BRUNSWICK, Maine – One homer apiece from sophomores Lulu Leppard and Abby Rebhan helped lead the Amherst College softball team to a 3-1 victory over Bates College in their first game of their Saturday afternoon doubleheader at Pickard Field.
The second game saw the Bobcat bats come alive, while Amherst struggled to notch hits as the Mammoths fell 5-2.
Amherst progressed to 5-7 overall and 1-1 in NESCAC play, while Bates moved to 8-5 overall and 1-1 in the conference. Up next, the Mammoths will face Bowdoin College in a doubleheader at 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. on Sunday back at Pickard Field.
Game One: Amherst College 3, Bates College 1
*The Mammoths came out swinging as Leppard homered to center field at the top of the first inning, 1-0.
*Bates looked to work the bases loaded after singles wrapped junior Sienna Pietrasiewicz, senior Delaney Rankin, and senior Sophie Garber around the diamond. Under pressure, senior Abby Moravek struck out all three incoming batters to leave the host scoreless at the bottom of the second.
*Rebhan opened the top of the third hot, homering to left center field, 2-0.
*In the bottom of the fifth inning, sophomore Maddy Miller opened the frame with a single, then advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt from junior Emily Kennedy. Reaching third on a wild pitch, the sophomore plated Bates' first run of the game on a drive down the left-field line from senior Ella Maher, 2-1.
*Rebhan led off the seventh inning with a single, then swapped with junior Heidi Li. A strikeout from first-year Samantha Portz opened space for Li to steal second, later reaching third on a single from sophomore Lauren Ro. Finally, Li touched home and extended the contest to 3-1 as sophomore May Mishima hit a sacrifice fly to right field.
BY THE NUMBERS:
*Rebhan went 2-3 with 1 run and 1 RBI, while Leppard went 1-4 with 1 run and 1 RBI. Maher went 1-4 for the Bobcats with 1 RBI.
*Moravek pitched 9 strikeouts over 7 innings, while Rankin pitched 7 strikeouts over 7.
Game Two: Bates College 5, Amherst College 2
*Following a slow Amherst start, the Bobcats jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first after Mahler reached second on a single and a fielding error. A single from junior Isabel Bettencourt extended Mahler to third, who then plated a run on a walk drawn by Pietrasiewicz, 1-0.
*In the bottom of the second, Bates extended its lead to 4-0 with a hot-hitting inning. With bases loaded, senior Emma Yen touched home on a passed ball. Bettencourt followed up with a single down the middle to plate both Maher and junior Zariya Anderson.
*Both sides failed to notch a hit through the third and fourth stanzas, until Bettencourt opened up the bottom of the fifth with a left-field homer, 5-0.
*Moravek gave Amherst a lifeline with a double to left center at the top of the seventh, plating Leppard on a run from first base to make it 5-1. First-year Julia O'Connell pinch ran for Moravek, then completed a run of her own on a single up the middle from senior Dylan Briggs, 5-2.
BY THE NUMBERS:
*Bettencourt went 3-3 with 1 run and 3 RBI, and Maher went 1-3 with 2 runs and 0 RBI. Leppard went 2-3 with 1 run and 0 RBI.
*First-year Gwen Religa pitched 4 strikeouts for Amherst across 6 innings. Junior Isabella Albro pitched 1 strikeout across 7 innings for the Bobcats.
