBI and was backed offensively by Sakamoto and Peloquin, both with RBIs in the win.
The Owls jumped out to a quick 6-0 lead in the nightcap with a five run third inning that the Jeffs could not overcome, falling 9-3 under the lights.
The Jeffs could not muster much offense against Westfield starter Christina D'Ambrosio, who scattered six hits over seven innings. Erin Dittus '03 banged out 2 hits, and Peloquin notched two RBIs in the final frame, but the Owl's 14 hits and nine runs were just too much, as Amherst pitcher Melia took the loss, her sixth on the season. She gave up nine hits in three innings as well as five earned runs. Peloquin entered the game in relief in the fourth but fared only slightly better as Westfield added another five hits and three earned runs.
The Jeffs looked to turn their luck around as they headed to Middlebury for another day/night twinbill and did so resoudingly, taking both games, 5-1 and 8-0 respectively. Peloquin was on the mound for the opener but started things off for the Jeffs offensively as she belted a two-run single to get the Jeffs on the board. In the third inning, Amherst added another run before Middlebury broke through for the first and only time of the day, pushing a run across on a weak single.
Nelson supplied a good deal of the offense, falling just a home run short of the cycle in four at-bats. Peloquin was back to her invincible self on the mound after the initial lapse, fanning eight and walking only one as she took her 12th win, against only one loss, of the season.
The second game, an 8-0 mercy rule thrashing of the Panthers, was a showcase for Amherst number two Melia. In one of her strongest performances of the year, she went the distance and gave up only three hits to grab her fifth win.
"I thought it was a good overall performance by everyone," said Melia. "I've felt like the run support has been there all along, but it just makes you feel so much more comfortable when you have eight or nine runs to work with."
The Jeffs jumped out to an early lead with a big three-run first and kept running. While Melia was shutting down the Middlebury lineup, the Amherst side managed to post another run in the fifth before putting the game away with a four-run sixth. The explosion was lead by Jenna Obelsky '03 as she went two for three with two runs scored.
"If nothing else, the Middlebury games were a confidence booster for everyone," said Nelson.
She commented on the recent success of the Amherst lineup at the plate: "I think it showed how much the team has come together offensively. Early in the season, some people didn't have the experience that they have now, and we didn't get the runs early in the game. Now, we are confident and comfortable and expect to get some runs across with two outs."
With a record of 17-7 and a sparkling divisional mark of 4-0, the Jeffs are in great shape heading into two league double-headers with Wesleyan University and Williams College. A split with Wesleyan will earn them the the second spot outright, but the Jeffs will look to sweep both squads, guaranteeing them not only a NESCAC tourney bid, but the top seed in the West.