BRUNSWICK, Maine – The University of Maine at Farmington softball team kicked off their 2025 campaign on Friday afternoon with a doubleheader on the road against Bowdoin College. The Beavers took an early 4-0 lead in Game 1, but the Polar Bears scored 12 unanswered runs to defeat the Beavers 12-4. In Game 2, Bowdoin led wire-to-wire, winning 12-1 in five innings.
Game One
The Beavers struck first, scoring two runs in the top of the second. Senior catcher Christa Allen (Harrison, Maine) led off the inning with a single up the middle. Senior first baseman Katie Morse (Dixfield, Maine) followed with a single to shortstop, giving Farmington runners at first and second with no outs. After a sacrifice bunt from Lisa Truchin (Torrance, Calif.) advanced Allen and Morse to second and third, Brianna Benson (Woodstock, Maine) drew a two-out walk to load the bases. Junior outfielder Emily Collins (Moscow, Maine) followed with a line drive up the middle, bringing home Allen and Morse to give Farmington a 2-0 lead.
After a scoreless third inning, Morse led off the fourth with a line-drive double into the right-field corner. Truchin followed with a single up the middle, putting runners on the corners with no outs. Morse scored on a wild pitch to make it 3-0, and Olivia Paradis (Saco, Maine) plated Truchin with an RBI single.
Truchin, making her collegiate debut in the circle, was cruising through the first three innings, keeping Bowdoin's potent offense scoreless. However, she ran into trouble in the bottom of the fourth. After a one-out single by JK Bradley, Ellie Sullivan followed with an RBI triple to deep center. Reilly Parga then delivered an RBI single to score Sullivan. Truchin gave up a two-out single to Anika Ewert before being relieved by sophomore Melissa Mayo (Bridgton, Maine). Mayo was introduced to the game with a two-run triple from Elise Siciliano, tying the game at 4-4 after four innings.
The Polar Bears loaded the bases with no outs in the bottom of the fifth. After Mayo struck out Sullivan for the first out, Parga cleared the bases with a three-run triple to give Bowdoin a 7-4 lead. Parga then scored on a groundout. Later in the inning, Siciliano picked up another RBI, driving home Ewert with a double to the left-center gap.
Bradley drove in two runs with a double in the bottom of the sixth, and she later came around to score on a two-out RBI single from Penelope Fong-Picariello, which served as the walk-off hit, giving Bowdoin an 8-run lead.
Morse and Paradis led the Beavers' offense, each going 2-for-3. Paradis finished with one RBI, while Morse scored two runs. Mayo was charged with the loss, allowing five earned runs in 1.1 innings of relief.
Ewert went 3-for-4 with two runs scored, Bradley was 3-for-4 with three runs and two RBIs, Parga went 3-for-3 with four RBIs and two runs, and Siciliano finished 2-for-4 with four RBIs to lead Bowdoin offensively. Maddie Current earned the win in the circle, going three innings, allowing two earned runs, and striking out five.
Game Two
Bowdoin's offense continued to roll in Game 2, scoring four runs in the top of the first. Ewert led off with a single and quickly stole second. She advanced to third on a groundout and scored on a sacrifice fly by Siciliano.
Sophomore pitcher Mack Bergen (Manitoba, Ontario) appeared to be out of trouble in the first inning after a strikeout, but a dropped third strike allowed Rosie Panenka to reach base and score Sydney Lang, keeping the inning alive. Sullivan and Maddie Paschke followed with RBI singles, giving Bowdoin a 4-0 lead after one.
Kaitlyn Fado led off the second inning with a triple and then scored on a Siciliano groundout.
Farmington got on the scoreboard in the third inning. Jojo Daigneault (Canton, Conn.) delivered a one-out single and later scored on an RBI single from Allen, making it 5-1 after two and a half innings.
The Polar Bears broke the game open in the bottom of the third, adding three unearned runs to take an 8-1 lead. Fado delivered a two-out, two-run single, and Siciliano added a two-out RBI infield single.
Bowdoin added four more unearned runs in the bottom of the fourth, all with two outs. Paschke and Fado each recorded RBI singles, and Ewert picked up a two-run triple as the Polar Bears extended their lead to 12-1.
Needing four runs to extend the game, Mayo led off the top of the fifth with a single, but that was all the Beavers could muster, as they suffered a second defeat.
Daigneault, Bella Miller (Lewiston, Maine), Allen, and Mayo each recorded a hit for the Beavers. Bergen pitched four innings, giving up four earned runs while striking out two in the loss.
For Bowdoin, Ewert went 3-for-4 with three runs and two RBIs, Fado finished 3-for-4 with three RBIs and two runs scored, and Siciliano also drove in three runs. Kathleen Hester earned the win, going all five innings and striking out nine.
UP NEXT
The Beavers return to action in Myrtle Beach on March 15th.
