MEDFORD, Mass. -- The Bates softball team dropped both ends of a NESCAC doubleheader at No. 11 nationally ranked Tufts Sunday at Spicer Field, falling 6–1 in game one and 8–0 in five innings in the nightcap. 

In the opener, Bates stayed within striking distance early before Tufts broke the game open with a three-run fourth inning. The Bobcats' lone run came on 2B Maddy Miller's solo home run in the third, trimming the deficit to 2-1 at the time.

Tufts capitalized on a pair of Bates errors to score twice in the second, then added three more unearned runs in the fourth to extend the lead to 5-1. SS Paige Murphy led the Jumbos with three hits and four RBI, including a two-run single in the second inning.

Bates threatened in the fifth, loading the bases with one out, but Tufts reliever Francesca Colangelo induced a key out at the plate and escaped the inning to preserve the four-run cushion. The Jumbos added an insurance run in the sixth to account for the 6-1 final.

Miller finished 2-for-3 with the home run to pace the Bates offense, while CF Zariya Anderson and DP Paige Schedler each added hits.

In game two, Tufts (15-3, 4-0 NESCAC) struck quickly and never let up, scoring twice in the first and adding three-run frames in both the second and third innings to pull away.

Lauryn Horita's two-run double opened the scoring in the first, and the Jumbos continued to apply pressure with a pair of RBI hits from 3B Heaven Oliva in the second. 2B Cat Kawabe highlighted the third inning with a two-run home run as Tufts built an 8-0 advantage.

Bates was limited to one hit in the nightcap, a single from 1B Sophie Garber, as Tufts pitcher Sarah Brody worked a complete-game shutout.

The Bobcats (8-7, 1-3 NESCAC) will next head to Waltham, Mass. this Thursday at 3:00 p.m. to take on Brandeis University in a non-conference twin-bill.