GORHAM, Maine – Bates College softball dropped a pair of one-run games to the University of Southern Maine with scores of 1-0 in game one and 7-6 in game two in a doubleheader at Towers Field on Wednesday evening.

In game two, the Bobcats (3-12) held a 5-0 lead after the top of the third, but the Huskies (14-15) rallied for four runs in the third and three in the sixth to complete the sweep after maintaining a 1-0 lead over the final four innings of game one.

Bates had originally planned to host the twin bill but moved the contests to USM due to field conditions.

Next, Bates will host No. 4 Tufts on Friday at 4 p.m. with the NESCAC series continuing with a doubleheader on Saturday beginning at noon. 

Game One Recap – USM 1, Bates 0

Bates junior Kelsey Freedman (Falmouth, Maine) struck out nine batters over six innings, but USM's Desiree Benner (4-7) did not allow a run in 6.2 innings as Southern Maine took a 1-0 win in game one.

USM's Stefanie Stockwell recorded the game's final out to pick up her second save of the season.

Freedman (2-8) gave up six hits and the one run in the bottom of the third. Classmate Brenna Callahan (Milton, Mass.) went 2-for-3, and sophomore Karen Lockhart (East Greenwich, R.I.) notched a double.

Samantha Crosman enjoyed a 2-for-3 day at the plate for the Huskies, and Stockwell drove in the game's only run.

With two outs in the last half of the third, Kristen Duross doubled to center field to keep the inning alive. Stockwell then hit a single up the middle to plate Duross.

Bates threatened in the second – when senior Alayna Garbarino (Reading, Mass.) advanced to third after a single from Callahan – and in the fourth – when Garbarino again reached third before the inning concluded.

Game Two Recap -- USM 7, Bates 6

Bates jumped out to a 3-0 lead after two innings and pushed its edge to 5-0 after the top of the third, but USM pulled with 5-4 after three and eventually took the lead in the sixth on its way to a 7-6 victory.

Garbarino went 3-for-3 in the game with three runs scored, two doubles, and an RBI. Callahan charted a 2-for-3 effort with three RBIs and a double, and junior Kira Shaikh (Manchester, Conn.) had two hits.

Stockwell (9-8) earned the win for the Huskies, tossing a complete-game seven innings with three strikeouts. Callahan (1-4) absorbed the loss despite striking out six over six innings.

Lillian Cooper and Duross each had a pair of hits and RBIs for USM while Allison Pillar went 2-for-3 with an RBI.

Garbarino led off the top of the second with a double and came home after a ground out from Callahan. The Bobcats plated another two runs in the inning, including an RBI single from Lockhart, to capture a 3-0 lead.

Garbarino brought in the team's fourth run with a double to left center, and Callahan sent Garbarino home with a double of her own in the top of the third to push Bates' advantage to 5-0.

Southern Maine responded with four runs in the bottom of the third, scoring its first two runs on a fielder's choice and then a single. Duross doubled to right center to bring in a pair of runs to bring USM within 5-4.

The Bobcats tacked on a run in the top of the fifth off an RBI single from Callahan to go up 6-4 before USM completed its rally.

Pillar singled through the left side to bring home the Huskies' first run in the inning before Cooper placed a single through the right side to score a pair of runs and give Southern Maine its first lead at 7-6.