LEWISTON, Maine -- Head coach McKell Barnes is blunt when assessing what happened to the 2020 Bates softball season. 

"It was heartbreaking and devastating," Barnes said. "And those are understatements." 

The 2020 season saw ace pitcher Kirsten Pelletier '20 lead Bates to a 6-2 start before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down sports. A season that began with so much optimism ended with the Bobcats still on their annual season-opening trip to Florida. 

Barnes, in her eighth season leading the Bobcats, was "pleasantly surprised" when the NESCAC announced that spring sports would take place this year. There is no trip to Florida this season. Bates opens the 2021 campaign Saturday with four non-conference games in two days against Saint Joseph's College of Maine. The Bobcats start NESCAC play on Saturday, April 3 with a doubleheader against Bowdoin. Bates will play 12 conference games and then the top team from each division will square off in a best-of-three match-up to determine the 2021 NESCAC champion.

With the graduation of captains Pelletier and Julia Panepinto '20, the Bobcats have some holes to fill in the circle and infield respectively. 

A trio of Bates pitchers hope to contribute to the team's success in 2021.

Senior Payton Buxton (Middlebury, Vt.) posted a 2.57 ERA in 16.1 innings pitched in 2020. She brings the most experience to the table having started 28 games over the course of three seasons. The biology major looks to bookend her career with a strong senior season. As a first-year in 2018, Buxton went 7-4 with a 3.15 ERA and the Bobcats won 20 games, the most in one season in program history. 

Fellow senior Jevan Sandhu (Plymouth, N.H.) has been effective when called upon for the Bobcats. She did not allow a run in two appearances last year and went 1-0 with a 3.68 ERA and one save in 13.1 innings pitched as a sophomore in 2019. With Pelletier's graduation, Sandhu may pitch more this season than she has in the last three years combined. The psychology major is also making a big impact off the field for Bates as a member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and the newly formed Bates Athletics Agents of Change, as well as the South Asian Students Association.

Junior Danielle Polirer (Bellmore, N.Y.) is 3-0 in the circle for the Bobcats over the last two seasons. She made eight appearances as a first-year in 2019 and two more appearances last year before the season was cut short. Polirer is a neuroscience major and shines in the classroom. She was named an Easton All-America Scholar-Athlete by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association in 2019 and earned NESCAC All-Academic recognition in 2020.

"This is a year when all three of our pitchers have to shoulder a lot more responsibility than before and they're ready for it," Barnes said. "There will be ebbs and flows to each of their seasons but if we can maintain the great spirit of positivity that is flowing through the entire team right now, we'll be in good shape."

On offense, Barnes says that the Bobcats have a well-balanced lineup.

"It's pretty simple," Barnes said. "Whoever hits the best will play the most." 

Senior center fielder Caroline Bass (Newton, Mass.) hopes to pick up where she left off last year. Bass was hitting .500 (15-30) with nine runs scored, a triple, a home run, six RBIs, two walks and eight stolen bases when the season stopped after eight games. She has shown she can do it over the course of a full season as well. Fans have to look no further than her historic 2018 season, when Bass won the NESCAC batting title (.440) and set Bates single-season program records in hits (51), singles (47) and runs scored (35). If Bass can tally 26 hits in this abbreviated season, she'll move into second place for most career hits in Bates softball history, despite the team playing only eight games last year and with just 21 scheduled games this season.

Junior left fielder Aleah Pagan (Orinda, Calif.) is another stalwart on offense for Bates. She hit .308 in 2020 after a solid rookie season in 2019 in which she tallied a .276 batting average while starting all 36 games. 

"Caroline and Aleah have great chemistry in the outfield," Barnes said. "They both read the ball off the bat really well. They will probably bat 1-2 in our order because Aleah has great speed just like Caroline." 

Whoever plays right field will be determined by who emerges to fill some key spots in the infield. Panepinto, the team's third baseman last year, graduated. Meanwhile, catcher Emily Samar '22 (New York City), shortstop Kennedy Ishii '22 (Honolulu, Hawaii) and first baseman Eliza McNulty '22 (Cambridge, Mass.) are all studying remotely this semester.

Senior Mary Collette (Watertown, Conn.) and junior Janell Sato (Honolulu, Hawaii) figure to play prominent roles. Collette started all 34 games at catcher as a first-year in the team's record-breaking 2018 campaign. She moved to first base and also played a lot at DP in recent seasons, raising her batting average each year. Last year, Collette was hitting .318, good for fourth on the team, when the season ended.

Sato stepped in to play second base for Bates the last two seasons despite having never played the position previously. Barnes says that Sato is solid there but perhaps more comfortable at first base. One thing is for sure: Sato can hit. As a first-year Sato hit .290/.424/.421, going 31-107 at the plate with 21 runs scored, five doubles, three home runs, 20 RBIs, 16 walks and two stolen bases. She was hitting a scorching .379, second on the team to Bass, last year when play ended. 

It is an odd situation for the four Bates sophomores. They got a combined 22 at bats last season as first-years, making this essentially their rookie years.

Sophomore Lindsey Kim (Palo Alto, Calif.) seems to have a hold on the shortstop position for now, although Barnes says that Kim can also play third base and that fellow sophomore Kama Boswell (Bellevue, Wash.) should get some opportunities at short when she is healthy. 

In the meantime, Barnes says that Kim is "tearing the cover off the ball" in practice. 

Sophomores Amanda Taylor (Fair Lawn, N.J.) and Cassidy Musco (Walpole, Mass.) provide more versatility for Bates and figure to get opportunities early on to earn a spot in the lineup.

First-year Cameron Jones-McNally (Marcellus, Mich.) can play multiple positions and is a left-handed power bat for Bates. She is also destroying softballs at the plate for the Bobcats in practice and will most likely hit in the middle of the lineup as a rookie. Fellow first-year Rachel Liazos (Westborough, Mass.) is battling through an injury right now but will compete for playing time. 

Senior Abra Kaplan (Oak Park, Ill.) is a two-time NESCAC All-Academic selection and provides much-needed depth for the short-handed Bobcats. In addition to Samar, Ishii and McNulty, Dulce Alcantara '21 (Far Rockaway, N.Y.) is also studying remotely this semester.

But luckily for Bates, a lot of other NESCAC schools are dealing with the same issue, making 2021 perhaps the most interesting and unpredictable season yet for the conference.

"We feel such gratitude and appreciation that we get to play this year," Barnes said. "We know how fast you can lose something that you love so much. It's been a wild ride leading up to this season and we are having a lot of fun."