Amherst Softball Falls Short Despite Valiant Effort

This weekend, the Amherst softball team had yet another outstanding effort against Hamilton College. On Saturday, April 17, the teams took a game each, but Hamilton ultimately prevailed on Sunday, April 18, leaving the weekend with a 2-1 series victory over Amherst. Even though the Mammoths totaled an incredible 17 runs along with five homers over the course of three games, it was not enough to carry them to a series win. Despite this being their first series loss of the season, the team’s grit and unity were on full display.  

Hamilton came out strong in the first game, starting the series off with a 4-0 lead. The Mammoths showed promise in the sixth inning when they scored two runs, but the comeback effort was ultimately halted, losing game one by a final score of 6-2. 

But the Mammoths did not let their first loss deter them from battling in game two, as they exploded for five runs in the first two innings. Maddie Procyk ’24 hit two home runs for Amherst, setting them far ahead of the visiting team. But Hamilton managed to come back and tie the game at six a piece in the top of the seventh. However, Randi Finkelstein ’24 ripped a crucial, two-run walk-off home run to end the game at a score of 8-6 in favor of the Mammoths.

Procyk’s play on the mound was a major key in the Mammoths’ game two victory, as she struck out four players and allowed only seven hits, while the opposing pitcher gave up 12 hits and struck out four. 

The third game of the weekend was a nail biter with a tight score to determine the series winner. Finkelstein started the Mammoths off strong with a home run in the first inning. However, the Continentals came out of the dugout on fire, scoring five runs in the bottom half of the inning. Despite a final push from the Mammoths to pull the game to within one score, Hamilton managed to collect the last three outs to secure a final score of 8-7 and a series win. 

Although Amherst was not able to pull out the win this time around, the team is looking forward, now preparing for a three game series against rival Williams College this coming weekend.