Softball Drops Series to Bowdoin Polar Bears 1-2

ANTHONY ZUCARO ’16
SPORTS EDITOR
Despite some close matches, the Trinity College Softball team only won one out of three games against Bowdoin this weekend. The Bantams finished the regular season with an 18-12 overall record, tying with Bowdoin and Colby for second place in the division. Despite the losses, the women qualified for the NESCAC Championship Tournament seeded second.
The 3-5 opener loss began poorly for the Bantams, who were behind 5-0 in the bottom of the third. Bowdoin’s starting pitcher, Julia Geaumont, threw a complete game; the only runs Bowdoin allowed were unearned. Comparatively, Trinity pitcher, Cassia Armstrong ’18, gave up six hits and five runs in three innings before being relieved by fellow pitcher, Rachael Smith ’18. Erica Quinones ’16 was able to pull together some offense by making two out of the Bantam’s three hits, but it was to little avail.
Bowdoin scored in the first inning off of a run, but the Bears gained the rest of their points in the bottom of the third. Caroline Rice, Natalie Edwards, and Geaumont all hit RBI singles, while a passed ball later in the inning helped Edwards score again. Despite the deficit, Trinity started to mount a comeback with two runs in the top of the fourth as Michelle Treglia ’18 and Courtney Erickson ’19 scored on Bowdoin errors. Smith kept Bowdoin off the board for the rest of the game, while a hard hit ball to short stop by Nicole Towner ’19 helped Mandi Pane ’18 to get a third run for the Bantams. Unfortunately, Geaumont would close out the game and leave the Bantams with a loss.
The two-game series went better for the Bantams, winning their first game 3-2. Trinity scored quickly in the first inning with an RBI single to center by Erickson, but Bowdoin would score two to bring the Bears a point ahead in the fourth. The Bantams retaliated the inning after with a solo homer by Erica Merullo ’18, and singles by Quinones and Elizabeth McQuaid ’16 helped to set the Bantams up for a double run off Towner’s ground ball. Smith tossed a five hitter and finished with three strikeouts, one earned run and one walk allowed, while Geaumont allowed six hits with three strikeouts in 4.1 innings.
Despite their victory in the first game, the Bantams would face another defeat at 2-4 in game two. The Bantams started strong at 2-0, thanks to solo homers by Meghan Race ’18, in the second, and McQuaid, in the third. However, the Bears scored twice in the bottom of the fourth, thanks to an RBI single by Marisa O’Toole driving in Emily Griffin and a Natalie Edwards RBI single leading O’Toole to home. The scoring stopped for multiple innings as Smith kept the tie alive in the seventh with a third out as Bear runners sat on second and third base. However, with Griffin on base in the bottom of the 8th, O’Toole made a two run walk off. Armstrong pitched two strikeouts and gave up only four hits in four innings, while Smith closed the game on three hits and three walks.
The Bantams play again at Williams on Friday for the first round of the NESCAC Championship Tournament.