CLERMONT, Fla. -- Sophomore Janell Sato hit a walk-off single to lead the Bates softball team to a dramatic 5-4 win over Emmanuel before the Bobcats rallied but fell short in an 8-6 loss to Catholic on Sunday in the first two games of the 2020 season. 

Bates (1-1) takes on Hood at 9:15am and Webster at 11:30am on Monday as the Bobcats continue their season-opening trip to Florida.

Bates 5, Emmanuel 4

Senior captain Kirsten Pelletier struck out 11 in a complete game and Sato (Honolulu, Hawaii) provided the game-winning hit and two RBIs in a 5-4 come-from-behind walk-off victory for the Bates softball team over Emmanuel Sunday morning.

Bates rallied from four runs down to pull off the victory. With the score tied at four entering the bottom of the seventh, sophomore Emily Samar (New York, N.Y.) and junior Caroline Bass (Newton, Mass.) smacked back-to-back singles with one away off Emmanuel reliever Megan Long. Sophomore Kennedy Ishii (Honolulu, Hawaii) bunted the runners over and Sato singled to center off Long (0-1), scoring Samar and ending the game.

Pelletier (Sidney, Maine) struck out the side in the first inning but ran into trouble in the second frame. 

Emmanuel's Grace Orcutt singled through the left side and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Maegan Amsler singled her to third and stole second. Then Julyanne Pacheco singled home Orcutt and Emmanuel led 1-0. The Saints (1-1) weren't done, with Pacheco stealing second and Sarah Hoisl drawing a walk after Pelletier had struck out the next two batters.

With the bases full and two down, Renae Lacroix doubled in three runs and the Saints led 4-0. Pelletier (1-0) struck out the next batter for six K's over the first two innings. 

Down 4-0, the Bobcats got three back in the bottom of the fourth. Ishii drew a walk to start the frame against Emmanuel starter Tianna Dawe. One out later, senior captain Julia Panepinto (Buffalo, N.Y.) reached on a fielder's choice where the Saints failed to get Ishii at second. Sophomore Aleah Pagan (Orinda, Calif.) reached on a fielder's choice, putting runners at first and second with one out.

Junior Mary Collette (Watertown, Conn.) recorded the Bobcats' first hit of the game, a single up the middle, plating Panepinto and cutting the deficit to 4-1. Collette advanced to second on the throw home and sophomore Eliza McNulty (Cambridge, Mass.) singled in a pair of runners, trimming the Emmanuel lead to 4-3 and chasing Dawe from the game.

Pelletier retired the side in order in the top of the fifth and the Bobcats tied the game in the bottom half of the inning. With two outs, Ishii tripled to right center and Sato singled her home. 

After issuing a lead-off walk in the fourth, Pelletier retired 12 in a row down the stretch and the Bobcats won the game on Sato's single in the seventh.

The Bobcats recorded seven hits in the contest while Pelletier held the Saints to four hits. Sato recorded the only multi-hit game, going 2-4 at the dish. 

Catholic 8, Bates 6

Bass slapped an inside-the-park home run and the Bobcats rallied from six runs down but fell just short in an 8-6 loss to Catholic University Sunday afternoon.

Bates took a 1-0 lead over the Cardinals (3-3) in the top of the first. Bass reached on an infield single and promptly stole second base. Ishii drew a walk and Sato singled to load the bases. One out later, Pagan hit a grounder to short and the Cardinals got the force out at second but that was it, with Bass scoring the first run of the contest.

Junior Payton Buxton (Middlebury, Vt.) got the start in the circle for Bates and blanked Catholic through the first two innings.

But the Cardinals took the lead for good in the bottom of the third. Bella Ronca singled to start the frame and one out later Katie Hurd launched a two-run home run, making the score 2-1 in favor of Catholic.

The Cardinals kept adding to their lead in the fourth and fifth innings. In the bottom of the fourth, Kacie Badolato led off the inning with a double. Two outs later, Ronca singled in pinch runner Elizabeth Dew and the Cardinals led 3-1.

Sabrina Scott homered to lead off the bottom of the fifth, chasing Buxton (0-1) from the game. Sophomore Danielle Polirer (Bellmore, N.Y.) entered the contest out of the bullpen and walked Sammy Phillips. She settled down and got two outs (one when Samar caught a runner stealing) but the Cardinals scored three runs with two away to go up 7-1. 

Bates got two back in the top of the sixth. With one out, Samar singled and Bass slapped a ball to left that got past the Cardinals' outfielder, scoring Samar. Bass hustled all the way around the bases to score as well for her first collegiate home run. The Cardinals got one of those runs back in the bottom of the sixth on a Badolato RBI single. 

Down 8-3, the Bobcats made one final push in the top of the seventh inning. With one away, Collette reached on an error and McNulty drew a walk. First-year Amanda Taylor (Fair Lawn, N.J.) reached on an infield single but Collette was caught off the bag at third for the second out of the frame.

Samar drew a walk to load the bases and Bass drew a walk of her own, trimming the deficit to 8-4. The walk to Bass chased Catholic starter Claire Sturek (1-0) from the game and Ishii greeted new pitcher Allie Lajeunesse with a single to left center, scoring Taylor and Samar. 

Lajeunesse was able to strike out the next batter though, ending the game with the tying runs on the bases. 

Bass went 3-4 with two runs scored, a home run, three RBIs and a walk. Sato also recorded three hits in the contest. The Bobcats tallied 10 hits and the Cardinals tallied 12. Bates left 12 runners on base in the loss.