Softball Holds Off Late Rally to Defeat Berea-Midpark, 11-9

Softball built an early lead and withstood a late surge to secure an 11-9 victory over Berea-Midpark on Monday.

Amherst came out swinging, plating runs in each of the first four innings to take command. In the first, Leah Sprague singled home Brianna Blankenship to open the scoring. The Comets added on in the second as Blankenship drove in Hailey Cleaver, followed by a three-run home run to left field from Sprague that scored Rhodes and Blankenship, extending the lead to 5-0.

Amherst continued to add on in the fourth inning. Makenna Dorobek singled home Samantha Pearch and Blankenship, and Morgan Lymer followed with a two-run double to score Karina Shuster and Dorobek. Lymer later came around to score on a wild pitch, pushing the Comets’ advantage to 10-0.

Berea-Midpark responded with two grand slams in the fifth and sixth innings to quickly cut into the Comets lead. Amherst added what proved to be an important insurance run in the fifth when Sienna Rebman doubled to score Pearch, making it 11-4 at the time.

The Titans continued to battle, adding another run late, but the Comets held on to complete the 11-9 win.