The Hamilton softball team (25–8 overall, 7–5 NESCAC) continued building momentum within their already-outstanding season by breaking multiple program records during their three-game series win over Middlebury College (12–14 overall, 4–5 NESCAC) on Friday, Apr. 19 and Saturday, Apr. 20. They won the first two games against Middlebury, the first with a score of 8–7 and the second 18–6 in only five innings. The Panthers took the last game on Saturday with a score of 6–4.
In the Friday game, the Continentals had an 8–0 lead for four innings and were able to persist despite an unanswered 7-run stretch by Middlebury late in the game. Emily Fraser ’20 and Helen Lin ’19 both had two runs batted in, and Caitlin Berreitter ’20, Kendall Searcy ’20, and Liz Brautigam ’19 each had one. Victoria Dunn ’22 had one stolen base; she is currently ranked fourth in the NESCAC in stolen bases.
In the first inning of the second Middlebury game, Fraser had her 32nd run batted in, which broke her own program record for RBIs in a season. Fraser leads the team with a batting average of .457 (second highest in the NESCAC) and is slugging .638. Shortly after, Searcy hit a single, marking the program record for highest number of hits in one season at 301. The third consecutive hit in the inning was a triple from Lin, creating yet another program record of 17 triples on the season. By the end of the thrilling game, Lin had scored three runs and Caroline Chivily ’19 and Searcy had two runs batted in.
This has clearly been a historic season for the softball program, who have never had an overall winning record, dating back to their first year in the NESCAC in 2001, let alone a record of 25–8 with four games still remaining. Last season, the team went 11–22 overall (2–10 NESCAC.) Junior infielder Searcy credited the coaching staff changes, the depth of the roster, the first-year player additions, and the team’s overall mentality for their unprecedented success.
In Sept. 2018, Hamilton’s assistant coach of two years, Stephanie Hartquist, was promoted to head coach. Searcy says, “Especially for the returners, it was really nice to have Coach H. come in as the head coach because she had been our assistant and it helped add some comfort and stability for the team.”
Emily Seidel was hired as the new assistant coach this past January after coaching one season at Los Angeles Mission College. Searcy recognized Coach Seidel’s work specifically with the team’s pitchers as significant to their improvement this season as well.
The team also welcomed seven new first-years, who have all made a notable impact so far. Pitcher Morgan Hartranft ’22 has the most pitching appearances on the team with 23. Hartranft’s 11 wins while pitching this season are tied for the most in the NESCAC, and she leads the conference with 5 saves. Her performance has earned her NESCAC Pitcher of the Week honors twice during her first season.
Searcy says of the first-years: “Having seven first years is amazing […] We are fortunate that they play all different positions, which means they are able to cover a range of significance on the field. I have confidence in every single one of them.”
Perhaps most important to the team’s advancement this season is their attitude and incredible dedication to the sport, which have been very evident to spectators of their games. Searcy explained, “We all come out with a ‘team’ mentality and confidence. We are so lucky to have such a large and strong roster this year and we have confidence in everyone who steps out onto the field.
“I am proud to say that every person wants to win and keeps fighting, no matter the score. And thankfully, in most sports, if you have that kind of mentality and drive to win, anything is possible — and I think we have found that this season.”
The team looks to build on their success going into their last two doubleheaders of the season and into the postseason; their last regular season home games are Wednesday, May 1 against SUNY Polytechnic at 4:00 PM and at 6:00 PM in Hamilton’s Loop Road Baseball/Softball Complex.
