Hannah Gilbert Tosses Second No-Hitter in Sweep of AMC

PAXTON, Mass. – The MCLA Softball team took to the road this afternoon for a doubleheader at Anna Maria College. The Trailblazers rolled to a pair of mercy-rule wins behind three hits by Amelia Leasure in game one, and a no-hitter by Hannah Gilbert in game two.

THE BASICS:

• Date: Wednesday, April 8, 2026
• Game #1: MCLA 12, AMC 4
• Game #2: MCLA 14, AMC 0
• Records: MCLA Trailblazers 13-7 (MASCAC 4-0) | Anna Maria College AMCATs 10-11 (MASCAC 2-4)
• Series History: This was the first-ever meeting of the teams.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Game #1
  • The Trailblazers set the tone of the afternoon from the jump, scoring five runs in the first inning. Paxton Ebling (Pittsfield, MA) drove the first run in with a bases-loaded infield single. Amelia Leasure (Pittsfield, MA) followed with an RBI bunt single before Alexandra Espel (Acra, NY) forced a third run across with a hit-by-pitch. Two batters later, Hannah Mitchem (Baltimore, MD) plated two runs with a single to left field to give MCLA a 5-0 lead.
  • The second and third innings saw the Trailblazers post one run in each inning before Anna Maria scored their first run. Hannah Gilbert (Colrain, MA) drove home the run in the second inning with a single to left field, and Nevaeh Lopez (Pittsfield, MA) brought home Espel in the third.
  • The AMCATs posted their first run in the bottom of the third when Angela Marie Gilmartin doubled down the left field line.
  • Angered by the home team sullying the MCLA shutout, the Trailblazers posted another five runs, highlighted by Gilbert's first collegiate home run to lead off the inning. The Trailblazers capitalized on some rough defense by the home team, scoring four more runs on three hits.
  • Anna Maria scored three runs in the final two innings on an infield single by Ella Moon in the fourth to score one, and another infield single by Trinity Kehoe that plated two.
  • Allie Mienaltowski (Delanson, NY) went the distance for MCLA, scattering seven hits over five innings, striking out two, and improving her season record to 6-3. The AMCATs' Makenna Lovelette fell to 5-7 after allowing 12 runs on 12 hits.
• Game #2
  • In the second game of the afternoon, the Trailblazers scored early and often, scoring in all five innings and posting multi-run innings in all but the third. Meanwhile, Gilbert was a magician in the circle, limiting Anna Maria to only two base runners and facing only one batter over the minimum while notching her second no-hitter of the season.
  • All three runs that MCLA scored -at the top of the first came around to score on Leasure's bases-loaded, two-out double down the left field line.
  • In the second inning, the Trailblazers again scored runs with two outs on back-to-back home runs by Hailey Peabody (W. Springfield, MA) and Lopez.
  • MCLA was held to "only" one run in the third inning when Ebling walked and stole second before scoring on Leasure's ground ball back to the pitcher.
  • The Trailblazer bats awoke again in the fourth inning, scoring five runs on four hits and capitalizing on three errors. The biggest blows were Mitchem's one-out double and Gilbert's RBI single down the left field line.
  • In the top of the fifth inning, Mitchem opened the inning by scoring on a little league homer, doubling to right field before taking third, and then scoring on an error by the right fielder. Peabody followed with her second homer of the afternoon, launching a 0-2 pitch. Two batters later, Gilbert did the same on the first pitch of her at-bat to push the road team's lead to 14-0.
  • Gilbert then set the side down in order in the bottom of the fifth to earn the complete game shutout and advanced her record to 6-3. Mackenzie Evers absorbed the loss to fall to 5-4 after allowing 14 runs, nine earned, in five innings and allowing four home runs.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• With the sweep, MCLA notched its 13^th win of the year, which is the most wins in a season since the Trailblazers won 14 games during the 2019 season.

UP NEXT:

On Thursday, MCLA will be back in action when it travels to Bay Path University for a non-conference matchup with the Wildcats. The first pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m.

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