Despite Clark starter Holly Scavone's solid outing (she yielded only four hits), Amherst managed to break through in the fifth. And in what has become a pattern for the Jeffs, they manufactured their runs. Senior right fielder Tamara Baer reached base on an error by the shortstop. After Baer advanced to second on junior third baseman Jess Allen's sacrifice bunt, Warner walked, as did first-year center fielder Rachel Hoerger, setting the stage for co-captain Mordy's dramatic double.
Mordy, who is batting .381 with five runs batted in on the season, fouled off the first full count offering, but then drove the next pitch into left field. All three runs were unearned.
The story, however, was Warner's. With the win, she raised her record to 5-3 and dropped her ERA to 1.09.
The next day, the Jeffs' pitching struggled against visiting non-league rival Brandeis University. The 9-4 Judges pounded out 14 hits and hit three home runs, two by junior center fielder Sara Albert. With Amherst trailing 9-1, the game was called after the sixth inning on account of the NCAA eight-run rule.
Senior co-captain Emily Melia pitched five innings in the loss. Perhaps the lone highlight for the Jeffs was the play of a pair of first-years, catcher Kate Raddock and first baseman Laura Trigeiro. Both went 2-3, Raddock driving in Amherst's only run. With eight RBIs, she is tied for the team lead and second in batting average, with a robust .366 clip. The loss left the Jeffs at 5-6.
Playing Hamilton College at home in Amherst's first conference doubleheader, Head Coach Sue Everden staked her squad's fortunes on Warner. Warner rewarded Everden for her faith, tossing back-to-back complete game victories. In the first game, a 1-0 pitcher's duel, Warner was simply dominant. She allowed three hits, struck out eight and walked only one batter. All told, she faced four more hitters than the minimum.
And yet Warner was scarcely better than her Hamilton counterpart, Amanda Fix. Fix surrendered only five hits, but the Jeffs were again creative in their run production. Raddock led off the fourth inning with a single up the middle, moving to second on a miscue by the center fielder. On Baer's sacrifice bunt, Raddock took third, before scoring on second baseman Melia's sacrifice fly into left field.
Warner's fellow first-year Hoerger starred in the second game, a 4-1 win. While Warner exhibited masterful control in striking out five and walking none, and Hoerger singled and scored twice. A first-inning base hit landed her at first base. Warner's sacrifice bunt advanced Hoerger to second, and a passed ball allowed her to advance to third. The speedy outfielder capped this unorthodox rally when she scored on a wild pitch.
Hoerger also scored on a passed ball in the bottom of the fifth, as Amherst broke open the game with a three-run flurry. With the win, Warner improved to 7-3. Hoerger, meanwhile, is third on the team in batting average at .281, third in on-base percentage and tied for first in stolen bases for the year. "Rachel broke her wrist during pre-season training, but has solidified the outfield," said Everden. "Now her bat has come alive. She's quick enough that we can even run her a bit."
Warner won her sixth straight a few days later, a 5-1 decision against 0-10 non-league foe, Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI). She struck out 11 and yielded four hits. Sophomore designated hitter Kathryn Honderd's second hit of the game broke a scoreless tie in the sixth inning with a two-run single.
Trigeiro continued her torrid hitting with a two-run single in the seventh. She has quietly gone about collecting eight RBIs (tied for first on the team) and is batting .444, good for a team best and second among NESCAC hitters with more than 25 at-bats.
Two days after her overwhelming Hamilton twinbill, Warner was named NESCAC Player of the Week, a ho-hum week in which she threw a no-hitter, tossed three complete game victories and two shutouts, fanned 20 and walked four.
At the rate Warner's going, NESCAC Player of the Year may not be a stretch. Warner is 8-3 with a 0.98 ERA. Opponents are batting a meager .149 against her. And she has given up more unearned runs (12) than earned runs (11).
Warner more than dominates the NESCAC in numbers. In 78.2 innings pitched, Warner has 95 strikeouts. No other NESCAC pitcher has fanned more than 49. Warner has eight wins for the season.
Her nearest rival, Wesleyan's Jenn Wasserman, only has three wins. Among pitchers with more than 20 innings pitched, Warner is third in ERA, and only Wasserman has pitched more innings than Warner. Finally, the only two competitors who Warner trails in ERA have pitched a combined 50 innings-which is to say, almost 30 fewer than Warner.