With pitching ace Lauren Peloquin '02 and her wafer-thin 0.37 ERA on the mound to start game one, things were looking good for the Jeffs. Indeed, Peloquin made quick work of the visitors, fanning 11, walking one and allowing only four hits on the day en route to the 5-0 shutout victory. It was Peloquin's 13th win of the season and the 18th for the squad.
After two Wesleyan Ks and a pop up, the Amherst offense went to work as lead-off hitter and Co-captain Carline Kelly '01 ripped a triple into right center. During the next at bat, Kelly scored on a wild pitch before opposing pitcher Lindsay Wasserman settled down and retired the next three batters. In fact, Kelly's run proved to be the only insurance Peloquin needed.
The Jeffs then shut down the Wesleyan offense to secure at least the second spot in postseason play. Though Kelly (2-3) and Gina Scribner '04 had the only RBIs, the offense was paced by senior Co-captain Meg Nelson's 3-4 day and aided by Tamara Baer '03, Shari Sakamoto '01, Missy Mordy '03 and Della Huff '04, who had a single in her only at bat of the game.
The nightcap started in similar fashion as the first game. Amherst jumped out to an early lead and relied on sharp pitching and even sharper fielding to shut Wesleyan out Saturday. In the first, the Amherst bats came alive, banging four hits and pushing three across. Nelson led the way with an RBI double to center that scored Kelly, who had walked and stolen second. That was followed by a Scribner single and a Peloquin liner that scored Nelson. Starting pitcher Emily Melia '02 helped out her cause as she brought Scribner in to score. Melia and the Jeffs appeared to be on cruise control through four. But things were about to change.
In the fifth frame, two quick hits and a free pass to first on a wild pitch third strike loaded the bases with no outs for the visitors. A two-run double to the fence made the score 4-3, and three batters later another two-run double (this time with two outs) gave the Cardinals their first lead of the afternoon. The next inning, Wesleyan loaded the bases again, this time facing Peloquin as a reliever. However, they stranded the next three runners.
The stage was set for heroics in the bottom of the seventh as Amherst went to the plate for their final three outs, trailing 5-6. To lead off the inning, Mordy bunted to the pitcher for a hit. Next up was Nelson, who blasted an RBI triple, scoring Mordy from first and tying the game at six. The next two batters, Peloquin and Scribner, were intentionally walked to get to Melia (who was 2-3 in the contest but was coming off a strikeout). The move proved to be unwise as Melia roped a sacrifice fly to center, easily scoring Nelson from third and giving a victory to the Jeffs.
The first game of the Amherst/Williams double-header on Saturday turned into a pitcher's duel between Peloquin and Eph starter Katherine Baldwin, with the rival Ephs edging the Jeffs 2-1. The two hurlers swapped 16 Ks (eight apiece) and only nine hits, in a low-scoring affair that also showcased some sharp defensive play.
Neither team could muster a base runner until the third inning when Sakamoto broke the no-hitter with a double to left center. Williams answered in their half with a single, but both runners were left on base.
In the fourth, consecutive Eph triples gave Williams a 1-0 lead and a runner on third, who later scored on a fielding error, making it 2-0. Sloppy Eph fielding in the seventh allowed the lone Jeff run to come across, Scribner reaching and moving around on errors before scoring from third on a Peloquin ground out, but the rally fell short and the final score was set at 2-1.
In the nightcap, the Jeffs jumped out to a first inning lead on an unearned run as a walked Kelly came home on a Scribner ground-out following a Nelson single. That run would prove to be the only run of the game for Amherst. The Ephs tied the game in the third, but did not break the game open until the fourth inning, when they strung together three quick singles, which resulted in two runs. The 3-1 score was the final, as neither team could mount another charge in the late innings.
Next up for the Jeffs will be the opening round of the NESCAC Tournament where they will play Tufts University in Medford.