Courtesy Tufts Sports Information

Box Score

NORTON, Mass. - Williams College won its second straight NESCAC Softball championship with a 9-0 victory over Tufts University in game seven of the conference tournament at Wheaton College on Sunday afternoon. Junior pitcher Clara Hard (Seattle, WA) hurled a five-inning no hitter to lead the Ephs, who hit three home runs in the game including two in the first inning.

Williams (24-12) earns the NESCAC s automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament and will begin play at the regional tournament later this week. Tufts (27-8), which would have had to defeat Williams in two straight games to win the title, will hope for an at-large berth into the NCAAs.

The Ephs took charge of the game right away by scoring five runs on six hits in the first inning. Included in that barrage were back-to-back home runs by Twink Williams (Clifton Park, NY) and Katelyn Knox (Great Falls, VA). The Ephs added a run in the second on a double by catcher Mary Baccash (Evanston, IL) to make it 6-0.

That would be more than enough for Hard, who earlier in the day had one-hit the Jumbos in a 2-0 Ephs victory in game three of the tournament. Over the two games against Tufts on Sunday, Hard retired 28 straight Jumbo hitters until an Ephs error in the fourth inning of the final game.

Knox would add her second home run of the game and third of the tournament, a three-run blast, to make it 9-0 in the fifth. Tufts would get runners to third base in the fourth and fifth innings with the help of wild pitches, errors and passed balls, but Hard would close out her no-hitter to give the Ephs the title.

Williams had 14 hits against Tufts starter Julia Brenta (San Anselmo, CA). Cathleen Clark (Plymouth, NH) was 3 for 3, Baccash 3 for 3, Williams 2 for 3, Knox went 2 for 3 with four RBIs, and Laura Noel (Houston, TX) was 2 for 2. The NESCAC title was the fifth in a row for Williams coach Kris Herman. She won three at Tufts prior to moving to Williamstown last season, and has won the last two with the Ephs.

2005 NESCAC SOFTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
Day 1 - Friday, May 6 at Tufts
Game 1 - E1 Tufts 2, W2 Middlebury 0
Game 2 - W1 Williams 7, E2 Trinity 1

Day 2 - Saturday, May 7 at Tufts
Rained Out

Day 3 - Sunday, May 8 at Tufts
Game 3 - W1 Williams 2, E1 Tufts 0
Game 4 - E2 Trinity 7, W2 Middlebury 1
Game 5 - E1 Tufts 5, E2 Trinity 2
Game 6 - W1 Williams 9, E1 Trinity 0 - 5 inn