Softball: Bowdoin sweeps Thomas

The Bowdoin College softball team rallied in a pair of wins over Thomas College on Tuesday afternoon at Pickard Field, 6-2 in game one and 5-3 in game two. Winners of a season-best seven-straight games, the Polar Bears return to .500 and stand at 13-13 overall this spring. Thomas falls to 11-9 this season with the losses.

Gen Barlow led the Bowdoin attack with four hits, including a home run and a double and two stolen bases in the wins. Caroline Dewar also had four hits in the twinbill for Bowdoin while Lindsay Fry had three hits in the doubleheader for Thomas, who stranded 17 total runners in the two contests.

Kaity Sansone earned the win in game one for the Polar Bears while Tricia Thibodeau was credited with the win in game two with Melissa DellaTorre earning the save. Sara Pavento took the loss in the opener while Jordan Kennedy took the loss in the nightcap.

Thomas jumped ahead early in game one, taking advantage of a Bowdoin error to score twice in the opening frame but left the bases loaded. Bowdoin replied with three runs in the bottom of the first thanks to a two-run triple by Hannah Wurgaft, who then scored herself on a Terrier error to give the hosts a 3-2 lead. Bowdoin put the contest out of reach with a three-run sixth that included Barlow's first home run of the season that gave the Polar Bears a 6-2 lead. Sansone (2-0) grabbed her second win of the campaign by tossing six innings and permitting six runs while whiffing two. Pavento scattered eight hits and struck out five while allowing five earned runs.

The Terriers appeared poised to beat Bowdoin for the first time since 1997 in game two after taking a 2-1 lead on an RBI single by Kelsey Crowe in the fifth and pushing their lead to 3-1 in the sixth on a groundout by Cassie Manning. Thomas seemingly pushed their lead to 4-1 later in the frame, but were called for hitting out of order as the rally came to an abrupt halt. Bowdoin took advantage in the bottom of the sixth, as Barlow led off with a double and came home two batters later on an error to trim the lead to 3-2. After a Hillary Smyth single, senior co-captain Kara Nilan rocked a two-run triple to center that plated two runners to give Bowdoin the lead. Nilan came home on a Dewar single for an insurance run to make it 5-3 Polar Bears.

Thibodeau (3-4) worked out of trouble on several occasions, scattering five hits and three walks and striking out four to get the win. DellaTorre tossed a perfect seventh, including two strikeouts, to earn her first career save. Kennedy allowed eight hits and one earned run in the tough-luck loss for Thomas.

Bowdoin is scheduled to play a doubleheader at the University of Southern Maine on Wednesday afternoon at 3:30, weather permitting.

GAME ONE BOX SCORE

GAME TWO BOX SCORE