BRUNSWICK, Maine – The Bowdoin College softball team used a mix of power hitting and outstanding pitching Sunday afternoon to sweep Plymouth State University in a non-conference doubleheader, 9-1 and 3-1. The Polar Bears improve to 7-11 on the season, while Plymouth State drops to 3-12 on the year.
Senior Danielle Chagnon (Windsor Locks, Conn.) almost single-handedly beat the Panthers in game one, going 3-3 with two doubles and a triple in the 9-1 win. Bowdoin scored five runs in the first inning and plated at least one run in every one of their four at-bats (the game was called after five innings with Bowdoin leading by eight runs.) Freshman Karen Reni (Ashland, Mass.) was solid on the mound for the Polar Bears, allowing just one run on five hits with six strikeouts.
Senior Rose Eaton (Concord, N.H.) took the loss for PSU. Sophomore Kristi Curry (Nottingham, N.H.) knocked in PSU’s only run with a second-inning single.
PSU took a 1-0 lead in the second inning of the nightcap, when sophomore Ashley Fleming (Farmington, Conn.) singled and later scored on a hit by senior Jess Fortin (Chester, N.H./Pinkerton).
Bowdoin rallied for the comeback victory. Freshman Ali Coleman (Lewiston, Maine) tied the game in the third with a line-drive home run to left-center field, and Bowdoin took the lead in the fifth inning with two runs on a PSU throwing error. Sophomore pitcher Brittany Ogden (Maynard, Mass.) took over from there, striking out five of the final six batters she faced and allowing just four hits and whiffing 10 over seven innings. Freshman Courtney MacFarland (Hampstead, N.H./Pinkerton) pitched well (6 innings, six hits, on earned run) for the Panthers but took the loss.
The Panthers look to get back on the winning track Wednesday with a non-conference doubleheader at Fitchburg State (4:00 p.m.) PSU has played its first 15 games away from Plymouth, and has eight more scheduled before the home opener on Apr. 18.