CLERMONT, Fla. — The Bowdoin College softball team split a pair of games Saturday against Plattsburgh State and Taylor University.
The Polar Bears hammered Plattsburgh State 8- 0 in a mercy-rule six-inning game. Bowdoin lost its first game of the season in the nightcap, 6-4 to Taylor, an NAIA school from Indiana.
Bowdoin ( 5- 1) had little trouble in the opener, as Gen Barlow continued her hot hitting with three RBI to lead the Bowdoin attack. Tracey Shirey and Caroline Dewar scored twice each for the Polar Bears. Melissa Della- Torre was dominant, permitting just two hits over six innings while striking out seven.
Despite a double and a home run from Barlow against Taylor, Bowdoin couldn’t pull off the win. Amy Hackett had a triple as well for the Polar Bears. Tricia Thibodeau tossed seven innings and struck out two in the loss.
On Friday, Bowdoin extended its winning streak to four games with a Friday evening sweep of Fairleigh-Dickinson and Hood.
The Polar Bears beat FDUFlorham by a 7- 2 final and edged Hood 5-4.
Hillary Smyth got Bowdoin started with a leadoff triple against FDU, as the Polar Bears scored all seven runs in the first two innings. Casey Correa had three RBI to lead the offense as Tricia Thibodeau pitched a complete game, allowing six hits and striking out two.
In their most competitive game of the spring in the nightcap, Bowdoin used a fourth-inning rally to take the lead. Barlow rocketed a triple that was followed by a Correa home run. Adrian Krul plated Hackett with a sacrifice fly to put the Polar Bears ahead for good. Toni DaCampo also had a triple and a heads-up defensive play on a dropped pop-up to end the game in the seventh. DellaTorre pitched 6.1 innings, striking out seven batters to earn the victory.
Women’s lacrosse
The 16th-ranked Amherst women held off a late charge from fifth-ranked Bowdoin, notching a 8-5 win over the Polar Bears on Gooding Field Saturday afternoon.
Snapping a three-game skid to Bowdoin (2-1, 1-1 NESCAC), the Jeffs secured their first victory over the Polar Bears since 2009, while improving to 2-1 (2-1 NESCAC).
Hoping to stake Amherst to an early lead, Marta Randall put the home team on the board less than five minutes after the opening whistle, converting a free- position attempt at 26:28.
Looking to keep pace, Bowdoin’s Elizabeth Clegg spun to the right of the Jeff net before ripping a shot into the top corner of the cage at 24:15.
Taking advantage of another free-position with just over 17 to play in the first, Alex Philie beat Bowdoin goalie Tara Connolly for her second score of the year. Just 2: 18 later, Elizabeth Ludlow tacked on another free-position score, burying her third marker of the season to stake the Jeffs to a two-goal edge at the intermission.
Wanting to set the tone to start the second, Allie Horwitz netted another free-position score 2:23 into the half before putting away another goal with 25:27 to go, wrapping around behind the net before coming across the face of the crease and slotting a shot into the top right corner. Just 1:11 later, Randall made it 6-1, tallying her second goal of the game, before Philie found open space in front, snapping a shot past Connolly to give the Jeffs a six- goal cushion.
Scoring its first goal in 39:16 of game play, Bowdoin got one back on Clegg’s freeposition score at 14:59 of the second, before Jordan Smith trimmed the margin to four, bouncing a shot into the net from the left side with just over eight minutes remaining in regulation.
Continuing to go on the offensive, Carolyn Gorajek brought Bowdoin to within three at the 2:43 mark before Katie Herter received a Smith pass on the right side before recording the Polar Bears’ third goal in a span of 6:19 to make it 7-5.
Needing to stem the visitor’s surging tide, Annelies O’Dea linked up with Horwitz in the waning moments of regulation, capping off the scoring with the Jeffs’ eighth goal of the afternoon with just 41 seconds on the clock.
Horwitz paced the Amherst attack with three goals on five shots, while Randall and Philie each had a pair of scores. Gorajek tallied two goals for Bowdoin, with Smith adding a goal and an assist.
Controlling the ball in the offensive zone for the majority of the game, the Lord Jeffs held a 24-12 shot advantage, while the Polar Bears held a 17- 15 edge in ground balls. Winning 9- of- 15 draw controls, Amherst went 14-for-19 on clear attempts, while converting four of its six freeposition shots.
Men’s lacrosse
Bowdoin couldn’t hold an early lead and fell to Amherst 14-12 in a nationally-ranked battle Saturday evening.
The seventh-ranked Jeffs improved to 4-0 (3-0 NESCAC). The 15th-ranked Polar Bears fell to 2-1 (1-1 NESCAC).
Keegan Mehlhorn scored three times for Bowdoin, while Billy Bergner notched two goals and two assists. Patrick Lawlor scored twice with an assist while Franklin Reis also found the back of the net on two occasions. Aaron Mathias had three goals and two assists to lead the Jeffs.
Bowdoin staked itself to a 5-2 advantage early in the second period after a pair of goals from Reis to open the quarter. But, Amherst rolled off seven straight goals — four to end the first half and the first three of the third quarter — to take a 9-5 advantage. Amherst extended its lead to 14-9 in the fourth quarter before a furious Bowdoin rally in the final two minutes trimmed the final score to 14- 12.
Chris Williamson made seven saves for Bowdoin. Sam Jakimo stopped nine for Amherst. Brendan Hughes won 20 of 29 draws for the Polar Bears, who held a 43-32 edge in shots.
Baseball
On Saturday, in Clermont, Fla., Bowdoin improved to 7-1 with a sweep of Suffolk University.
The Polar Bears took game one, 6-2, before earning an 8-2 win in the nightcap. Bowdoin (7-1) was scheduled to play NESCAC rival Amherst in a twinbill on Sunday.
In Saturday’s opener, Christian Martin improved to 2-0 on the campaign by stifling Suffolk and getting good support from the Bowdoin bats. Kyle LeBlanc reached base three times, scored once while Dan Findley and Erik Jacobsen had two hits apiece.
In the second contest, Oliver Van Zant earned the victory as LeBlanc went 2- for- 4 with two runs and a stolen bases. Tim McGarry delivered the big blow with a three-run triple, while Chris Cameron went 2-2 with a runscoring double.
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