Busy Brittany Burke baffled batters

Author: Brooke Farquhar

If you thought you had a busy weekend, talk to a softball player. The women's softball team played five games between Friday and Sunday, but somehow managed never show to signs of exhaustion.

After hosting Amherst for two days, the team drove to Clinton, N.Y. to face Hamilton in a double header on Sunday. Despite the intense schedule, the level of play never faltered, and the team took four wins on the weekend to improve its NESCAC record to 5-3 and its season record to 17-9.

What has defined the performance of the women's softball team since the beginning of their string of games last Wednesday is a classic, beloved theme in sports: the comeback. Whether down by the first game in a series or down by a couple of runs in the first few innings of a game, the Panthers have proven their intensity and focus by coming from behind to win five of their last seven games.

A big loss and a big win marked the team's doubleheader against Plymouth State on Wednesday, April 18. The Panthers gave up a whopping 13 runs in the first game, even with home field advantage, falling 13-7. Down by a game in the series and two runs in the second inning of the second game, the women decided to turn up the heat - a lot.

Lily Hamburger '08 preheated the hot bats in the second inning with a single to right center. She was also the first to come home, followed by Brittany Burke '08, Amelia Magistrali '09 and Carolyn Davis '08. The run of four runs in the second inning fueled the team's defensive play. In the final three innings of game two, the Panthers gave up only one hit to Plymouth State and, in doing so, successfully held the opposing team to its sole two runs.

On Friday, the scoreboard at the softball field saw smaller numbers. The Panthers narrowly beat the Lord Jeffs by a score of 3-2.

In a situation similar to that against Plymouth State on Wednesday, Amherst held a 2-0 lead over Middlebury in the second inning. While Ellen Sargent '07 did notch a run for Middlebury in the second inning, it was not until the fifth that the win was somewhat sealed. After singling to right field and stealing second, Katelyn Cannella '08 was brought home by Magistrali's triple. Maura Casey's '07 single to centerfield drove Magistrali home in the fifth as well to put the Panthers in a winning position with three runs.

Of her big hit in the second of that game, Casey said, "There are always big plays in every game, but our team doesn't depend on one superstar to always be the one to pull through in a tough situation. We really play as a team."

Jennifer Williams' '07 pitching solidified Middlebury's win over Amherst on Friday. In the sixth inning the Lord Jeffs stood on all three bases, but Williams held her cool to show Amherst the only comeback team on the field was her own.

Williams' pitching performance continued to drive the team through the doubleheader against Amherst on Saturday. After losing game one 2-0, the Panthers again narrowly beat the Lord Jeffs 1-0 in game two. Allison Bard '08 had the lone run for the Panthers, while Williams allowed only two hits.

"We had great consistent performance from everyone on the field and a lot of clutch fielding plays to stifle their offense and keep them to four runs over three games," said Sullivan. "As a team we felt we were struggling with our hitting, so the few hits necessary to pull off the wins were pretty crucial."

Back-to-back doubleheaders are not easy to get through, especially when there is only one night of rest and 187 miles between them. The Panthers remained unfazed by the demanding schedule, and carried their focus into the series against Hamilton, coming out 2-0 and improving to a 5-3 NESCAC record.

8-2 seems to be a good winning score for the Panthers, who beat Plymouth State by that score Wednesday and Hamilton by the same score Sunday morning. The second game against Hamilton proved to be more of a challenge, but Sullivan's three RBIs and Burke's two and two-thirds scoreless innings gave the team what it needed to defeat the Continentals. Middlebury pressed through to win 6-5.

"Hamilton surprised us by bringing their bats," said Sullivan. "Fortunately, though, we hit well, too and managed to both jump on them early to secure a lead and come back when necessary."

The third game of the series against Hamilton is to be played Thursday in New York. The team will certainly be able to rest before this match up, though their demanding schedule last week seemed only to give them a winning momentum.

"I'm really proud of the team because this week we proved that we have what it takes to win the big 1-0 games," said Sullivan. "Our plan is to finish the sweep of Hamilton on Thursday to put us at 6-3 and then sweep Wesleyan to finish NESCAC play 9-3 and definitely go on to win NESCACs."