CLERMONT, Fla. – A late rally from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh erased a five-run Mammoth lead, delivering an 8-5 defeat, and Simpson College clenched a 3-1 victory over the Mammoths on Saturday afternoon as the Amherst College women's softball team suffered two losses in their final bout of the Spring Games.
Amherst's record fell to 8-4 following the two losses. The Mammoths will begin their NESCAC journey with a doubleheader against Middlebury on Saturday, where they'll face the Panthers at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.
Game 1: University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh 8, Amherst College 5
*The Mammoth offense didn't take long to get going, scoring a pair of runs in the bottom of the first frame. Senior
America Rangel reached on a walk, moving to second on a sacrifice bunt from sophomore
Heidi Li. First-year
Lulu Leppard then drove a single to the right side, scoring one run as Rangel crossed the plate and put Amherst ahead 1-0. With two outs, senior Dani Torress Werra advanced to third base on a fielder's choice and notched a run after first-year
Abby Rebhan hit an RBI double to left field, extending the Mammoths' lead to 2-0.
*Amherst carried the momentum to the second as junior
Dylan Briggs tripled to the left center to give first-year
May Mishima an unearned run. Rangel followed up a moment later with an RBI single to third base, leading Briggs to cross the plate and extend the lead to 5-0. With Rangel on second, Leppard sent a ball to right field that notched one more run for the Mammoths.
*In the third stanza, the Titans started a late rally as fielding errors led three runners to score for Wisconsin.
*The Titans took the lead with a five-run fourth inning. Sophomore Sarah Hammerton opened the frame with a leadoff triple, allowing junior Haylie Wittman to add a run with an RBI single, 4-5. A single through the right side from senior Abby Garceau put Wisconsin ahead as two more runners crossed the plate. A groundout from fifth-year Sydney Rau notched the fourth run, and a single from fifth-year Morgan Rau logged the fifth, 8-5.
* Leppard led the Mammoths at the dish, going 2 for 3 with 2 RBI.
*
Dylan Briggs tossed three shutout innings of relief for the Mammoths.
Game 2: Simpson College 3, Amherst College 1
* First-year
Abby Rebhan took the ball in the circle for Amherst and delivered a strong start against a Simpson team that improved to 15-1, going six full innings and allowing eight hits and three runs, two earned. She did not walk a batter and struck out one.
* Simpson took a 2-0 lead on a pair of RBI-singles in the bottom of the third.
* Down 2-0 entering the top of the fifth, the Mammoths mounted a rally around singles by
May Mishima and
America Rangel. With two outs,
Laura Daniels pinch-hit and hit a single to load the bases, but a Leppard comebacker ended the threat.
* Amherst would not go quietly. Down three runs in the top of the seventh,
Emma Nordstrom and Mishima opened the frame with singles. After an out, Rangel lined an RBI-single to make it 3-1.
Olivia Aitkin grounded out to second to put runners on second and third with two outs, but Leppard grounded out to second to end the game.
* Amherst had eight hits in the loss. Rangel was 3 for 4 with an RBI. Mishima was 2 for 3.
