WATERVILLE, Maine -- First-year Delaney Rankin tossed a complete game shutout and smacked her first collegiate home run, highlighting a doubleheader split for the Bates softball team Saturday against Middlebury.

The Bobcats (7-5, 1-1 NESCAC) took game one 3-0 before falling in a tight 4-3 contest to the Panthers (9-5, 1-1 NESCAC) in game two.

The games were played at Colby College due to field conditions at Bates. The Bobcats are back in action Friday when they host Bowdoin for a doubleheader starting at 3pm. 

Game One: Bates 3, Middlebury 0

In their first game against the Panthers in 13 years, the Bobcats rode rookie Delaney Rankin's arm to a 3-0 victory in game one of Saturday's twin bill. 

Rankin (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) struck out six in a complete game three-hit shutout, the best performance of her young collegiate career and the first shutout recorded by Bates this season. 

The Bobcats got on the board in the bottom of the third inning against Middlebury starter Jewel Ashbrook (2-2), who also tossed a complete game. 

Senior Amanda Taylor (Fair Lawn, N.J.) got the offense started with a one-out walk. Fellow senior Cassidy Musco (Walpole, Mass.) followed with a single through the right side and Taylor hustled to third base. Musco advanced to second on the throw to third and Bates had two in scoring position with just one away. Sophomore Sarah Cooke (Wenham, Mass.) stepped to the plate and hit a grounder to short. Taylor raced to the plate and was able to slide around the tag, putting the Bobcats up 1-0. 

Rankin (3-1) helped her cause in the circle when she led off the bottom of the fourth with a line shot over the center field fence for her first collegiate home run. Then Bates got another insurance run, this one in strange fashion, in the bottom of the fifth. Musco led off the frame with a slow chopper to third. She had the throw beat at first for an infield single, but it turned into much more as the throw went down the right field line. Musco used her speed to come all the way around and score on the play, extending the lead to 3-0.

Each team finished with three hits, with Middlebury leaving eight on base as Rankin was able to dance around six walks. The Bobcats played flawless defense in the field, and Musco paced the offense, going 2-2 with a run scored and a walk.

Game Two: Middlebury 4, Bates 3

The Bobcats rallied from a 3-0 deficit but the Panthers pushed across a run on a wild pitch in the top of the seventh to defeat Bates 4-3 in game two of Saturday's doubleheader.

Kristyn Carroll led off the top of the seventh with a single to center. The Panthers bunted her to second and Jordyn Johnson singled her to third. Musco made a strong throw home to prevent Carroll from scoring, and Johnson advanced to second on the play.

Sophomore RHP Maggie Hillwig (Phoenix, Md.) almost got out of the jam unscathed, getting the next batter to pop out. But a wild pitch plated Carroll and the Panthers led 4-3.

The Bobcats tried to rally in the bottom of the seventh, with junior Rachel Liazos (Westborough, Mass.) smacking a two-out single through the right side. But Middlebury starter McKenna Lont (4-1) struck out the next batter to finish off the complete game victory.

Bates fell behind 3-0 in the contest thanks to a Megan Fox two-run home run in the top of the second and a wild pitch in the top of the third. 

For the second straight game, Taylor sparked the offense, drawing a lead-off walk in the bottom of the third. She advanced to second on a ground out and scored when Cooke ripped an RBI double to left-center, trimming the deficit to 3-1.

Taylor kept her strong day going with a lead-off single in the bottom of the fifth. Musco drew a walk and Taylor advanced to third on a Cooke fly out. Musco stole second, putting runners at second and third with one away. First-year Ella Maher (Newton, Mass.) drove in Taylor with a ground out to third and Liazos got hit by a pitch. Sophomore Grace Householter (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) came up huge, singling through the right side, scoring Musco and tying the game at three.

Hillwig (1-1) pitched well for Bates, entering in the second inning after Rankin tossed a scoreless first. The sophomore threw the final six innings, allowing four runs on eight hits. She shut the Panthers down in the fourth, fifth, and sixth innings before Middlebury was able to squeak across the eventual winning run in the seventh. 

Taylor finished game two 2-2 at the plate with two runs scored and a walk. Carroll paced Middlebury, going 3-4 with two runs scored. Lont allowed three runs on six hits, walking four and striking out three in a complete game victory for the visitors.