CLERMONT, Fla. – The Union College softball team opened the 2023 season with games against Amherst and New England College from Legends Way Ballfields on Saturday morning. Union dropped both contests by final scores of 6-5 and 11-2.
Senior
Olivia Valery homered and drove in two runs for Union while sophomore
Melody Kappel also drove in two RBIs in game one and struck out six batters in game two for the garnet and white.
Game 1: Amherst 6, Union 5
Neither team was able to grab and early lead in the first inning. Union (0-1) opened the scoring in the second inning, scoring three runs. Sophomore
Nahnny Sobetzko singled through the left side to get the inning started. Classmate
Tatum Perkins drew a walk to give Union, runners on first and second with one out. Kappel drove in both Sobetzko and Perkins, to give Union a 2-0 lead. Senior
Tara Hartnett earned her first RBI of the morning, scoring Kappel on a ground out.
Amherst (10-2) grabbed a run back in the top half of the fourth inning. The Mammoths scored two more runs in the top of the fifth inning to pull even at 3-3. Valery regained the lead (4-3) with a solo blast in the bottom of the fifth inning.
Amherst answered back with a three-run top of the sixth to jump out in front 6-4 over Union. The garnet and white were able to cut the Mammoth lead in half in the bottom of the seventh, after senior
Anna Zdunczyk scored on a wild pitch to make it 6-5 Amherst. Union lost 6-5.
Senior
Amanda Granato (0-1) threw 5.1 innings with two strikeouts to kick off her senior campaign. Sophomore
Autumn Duff made her season debut with 1.2 innings of work and a strikeout.
Game 2: New England College 11, Union 2 (5 innings)
In game 2, Union (0-2) grabbed a 1-0 lead in the opening frame. Senior
Karson Saunders singled with two outs. She then stole second and third base to put herself in scoring position. Valery singled down the left field line, scoring Saunders in the process.
New England College (5-7) pulled even on a wild pitch and then grabbed the lead (2-1) on a muffed throw by Union. The Pilgrims did not look back after that, NEC scored four times in the bottom of the second and five times in the bottom of the fourth to take an 11-2 lead.
Union earned their second run of the game in the top half of the fourth. First-year
Ellie Wintringer singled into the left field and then advance to second on a fielding error. Sobetzko singled to right field and moved Wintringer to third. Senior
Samantha Long pinch ran for Sobetzko. Long advanced to second on a wild pitch and then to third on a pass ball, as Wintringer scored on the pass ball.
Union lost 11-2 in five innings. Kappel (0-1) made her season debut in the circle for Union, throwing 3.0 innings and fanning six NEC batters. Sophomore
Riley Callahan entered in relief of Kappel and struck out one batter in an inning of work.
Union will get back on the field tomorrow, March 19, morning as they take on Colby College at 9 a.m., followed by Middlebury at 11:30 a.m. from Legends Way Ballfields.
