Published: 5/12/2022 8:07:23 PM
Both the softball and men’s lacrosse teams at Amherst College will continue their seasons at the national level this weekend, advancing to the first game of their respective NCAA tournaments.
The softball team’s first-round contest will be on Friday at 4:30 p.m., when the Mammoths (24-7) will host Husson (26-9). The men’s lacrosse team will travel to Rochester, N.Y., where they’ll take on undefeated Tufts on Saturday at 3 p.m.
The Amherst softball team couldn’t have asked for a better run up to its tournament game this weekend. The recently-crowned NESCAC champions are riding high after their first conference title in program history; Amherst shut out Tufts in a 1-0 win to claim the conference title.
The Mammoths have won 11 of their last 12 contests and are on a six-game winning streak entering their game against Husson. The Mammoths have the added bonus of hosting a four-team regional this weekend on their home field.
In the double elimination format, Amherst will take on either defending national champion Virginia Wesleyan (33-11) or Liberty League champion University of Rochester (26-13) on Saturday. The four-team pod is double-elimination.
The men’s lacrosse team had to wait a little longer to learn if they’d earn a spot in the NCAA tournament. The Mammoths dropped a 15-14 heartbreak to Bowdoin in the NESCAC semifinals when the Polar Bears scored twice in the final 15 seconds to complete a comeback.
Despite the loss, the Mammoths (10-6) earned an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament, their first NCAA appearance since they made it to the national championship game in 2019.
It’s an extra special appearance for head coach Sean Wood, who’s in his first season as the Mammoths’ head coach.
Amherst will travel to New York to take on MIT, the NEWMAC champion that enters with an undefeated 16-0 record on the year. If it bests the Engineers on Saturday, the Mammoths will play either RIT (17-1), Albion (14-4) or Dubuque (12-7) in their next contest.