LEWISTON, Maine –  Kirsten Pelletier pitched a four-hitter in game one to earn the win in a pitcher's duel, and then picked up the save in game two to lead the Bates College Bobcats to a non-conference softball doubleheader sweep of the University of Southern Maine Huskies Wednesday afternoon at Lafayette Street Field.  Bates earned a 2-1 eight-inning win in the opener and then pounded out 12 hits in game two for a 10-5 win. 

 With the sweep, Bates extends its win-streak to five games and improves to 15-10 on the season.  Southern Maine loses its third straight and is now 16-15 overall.  

GAME ONE: Bates 2, Southern Maine 1 (8 inning)

Bates' Pelletier came out ahead in a pitcher's duel allowing one unearned run over eight innings.  Pelletier held the Huskies' offense to just four hits to earn her eighth victory of the season, giving up a pair of walks while striking out seven.  

The Huskies broke open a scoreless game in the top of the fifth manufacturing a run on two hits, a walk, a stolen base and a Bates' error. USM sophomore Erin Martin (Biddeford, Maine) led off the inning with a single to center field and then advance to second on a sacrifice bunt.  Another single, this time from freshman Katie Favaloro put Martin on third.  Martin came around to score an unearned run on a fielder's choice error for a 1-0 USM lead. 

Bates rallied to tie the game up in the bottom of the sixth when Caroline Bass was hit with a pitch with the bases loaded for a two-out RBI. After a scoreless seventh and top of the eight, Bates' Payton Buxton drove in the game-winning run in the bottom of the eighth inning to seal the victory for the Bobcats, 2-1. 

USM senior Amber Kelly (Berwick, Maine/Noble) absorbed the loss.  Kelly pitched well in the defeat giving up just four hits, all singles, and four walks in 7.1 innings pitched. She struck out four. 

GAME TWO: Bates 10, Southern Maine 5

Five players had two hits a piece as Bates collected 12 hits and 10 runs off of Husky pitchers en route to a 10-5 game two win. Paige Ahlholm  was 2-for-4 at the plate with a team-high three RBI, while Julia Panepinto also went 2-for-4, including a two-run home run for two RBIs to highlight the Bobcat offense.  

Trailing 5-0 after two innings, USM rallied to trail by a run, 5-4, after the top of the fourth.  Southern Maine junior Brooke Cross (Saco, Maine/Thornton Academy) hit the first of her two doubles in the game in the top of the third to drive in a pair of runs, while freshman Hannah Kenney (Oxford, Maine/Oxford Hills) and Martin each had RBIs in the fourth, including a double for Kenney. 

With its lead trimmed to a single run, Bates responded in the home half of the fourth, scoring three runs to open up an 8-4 lead. Pelletier drove in Bates' first run of the inning with an RBI single to center field, and was followed by Panepinto's two-run homer over the center field fence.  

Cross led off the top of the fifth with her second double of the game, and tenth of the season, and then came home to make it an 8-5 game on an RBI single from senior Courtney Davis (Woburn, Mass.).  However, Bates tacked on another pair of runs in the bottom of the fifth on a two-run triple from Andrea Russo, and Pelletier closed out the game in the circle for the 10-5 final. 

Bates starter Buxton earned the winning allowing five earned runs in four innings.  She gave up eight hits and a walk.   Pelletier, who came on in the fifth, picked up the save pitching three innings and allowing just one hit and one walk. 

 Southern Maine sophomore Rebecca Ackerson (Whitefeild, Maine/Hall-Dale) took the loss. Ackerson allowed three earned runs in 1.0 innings pitched on four hits.  Sophomore Alexis Brown (Malden, Mass.) pitched the final five innings allowing seven earned runs on eight hits, while striking out five. 

Southern Maine returns to action on Saturday (12:00 p.m.) hosting Western Connecticut State University in a Little East Conference doubleheader.  

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