CLERMONT, Fla. – The Macalester College softball team got off to a great start on their Spring Break trip to Florida, topping Amherst 13-6 Sunday morning at Legends Way Ballfields. The Scots' second game of the day against Eastern Connecticut State was halted in the fourth inning due to lightning in the area. The win over Amherst (0-2) gives Macalester a 3-4 record on the season.

In the top of the first inning, junior infielder Elizabeth Welch (Carol Stream, Ill./Glenbard North) singled home sophomores Ally Wolf (Valencia, Calif./Valencia) and Safiya Butler (St. Louis, Mo./Whitfield School) for an early 2-0 lead. The advantage didn't last long, as Amherst responded with three runs in the bottom of the second. After a scoreless third inning, Macalester broke through in the fourth with seven runs. Welch struck the big blow with a bases-loaded double that plated Butler, junior Martha Miller (Medford, Wis./Medford) and first year Ainsley Sullivan (Charlotte, N.C./Charlotte Latin School). Sophomore catcher Dylan Tapia (Tarzana, Calif./Notre Dame) doubled to score Welch and later came home on an error. Junior Tess Bojorquez (San Clemente, Calif./San Clemente) also scored on an error, and junior infielder Alli Johnson (Waukee, Iowa/Northwest) came home on a wild pitch for a 9-3 lead.

Welch drove in her sixth run of the day when her single in the fifth brought home Butler. After the Mammoths scored a run in the bottom of the fifth to make the score 10-4, Miller hit a two-run single that scored Johnson and junior outfielder Callia Holland (Akron, Ohio/Hawken) and later came home on a single by Butler for a 13-4 advantage in the top of the sixth. Amherst scored twice in the bottom of the sixth to extend the game, but neither team scored in the final inning.

Welch went 3-for-4 with a double, a run and six runs batted in to lead the offense. Holland was 3-for-3 with a run and two walks, while Butler, Tapia, Miller and junior Rebecca Heinze (Rosemount, Minn./Prescott) each had two hits. Butler scored three runs in the win. Miller started in the circle and allowed three unearned runs on five hits over three innings. Bojorquez pitched the final four innings, giving up three runs, two earned, on eight hits to earn the victory.

Eastern Connecticut State led 1-0 in the bottom of the fourth inning when the game was halted due to lightning and storms in the area. The game will be completed later this week at a date and time to be announced.

Macalester plays UChicago at 11:15 a.m. and Worcester St. at 2:30 p.m Eastern on Monday at Hancock Park in Clermont, Fla.