LEWISTON, Maine – Junior Kira Shaikh went 3-for-4 with two home runs and five RBIs as Bates College softball swept its home-opening doubleheader against UMaine-Farmington, 9-3 and 5-3, at Lafayette Street Field on Thursday evening.

The Bobcats (5-12) jumped out to a 5-0 lead after the first inning in game one, but did not take the lead for good over the Beavers (4-4) in game two until the fifth inning.

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

Game One Recap – Bates 9, UMF 3

Shaikh (Manchester, Conn.) launched a home run down the left field line as part of a five-run first inning for Bates as the hosts triumphed over UMF in game one, 9-3.

Junior pitcher Brenna Callahan (Milton, Mass.) picked up the win (2-4), striking out five batters in a complete-game seven innings.

Senior Alayna Garbarino (Reading, Mass.), sophomore Karen Lockhart (East Greenwich, R.I.), and classmate Alex Eliopoulos (Akron, Ohio) each recorded two hits with Lockhart and Garbarino each hitting a double.

UMF sophomore Meryl Bond (Jefferson, Maine) posted a bases-clearing triple in the fifth inning to score all three of the Beavers' runs. First-year pitcher Courtney Fowler (Greensboro, N.C.) took the loss (1-1), allowing nine runs on 12 hits over six innings.

First-year Maddie Inlow (Falmouth, Maine) put the Bobcats on the board in the bottom of the first with an RBI single which Garbarino followed with a single of her own. Callahan then aided her own cause with a double to left field before Shaikh smashed her second home run of the season over the fence in left to give Bates a 5-0 advantage.

The Bobcats tacked on another run in the fourth off an RBI single from Lockhart to go up 6-0 before the Beavers responded in the top of the fifth.  First-year Katie Clark (Westbrook, Maine) and senior Amy Jones (Augusta, Maine) each singled before first-year Kennadi Grover (Cushing, Maine) walked to load the bases. Callahan retired the next two batters, but with two outs Bond stroked a triple to center field to empty the bases to pull UMF within 6-3.

Bates countered with three runs in the last half of the frame to push its lead to 9-3. Shaikh and junior Molly Brown (South Dartmouth, Mass.) each registered RBIs in the inning. 

Game Two Recap – Bates 5, UMF 3

Shaikh hit her second two-run home run in as many games, and Bates plated the go-ahead run in the fifth inning in a 5-3 win over UMaine-Farmington in game two.

Junior pitcher Kelsey Freedman (Falmouth, Maine) garnered the win, tossing the full seven innings and striking out four.

For the Bobcats, Shaikh, Freedman, Brown, and first-year Abigail Abbott (Rangeley, Maine) all charted two hits while Shaikh (two), Brown, and Abbott supplied the team's RBIs.

UMF first-year pitcher Kristen Manzo (Millinocket, Mass.) gave up five runs, three earned, on 11 hits over six innings. Clark went 2-for-3 at the plate with 2 RBIs and a sacrifice bunt for the visitors.

The Beavers tallied the game's first run as sophomore Shelby Bryant (South Portland, Maine) scored on a wild pitch with two outs.

Bates took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the second as after Callahan walked, Shaikh homered for the third time this season to left field – slightly closer to center field than her shot in game one – to give the lead back to the Bobcats. The hosts stretched their lead to 3-1 as Brown brought home Garbarino with a bunt.

UMaine-Farmington tied the game at 3-3 in the top half of the fifth as first-year Cassidy Morrow (Dighton, Mass.) and Bond started the inning with singles. After Bryant sacrificed both runners ahead a base, Clark snuck a single down the right field line to plate them both.

The Bobcats regained the lead in the bottom half of the frame as Freedman singled to left and an errant throw back into the infield allowed her to advance to the third. As the play continued another misfired throw allowed her to head home and put Bates up 4-3.

Abbott singled home Brown in the sixth to push the hosts' lead to 5-3, and Freedman worked out of a bases loaded jam in the top of the seventh to preserve the win.