Two Spring Athletes Earn NESCAC Honors
Osborn '01, Peloquin '02 named NESCAC Players of the Week

    AMHERST, Mass. - Two Amherst College spring athletes were named New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) Players of the Week on Monday, as junior women's lacrosse midfielder Kristin Osborn (Morristown, NJ) and sophomore softball pitcher Lauren Peloquin (Berkley, MA) received league honors for all games through Sunday, March 26.

    Osborn, who led the NCAA finalist women's lacrosse team in scoring one year ago with 48 goals and 14 assists, picked up right where she left off, setting a new Amherst single-game record with seven goals in the Jeffs' season opener against Skidmore College, and adding five--all in the first-half--in the Jeffs' 18-4 win over Bridgewater State College. Against local rival Smith College, the junior picked up a natural hat trick in a 1:53-span of the first half, adding an assist to give her 15 goals and three assists through three games, best in the NESCAC.
    Osborn was named Co-Player of the Week, along with Bowdoin College senior Heather Hawes (Westport, MA), who amassed 14 points (7 g, 7a) in the Polar Bears' first two games. Two other Amherst juniors made their way onto the league leaderboard, including Sarah Scheessele (Pittsburgh, PA), whose 10 points (7g, 3a) ties her for fifth in the league, and goalie Jess Thaxton (Wayland, MA), whose 2.86 goals-against-average is best in the conference by almost four goals. The Jeffs, ranked third in the nation in the latest Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) poll, are next in action Tuesday afternoon when they open their home season against the Springfield College Pride.

    Peloquin, who was a third-team All-American as a freshman, as well as a first-team All-NESCAC selection, helped the Jeffs to a 12-1-1 start, including back-to-back doubleheader sweeps of Norwich University and Wesleyan University last weekend. Against the Cadets, the sophomore struck out five and allowed only two baserunners (singles in the third and sixth innings), en route to her 15th career complete-game shutout and her second of the young season. In the nightcap against Norwich, the sophomore relieved freshman Emily Melia (Hingham, MA) in the fifth inning, pitching two perfect frames for her first career save.
    At Wesleyan on Sunday, Peloquin continued her domination, striking out eight and scattering three singles over seven innings in a 4-0 Amherst win. For the season, the sophomore is 7-1 with 69 strikeouts in 58 innings of work, with the back-to-back shutouts lowering her ERA to 0.84. Melia, who notched her first career shutout in the nightcap of Sunday's doubleheader, lowered her ERA to 1.51, second in the league to Peloquin, and a full earned run lower than the third-best mark. On the offensive side of the ball, Tri-captain shortstop Liza Feldman (Lincoln, MA) is second in the league with a .452 batting average, and classmates Melissa Roja (Los Altos, CA) and Tri-captain Darcy Sweeney (Keene, NH) are fifth and sixth in hitting, respectively, as the Jeffs have run off a 10-game unbeaten streak.
    The Jeffs are next in action at home on Thursday against Clark University, a 4:30 p.m. start on Hills Field.