BRUNSWICK, ME - Bowdoin's Gen Barlow hit a three-run home run and starter Melissa DellaTorre settled down after a rocky first inning to lead the Polar Bear softball team to a 5-4 win over Tufts on Friday afternoon at Pickard Field.
The Polar Bears (16-13, 5-2 NESCAC) have won 10-straight games games overall and deal the Jumbos (13-13, 3-1 NESCAC) their first conference loss of the season.
Tufts got to DellaTorre early, as Jo Clair's (Glastonbury, CT) 14th home run of the season, a two-run blast to deep left-center, gave the visitors a 2-0 edge just three batters into the contest. Clair ties the single-season record at Tufts held by Courtney Bongiolatti in 2005.
Bowdoin answered with a rally in the bottom of the frame, capped by Barlow's three-run jack to left that gave the Polar Bears a 3-2 advantage. Bowdoin tacked on single runs in the second and third innings, courtesy of an Amy Hackett run-scoring single and a Molly Nestor hit that plated Barlow.
Tufts twice cut the lead to a single run, in the third on a sacrifice fly by Chrissy Massrey (San Juan Capistrano, CA) and in the sixth when Lizzy Iuppa (Paramus, NJ) trimmed the lead to 5-4 with a single to left. DellaTorre stranded two Tufts base runners in the inning to maintain the lead and got a 1-2-3 seventh to seal the victory.
Caroline Dewar and Molly Nestor each went 2 for 3 for the Polar Bears while Sara Hedtler (Wrentham, MA) had a pair of hits for the Jumbos, who left eight runners on base in the loss. Rebecca DiBiase (Wellesley, MA) was tagged with the loss after allowing five runs on eight hits over six innings, striking out five. DellaTorre scattered seven Tufts hits and permitted three earned runs while striking out four in the victory.
The teams will conclude their three-game NESCAC East Division series with a doubleheader at Pickard Field Saturday at noon.
Game Box Score
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Game release courtesy of Bowdoin College
