LEWISTON – The University of Maine at Farmington and Bates College split their non-conference doubleheader on Monday, with Bates winning game one, 7-3, before the visiting Beavers won game two, 8-5, in eight innings to complete a dramatic comeback.

Bates led 4-2 through six innings in game two, but Amy Jones’ one-out, two-run home run to center field sent the game into extra innings, after Bates failed to move back ahead in the bottom of the seventh. Jones’ homer was her first of the season; she finished the game 3-for-4 with four runs batted in.

The Beavers then exploded for four more runs in the eighth, getting three straight bunt hits to score Casey Mull with the go-ahead run before Bates starting pitcher Brenna Callahan was replaced by Kelsey Freedman, with no outs yet recorded and the bases loaded.

Freedman retired the first two batters she faced, but then walked Jones to make it 6-4. Shelby Bryant’s bloop single into shallow left then brought home Jillian Withee and Allison White for an 8-4 lead.

Bates managed just one run in the bottom of the inning; Freedman was placed on second to start the frame. UMF pitcher Emma Vaillancourt retired the two batters she faced, but Freedman came home on a UMF error that extended the inning. Anna Berenson singled to keep Bates alive, but Vaillancourt struck out Mary Deneen to end the game with two Bates runners left on.

Bates assumed a 2-0 lead after one inning. Mary Lewis drew a leadoff walk, stole second base (one of her six steals on the day), then scored on AnnaMarie Martino’s double to left field. Martino then stole third base and scored Bates’ second run on an errant throwout attempt.

UMF struck back to tie the game with two runs in the top of the fifth, but the damage could have been worse. Callahan walked three straight batters, setting up RBI singles for Meryl Bond and Jones, before she left the bases loaded with two straight outs.

Bates then assumed a two-run lead in the bottom of the frame. Deneen walked to lead off, and Martino followed with a one-out single. Both Deneen and Martino then scored on a two-base throwing error by the Beavers.

White was 2-for-3 and scored two runs in the game for UMF, while Bryant was 2-for-5 with two RBIs. Vaillancourt was charged with five runs (two earned) on six hits and five walks over eight innings, while striking out six.

Bates took charge of the day’s first game early, getting two runs in the first, three more in the second and two in the fourth for a 7-0 lead. All but one of Bates’ runs were unearned, thanks to seven UMF errors (three in both the first and second innings), helping the Bobcats hand UMF starter Emily Soule her first loss of the season.

Bates starting pitcher Caroline Gattuso cruised through the first six innings unscathed, before the Beavers plated three unearned runs in the seventh, two of them on a two-run double by Jones that also ended the game, as Jones was tagged out off of second base on the play. Gattuso allowed six hits and two walks while striking out four.

Lewis reached base safely in all four of her plate appearances in the game, including three singles. Martino was 2-for-4 with two runs and one RBI.

Baseball

Thomas splits

HENNIKER, N.H. —  New England College baseball split a double-header with visiting Thomas College Monday afternoon, falling in game one 1-0 but battling back to take game two 6-1.

With the split the Terriers improve to 9-14 overall and 8-2 in NAC play. The Pilgrims are now 2-14 on the season and pick up their first NAC victory improving to 1-11 in conference.

In the opener, the two teams battled through the opening five innings scoreless before Thomas would open the top of the sixth with a double off the bat of Colby Vigue. Vigue would then come around to score on a single over the center fielders head off the bat of Dillon Emerson.

The Pilgrims threatened in the home half of the seventh inning as Chris Wallace and Conor Crouse both reached on errors and Kevin Caputo loaded the bases with a walk, but the Terriers notched the final outs to hold on for the 1-0 victory.

NEC’s Kevin Caputo and Christopher Smith each singled twice for the Pilgrims. On the mound for the Pilgrims, Francesco Dire allowed just the one earned run on six hits, while striking out five.

Thomas’ Jeff Richardson collected two hits in game one for the Terriers. Picking up the win on the mound was Jake Chamblee who allowed five hits and struck out five in six innings of work.

St. Joe’s sweeps

WEST HAVEN, Conn. – Saint Joseph’s College (20-9, 10-2 GNAC) swept a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) baseball twinbill with a pair of 3-1 victories over Albertus Magnus College (9-15, 5-7 GNAC) on Monday afternoon.

As has been the case for the majority of the season, the Monks employed outstanding pitching performances to procure the sweep over the Falcons and collect their sixth-consecutive victory. Junior Joe Gruntkosky set the bar in the opener, allowing an unearned run off six hits and a walk with a career-high 11 strikeouts in a complete game to improve to 4-1 on the season.

Game-two starter Nick Whittaker put up equally-impressive numbers in the nightcap, as the junior righthander allowed one run off two hits and a walk and tied a career-best with 10 K’s over seven frames to up his record to 4-2 on the year.

Allen scores another rookie honor at UMF

FARMINGTON — University of Maine at Farmington freshman Ayla Allen of Rumford, a Mountain Valley High School graduate, has won the North Atlantic Conference women’s lacrosse Rookie of the Week award for the third time this season.

Allen tallied nine goals and two assists for 11 points over two games this past week for the Beavers. She charted three goals and two assists in a 10-7 win over Husson, having a hand in half of the UMF goals, to go with six draw controls and four caused turnovers.

She followed up that effort with a six-goal performance against Thomas College, and also recorded eight groundballs, 10 draw controls, and one caused turnover.

For the week, Allen logged 12 groundballs, 16 draw controls, and five caused turnovers against only one turnover.

Allen is currently tied for second in the NAC with 39 total points, and leads Farmington in points, goals (30), and assists (9).

Small named NAC tennis player of week

WATERVILLE — The North Atlantic Conference has announced its weekly men’s tennis honors and freshman Tyler Small of Greene has been named rookie of the week for the second time this season.

Small went 2-0 over the weekend in conference play at number two singles, winning both matches 6-0 in both sets. The first year also picked up two victories at number one doubles in the two conference wins for the Terriers.

Currently Small leads the squad with seven singles wins on the season, all in the number two spot.