BRUNSWICK, Maine -- The Bates softball team lost both ends of a NESCAC doubleheader Saturday at Bowdoin, in the rivals' first meeting since 2019. The Polar Bears won 8-1 in Game 1 and took Game 2 15-3.

Maddie Rouhana and Lilly Armstrong were both dominant at the top of Bowdoin's batting order, each player going 3-for-4 in both games and homering. Rouhana drove in six runs on the day while Armstrong scored six times and drove in five runs.

Bates (1-9, 1-5 NESCAC) will complete its abbreviated season Sunday at home against Trinity (3-7, 3-3 NESCAC), in a doubleheader starting at 2pm. No visitors are allowed on campus, including at athletic events. Follow the games via live video and statistics at GoBatesBobcats.com (mobile and desktop).

Game 1 Recap

Bowdoin began their half of the first inning with back-to-back doubles by Armstrong and Rouhana, followed by Katryna Dukehart's two-run home run a batter later off of Bates senior Payton Buxton (Middlebury, Vt.).

Trailing 3-0 in the third inning, Bates got on the scoreboard after sophomore Cassidy Musco (Walpole, Mass.) hit a two-out single. Junior Janell Sato (Honolulu, Hawaii) singled to advance Musco to second, and first-year Rachel Liazos (Westborough, Mass.) followed with a single to right, scoring Musco while the ball was misplayed. 

Bowdoin came back with two runs in the fifth and added three more on Rouhana's homer to left field.

Buxton (1-4) allowed eight runs on 11 hits and two walks in a complete-game effort with three strikeouts. Ruby Siltanen (2-3) allowed one run on eight hits with eight strikeouts to pick up the win.

Game 2 Recap

Bates scored a pair of runs in the fourth inning, both on bases-loaded walks drawn by junior Aleah Pagan (Orinda, Calif.) and senior Caroline Bass (Newton, Mass.), respectively. After Liazos was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning, Bates used walks by sophomore Lindsey Kim (Palo Alto, Calif.), senior Mary Collette (Watertown, Conn.), Pagan and Bass to push Liazos and Kim across the plate. The inning ended with a force out at home on Musco's ground ball to the pitcher.

Senior Jevan Sandhu (Plymouth, N.H.) came on to pitch the fourth inning for Bates and struck out her first batter. But Bowdoin rallied for eight consecutive hits, scoring six runs, before the Bobcats turned a double play to end the damage.

Bates got one run back in the bottom of the fifth, with Collette singling Kim home from second base after Kim had reached on a fielder's choice and advanced on a wild pitch. Collete's single broke up Bowdoin pitcher Abby Allen's (3-3) bid for a no-hitter.

Junior Danielle Polirer (Bellmore, N.Y.) started for Bates and dropped to 0-3, allowing nine runs (eight earned) in three innings.