CLERMONT, Fla. -- The Bates softball team showcased resilience, the long ball, and pitching dominance Tuesday as the Bobcats secured a split in action vs. Macalester College and Clarkson University on Day 3 of the PFX Spring Games.
GAME ONE
Junior shortstop,
Ella Maher, belted the first home run of her collegiate career, and the Bates softball team battled back from an early deficit before falling just short in a 7-6 loss to Macalester College in the Bobcats' first game Tuesday.
Bates struck first with a pair of runs in the opening frame. C
Isabel Bettencourt remained white-hot with the bat as the sophomore captain drove in 2B
Emma Yen with a single down the right-field line. LF
Sienna Pietrasiewicz followed with an RBI single to give the Bobcats a 2-0 lead.
Macalester (8-3) responded quickly, plating four runs in the bottom of the first and adding three more in the second to take a commanding 7-2 lead. Bates starter
Isabella Albro (0-1) lasted just 1.1 innings, allowing seven runs (six earned) on seven hits before
Brigid Gaffny took over and shut down the Scots for the remainder of the game in her Bates debut. The first-year right-hander tossed 4.2 scoreless innings, scattering three hits and striking out five to keep the Bobcats within striking distance.
Maher jump-started the Bates comeback effort in the third, launching a solo shot to left field. Bettencourt tripled later in the frame and came home on a sacrifice fly from Pietrasiewicz, trimming the deficit to 7-4.
In the fifth, Bates capitalized on a Macalester error to push across two more runs. After Bettencourt reached on a dropped pop fly, Pietrasiewicz and RF
Grace Householter delivered back-to-back RBI singles to pull the Bobcats within one at 7-6.
Despite the late rally, Macalester reliever Tess Bojorquez shut the door over the final 2.1 innings, holding Bates hitless while striking out three to earn the save.
Bates tallied 11 hits in the contest, with Bettencourt (2-for-4, triple, RBI), CF
Zariya Anderson (2-for-4, 2 R), Pietrasiewicz (2-for-2, 3 RBI), and Householter (2-for-3, RBI) leading the charge.
GAME TWO
Delaney Rankin continued her dominant start to the season, firing her third consecutive complete-game shutout as the Bates softball team edged Clarkson 1-0 to wrap up Tuesday's doubleheader.
The junior ace was masterful once again, allowing just three hits while striking out seven (one walk) over seven scoreless innings. The junior ace has now tossed 19 consecutive shutout innings to open the season, surrendering only five hits while fanning 31 batters.
The lone run of the game came in the bottom of the sixth when Bettencourt blasted a one-out solo home run to center field, breaking the scoreless tie. It was all the offense the Bobcats (4-2) needed as Rankin retired the Golden Knights (1-7) in order in the seventh to seal the win.
Bates recorded eight hits in the win, with Yen (2-for-3) and Householter (2-for-3, triple) recording multi-hit efforts.
Clarkson's Bella Hotchkiss (0-4) took the tough-luck loss, scattering eight hits while striking out two over six innings.
The garnet and white earns a much-needed day off on Wednesday before returning to action Thursday with games vs. St. Lawrence University (11:15 a.m.) and Wellesley College (2:00 p.m.).
