AMHERST, Mass. — The Middlebury College softball team took two out of three NESCAC West games at Amherst this weekend, winning the opener when pitcher Elizabeth Morris tossed a no-hitter.
The Panthers are 7-6 overall, 2-1 in NESCAC West, while the Jeffs dropped to 11-3, 1-2 in the league. Both trail first-place Williams, which is 3-0 in NESCAC West.
Middlebury’s scheduled Tuesday doubleheader with visiting Union was postponed.
On this past Friday, Morris’s no-hitter sparked the Panthers to a 1-0 win in the series opener. Locked in a pitchers’ duel with Jeff starter Jackie Buechler, Morris allowed just two base runners and retired 14 consecutive batters after issuing a leadoff walk in the first. The only other Jeff reached on a two-out error in the fifth. Morris fanned five and improved to 4-1. Buechler scattered five hits in the loss, fanning six while walking none.
The Panthers scored the game’s only run in the second on singles by Carlyn Vachow, Hye-Jin Kim and Kelsey Martel.
On Saturday, the Panthers won the opener, 4-1, but fell in game two, 6-1.
The Panthers used a big second inning to take the first game of the doubleheader. Sarah Freyre reached on an error before moving to third on a Vachow single. After Vachow stole second, Kim singled in Freyre. Martel beat out a ground ball to short, allowing Vachow to score. A fielder’s choice off the bat of Alex Scibetta plated Kim.
Amherst got one back in the bottom of the third thanks to a leadoff home run from Annie Apffel. In the seventh, Vachow scored on another RBI Scibetta fielder’s choice to create the 4-1 final.
Neve Stearns tossed four innings in the win for Middlebury, allowing one run on five hits. Morris pitched the final three frames, surrendering two hits while striking out four.
In the series finale, the Jeffs got to Middlebury starter Kat Maehr for an unearned run in the second, added two earned runs off Morris in the third, and tacked on the rest of their runs vs. Stearns.
Middlebury scored in the sixth on an Emily Kraytenberg single, a walk to Freyre, and a Kim double, but the Jeffs added their final two runs in the bottom of the inning.
Buechler tossed a complete game in the win, scattering six hits while fanning a pair of Panther batters.