Bates senior Caroline Gattuso hadn't worn the Bobcat uniform in two years, but she made an immediate impact in her official return to the team last week, playing a key role as Bates won three of its first four games.
Already the owner of Bates highest two strikeout totals for a season (69 as a first-year in 2010, 77 in 2011), Gattuso led an effective Bates pitching staff in earned run average, going 1-1 with a 1.62 ERAin 13.0 innings, while holding opposing hitters to a measly .212 average.
In Friday's 4-3 win over Westfield State, Gattuso (North Reading, Mass.) played in the outfield for the Bobcats, and played a starring role at the plate. Her two-out, bases-loaded double in the seventh inning scored senior Mary Lewis (Gardiner, Maine) and sophomore Kelsey Freedman (Falmouth, Maine) with the tying and winning runs in the game, capping a 2-for-4, three-RBI game for Gattuso. In Bates' season-opening 6-5 win over Lesley University, Gattuso went 2-for-3, including a triple, and drove in two runs. After six games, she leads Bates in RBIs with seven, and sports a .294 batting average and team-high .471 slugging percentage.
