CLERMONT, Fla. -- The Bates softball team continued its strong start to the season with a pair of five-inning victories Monday, defeating Gallaudet University and Keuka College to improve to 3-1 on the week as the Bobcats compete in the PFX Spring Games.
GAME ONE
Delaney Rankin (2-0) tossed her second straight complete-game one hitter as the junior ace faced just one batter over the minimum in the Bobcats' 15-0 victory vs. Gallaudet (2-12). Tallying nine strikeouts in the triumph (24 strikeouts over her first two outings), Rankin retired the first 12 batters she faced before surrendering a double to lead off the fifth.
The Bobcats took control early, scoring 10 runs in the top of the first inning. C
Isabel Bettencourt delivered the biggest hit, launching a grand slam to left field to make it 4-0 before an out was recorded. Bettencourt later added a two-run double in the frame, finishing the game with seven RBI.
Bates added a run in the second and three more in the third, with Bettencourt's two-run single highlighting the inning. The Bobcats plated their final run in the fifth on an RBI groundout by 3B
Maddy Miller.
SS
Ella Maher walked three times and scored a trio of runs in the rout. LF
Sienna Pietrasiewicz also came around to score three runs for the victors. RF
Grace Householter accounted for two of the Bobcats' 10 hits.
GAME TWO
Haley Alden (1-1) picked up her first collegiate victory, tossing a complete-game four-hitter, as the Bates softball team rolled past Keuka, 9-1, in the nightcap. The first-year hurler struck out seven and worked around three walks, allowing just one run in her first start for Bates.
The Bobcats answered Keuka's opening run with a game-tying RBI single from Bettencourt in the bottom of the first. The sophomore captain stayed red-hot at the plate, finishing 4-for-4 with two more RBI. She is now hitting a sizzling .833 (10-for-12) with 11 RBI through the team's first four games of the season.
Bates took control in a decisive second inning, scoring six runs (three unearned) on four hits and a costly Keuka (0-2) miscue. Householter (2-for-3, 2 RBI) broke things open with a two-run triple, while Pietrasiewicz (3-for-4, 3 RBI) also added an RBI single, her first of three run-inducing knocks in the contest.
CF
Zariya Anderson (2-for-3) contributed a triple and a sacrifice fly for the garnet and white while Maher (1-for-2) scored twice and collected two more free passes.
The Bobcats return to action Tuesday in the Sunshine State with contests vs. Macalester College (9:00 a.m.) and Clarkson University (11:15 a.m.).
