BRUNSWICK — Bowdoin’s Nick Merrill laced an RBI single through the left side, giving the Polar Bear baseball team a dramatic come-from-behind victory, 10-9, in 10 innings over Plymouth State on Sunday.
With a three-run bottom of the 10th, the Polar Bears finished their year with a record of 7-23-2. The Panthers, who were down to their final strike in the ninth before tying the game, ended their year with a mark of 14-23
Plymouth State built an early lead on the strength of a five-run second inning, with the big blow coming on a two-run double by Ryan Richard that gave the visitors a 5-1 lead.
Bowdoin trimmed the lead to 5-3 in the fifth on a two-run single by Chris Attisani, scoring Eric Mah and Ben Suski.
Chris Mansour gave Plymouth an insurance run in the eighth, doubling home Richard to make it 6-3 Panthers heading into the bottom of the frame.
Bowdoin pieced together a four-run rally to take the lead, taking advantage of two Plymouth errors and two bases-loaded walks to tie the game. Attisani lofted a sacrifice fly to right field, scoring Mah to give the Polar Bears a 7-6 lead heading into the ninth.
The Panthers put runners on first and second with two outs in the ninth for James Salta, who ripped a two-strike single to center to bring home Jimmy Zimolka and tie the game, forcing extra innings at 7-7.
Plymouth appeared to put the game on ice in the top of the 10th as Joe Routhier hammered a two-run double, scoring Geoff Kayo and Gavin Cook to give the Panthers a 9-7 lead.
Bowdoin rallied in the bottom of the frame, putting the first two runners on base with walks. Jack Wilhoite crushed a double to center field, scoring Josh Haensley, but Mah was called out at the plate, preserving the one-run lead for Plymouth. After Brandon Lopez walked and Attisani reached on an error, Merrill laced the game-winning hit through the left side of the infield, bringing home Wilhoite and Lopez to give Bowdoin the victory.
Wilhoite got the pitching win in relief for Bowdoin and went 3-for-5 with two doubles, two runs and two RBIs.
Bowdoin dropped a pair of NESCAC East Division contests to rival Bates on Saturday, falling 6-0 and 11-1 to finish 3-9 in conference play.
Women’s lacrosse
Bowdoin has garnered an at-large bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament in selections announced Sunday night.
The Polar Bears (9-7), currently ranked 13th in the nation in the latest IWLCA poll, will head to Geneva, New York, to play at 14th-ranked William Smith (17-2) on Sunday.
More information, including game times and ticket information, will be announced later today.
Bowdoin is one of six NESCAC teams to earn a bid into the field. The Polar Bears are in the field for the second straight year and the eighth time in program history.
Bowdoin has advanced to the regional finals (Elite 8) on five occasions, including a trip to the national title game in 2011.
Women’s tennis
Bowdoin fell, 5-1, to Wesleyan in the NESCAC semifinals on Saturday evening.
The Polar Bears are 14-5.
The Cardinals held a 2-1 lead after doubles. The No. 3 pairing of Sarah Shadowens/Fleming Landau earned an 8-6 victory for Bowdoin’s lone point of the evening.
Wesleyan earned wins at 1, 2 and 4 singles to close out the match. Devon Wolfe, Sasa Jovanovic and Landau were all in the middle of third sets when the match was called.
Bowdoin advanced to the semifinals with a comeback 5-3 win over Williams on Friday evening.
The third-seeded Polar Bears (14-4) took down the sixth-seeded Ephs (6-10) for the first time in NESCAC Tournament history. Williams was 5-0 against the Polar Bears prior to Friday.
Bowdoin trailed 2-1 after doubles. The duo of Shadowens/Landau earned an 8-6 win at No. 3 to earn the point for Bowdoin.
Wolfe started singles off on the right foot for the Polar Bears, posting a quick win at No. 3 (6-2, 6-1). Jovanovic posted a 6-3, 6-1 win at No. 5 for Bowdoin’s third point of the match.
With the teams tied 3-3, Landau won a fast 6-0, 6-0 two-setter at No. 6. Izzy Essi battled for a three-set win at No. 4 to clinch the match for Bowdoin. Essi won 6-4, 2-6, 6-3.
NCAA tourney selections will be announced today, with the regionals set to be held this upcoming weekend.
Men’s tennis
Bowdoin’s hopes of a three-peat in the NESCAC Tournament came to an end in a 5-2 loss to Amherst in the conference semifinals Saturday.
The Polar Bears (16-4) are likely to receive an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament when selections are announced today.
The Polar Bears lost a pair of tiebreakers in doubles play to fall behind 2-1 heading into singles. Bowdoin won at No. 3, courtesy of an 8-3 victory by Justin Patel and Oscar Yang, but dropped 8-7 decisions at the top two positions.
Bowdoin quickly tied it up with a straight set 6-2, 6-4 win by Grant Urken, but the deficit proved too much to overcome as Amherst took wins at No. 2, 3 and 6 singles to clinch the victory.
On Friday, Bowdoin picked up two late wins and swept doubles for a 5-3 quarterfinal victory over No. 5 Williams.
The Polar Bears defeated Williams for the second time in a week.
Jerry Jiang picked up a huge point for Bowdoin, sealing a three-set comeback win at No. 2 (2-6, 6-3, 6-4), and Urken put the Polar Bears over the finish line with a 6-4, 6-1 straight-set victory at No. 1.
Softball
Bowdoin fell to Amherst, 4-0, in the quarterfinals of the NESCAC Tournament on Saturday at Tufts University.
The Polar Bears likely finished their season with a record of 26-11.
The contest was scoreless until late when Amherst plated three runs in the sixth inning to take the lead. Singles by Alyson Plaman and Sage Innerarity sparked the three-run rally for the Mammoths.
Amherst added an insurance run in the seventh on a run-scoring double by Audrey Hansen in the seventh.
The Polar Bears mustered just two hits with their best rally coming in the fourth inning when they put the first two runners on base to open the frame.
Ruby Siltanen took the tough-luck loss, allowing three earned runs in six innings of work. Lorena Ukanwa got the win for Amherst, striking out nine in a complete game. Kasey Cunningham and Maddie Rouhana had the hits for Bowdoin. Audrey Hansen reached base three times for Amherst.
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