BRUNSWICK

At the time, a simple tagout at home didn’t seem very significant.

It was the fifth inning of game one of a Bowdoin softball doubleheader against USM on Wednesday, and the Polar Bears were in trouble. The Huskies had just tacked on another run for a two-run lead and had the momentum heading into the final two frames.

By the seventh inning, that tag-out proved vital.

With two outs and two runners on in the bottom of the seventh inning, freshman Samantha Valdivia came to bat as Bowdoin’s last chance. After a passed ball advanced the runners to second and third base, Valdivia looped a single over the infield that scored both runs and gave the Polar Bears a come-from-behind 5- 4 win.

“No matter what, our teammates are here to support us,” said Valdivia, whose lone hit of the game came on the winner. “Whatever situation we’re in, we’re going to get each other out of it.”

“We really didn’t play a great game, but obviously we love the win,” coach Ryan Sullivan said. “The thing we’ve had going for us all year is our kids are pretty tough and they hung in there and finished well, which is great.”

Battling through

Grinding things out was the theme of the game for Bowdoin and it started with captain Julia Geaumont on the mound. USM jumped out to an early 1-0 lead after three straight walks from Geaumont, who tossed 39 pitches in long first inning. But. after a talk with assistant coach Jen Burton, the senior forced a big ground out from Samantha Crossman to leave three runners stranded and keep the deficit at just one.

Geaumont, who threw 150 pitches in all, faced another based-loaded situation in the third inning and battled with USM for the duration of the game. The Huskies managed runs on a hit batter, a line-drive triple and an RBI double in the gap, but ultimately, Geaumont kept Bowdoin in the game. She finished with five strikeouts and five walks.

“It wasn’t the cleanest game, but she’s always a workhorse,” Sullivan said of his starter. “You know what you’re going to get — seven innings out of her. She really grinded through that whole day, but really gave us a chance to win in the end.”

“She’s always been very mentally tough,” Valdivia said. “I have trust in her 100 percent. I have trust in all my teammates.”

On the other side, USM’s Sammi Goode threw a 124- pitch complete game and struck out five Polar Bears before giving up the three decisive runs in the final inning. After an Emma Stevens single, Goode forced two straight fly balls from Caroline Rice, and Goode and was an out away from closing out the game. That’s when catcher Claire McCarthy lined a double into the gap to spark the run.

In the following at-bat, Kate Gately earned a four-pitch walk to set up Valdivia, who hit the game-winning single.

McCarthy finished 3-for-4 at the plate with two doubles and a single to center field, Geaumont doubled and scored in the third inning, and Stevens crossed home plate twice.

It was a sloppy game defensively for Bowdoin, which committed four errors and misplayed a based-loaded foul ball with two outs. One of the infield errors led to USM’s fourth run in the sixth inning, but Sullivan said his team was in the game all along.

“We’ve got a great group of kids, and we’ve been that way all year,” he said. “We know that if we’re within closing distance, we can catch them at the end. We’ve got a lot of work ahead of us to get better.”

Game two tie

The Polar Bears (13-9-2) scored three runs in the final inning again, forging a 5-5 tie with the Huskies as the second game was called due to darkness after five innings.

The Huskies (14-7-1) jumped out to a two-run lead in the top of the first, beginning with an RBI by Danni Humphrey. Brooke Cross drove in a run on the following play off a single.

The Polar Bears tied the game in the bottom of the third, beginning with a sacrifice fly to center off the bat of Ali Miller. Rice followed with an RBI double.

Southern Maine put three runs up in the fifth before Bowdoin forced the final out. Davis tallied an RBI single and Obert again earned a bases-loaded walk to push across another run. The Huskies’ final run came as Ally Pillar chopped a shot to first that was misplayed, allowing the run to score.

With light fading, Gowdy and Miller tallied back-to-back singles to put runners on first and second. Rice and Geaumont hit consecutive doubles to tie the game, with Rice driving in one run and Geaumont a pair.

Emily Griffin pitched all five innings for Bowdoin while allowing seven hits with four strikeouts. Katelyn Tucker started the game for USM and went four innings with seven hits. Amber Kelly pitched one complete inning, allowing two hits.

Bowdoin travels to Colby to open its NESCAC series against the Mules on Friday at 4 p.m. The teams play a doubleheader at Brunswick on Saturday, starting at noon.