BRUNSWICK, Maine – The Amherst College softball team claimed the first leg of their Sunday doubleheader against Bowdoin College at Pickard Field, riding an explosive seven-run sixth inning to claim a come-from-behind 9-7 victory over the Polar Bears.
Bowdoin jumped into the lead and never looked back in the second game of the series, winning 10-2 in a mercy-rule five-inning decision.
Amherst advanced to 6-8 overall and 2-2 in NESCAC play, while Bowdoin improved to 16-3 and 2-2 in the conference. Up next, the Mammoths will host Wesleyan University for their first home series of the season, facing the Cardinals at 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. on Saturday at the Amherst College Softball Field.
Game One: Amherst College 9, Bowdoin College 7
*First-year Brooke Wild reached third on a single from sophomore Lulu Leppard, who later stole second, but the Amherst bats were unable to plate either runner in the opening stanza.
*Bowdoin got on the scoreboard first as sophomore Maddie Paschke singled to left field in the bottom of the frame, plating junior Penelope Fong-Picariello from third base.
*Fong-Picariello returned in the bottom of the second with a ground-out that plated junior Elise Siciliano a run, 2-0.
*Amherst evened it up at 2-2 at the top of the third. Sophomore Laura Daniels led off with a single to center field, wrapping around the diamond to third base on a single from sophomore Lauren Ro. Daniels touched home on a single from Leppard. A fly-out from senior Abby Moravek then plated Ro, 2-2.
*Fong-Picariello kept the Polar Bears hot in the bottom of the fourth, plating both senior Anika Ewert and sophomore Kaitlyn Fado on a single. First-year Margaret Flannery-Goodman plated two more with another single, 6-2.
*Siciliano made her way around the diamond and reached home on a double driven by Fado, 7-2.
*Amherst retaliated with an explosive 7-run frame at the top of the sixth inning. Senior Dylan Briggs opened with a homer to left field, plating both herself and first-year Jayla Adkins. Sophomore Abby Rebhan then reached on a left-center double from Daniels. Daniels then added one more on a single from first-year Brooke Wild. A pitching error then opened the door for both Wild and Ro to reach home plate with Moravek at bat. Finally, Adkins closed off the rally with a single to center field, plating Leppard.
BY THE NUMBERS:
*For Amherst, Briggs went 1-4 with 1 run and 2 RBI, Wild went 3-4 with 1 run and 1 RBI, Daniels went 2-4 with 2 runs and 1 RBI, and Leppard went 2-3 with 1 run and 1 RBI. For Bowdoin, Fong-Picariello went 1-3 with 3 RBI, Flannery-Goodman went 1-3 with 2 RBI, and Paschke went 3-4 with 1 RBI.
*Moravek pitched 3 strikeouts across 3 innings, while Rebhan pitched 1 strikeout across 3 innings. Senior Maddie Current pitched 4 strikeouts across 5 innings, while first-year Sophia Hahn pitched 0 strikeouts across 1 inning for Bowdoin.
Game Two: Bowdoin College 10, Amherst College 2 (5 Innings)
*With bases loaded in the bottom of the first, a walk plated sophomore Rosie Panenka a run, 1-0.
*Following three Amherst strikeouts in the second, the Polar Bears extended their lead to 6-0 with an explosive 5-run frame. First-year Baylie Wong and Fado each reached home on singles from Ewert and Fong-Picariello, respectively. Then, as Fong-Picariello stole second, Ewert sped to home plate. A run from Fong-Picariello on a wild pitch made it 5-0. Finally, Flannery-Goodman added one more run on a passed ball, 6-0.
*Moravek heated up Amherst's momentum with a home run at the top of the third, plating two runs.
*Bowdoin responded with two runs of its own as Wong and Fado notched one run apiece on fielding errors, 8-2.
*Ewert added two more with a homer to left center field in the bottom of the fifth, en route to a 10-2 mercy-rule victory.
BY THE NUMBERS:
*Ewert went 2-4 with 2 runs and 4 RBI, Fong-Picariello went 2-1 with 1 run and 1 RBI, and Wong went 2-2 with 3 runs. Off the Amherst roster, Moravek went 2-3 with 1 run and 2 RBI.
*First-year Annie Katuska pitched 1 strikeout across 1 inning of play, and first-year Gwen Religa pitched 3 strikeouts across 3 innings. Junior Kathleen Hester pitched 5 strikeouts across 5 innings for Bowdoin.
