WATERVILLE — Delaney Rankin’s shutout highlighted Bates College’s split of a softball doubleheader against Middlebury on Saturday.

Rankin struck out six in a complete-game effort in the opener, a 3-0 win for the Bobcats (7-5, 1-1 NESCAC) over the Panthers (9-5, 1-1).

Rankin helped her own cause with a solo home run in the fourth inning. Cassidy Musco tallied a pair of hits and an RBI for Bates.

Jewel Ashbrook had four strikeouts for Middlebury in six innings of work.

The Panthers struck back in the second game, earning a 4-3 victory.

Middlebury catcher Megan Fox opened the scoring with a two-run homer in the second inning.

Bates came back from a 3-0 deficit to tie the game. Sarah Cook drove in Amanda Taylor in the third, then Taylor scored on a sacrifice by Ella Maher in the fifth. Later in the fifth, Grace Householter singled home Cassidy Musco.

Middlebury took the lead back in the top of the seventh when Kristyn Carroll scored on a wild pitch.

Taylor led Bates with two hits.

MEN’S LACROSSE
WILLIAMS 18, BATES 6: Pearse Glavin paced the Ephs (5-3 overall, 4-1 NESCAC) with five goals in the win over the Bobcats (1-7 overall, 0-5 NESCAC) in Williamstown, Massachusetts.

Finlay MacKnight and Nick Beates each had two goals and an assist for Williams, while Ryan Johnson added two goals.

Connor Hartman scored four times for the Bobcats, and Alex Horowitz contributed  a goal and an assist. Malcolm Klingbeil also scored.

Matthew Freitas and Matt Wetmore combined to make nine saves for Williams. Bates goalie Garrett FitzSimons stopped 16 shots.

WOMEN’S LACROSSE
WILLIAMS 13, BATES 9: Claudia Russell led the Ephs (8-1 overall, 4-1 NESCAC) with five tallies in a victory over the Bobcats (4-6 overall, 0-5 NESCAC) in Lewiston.

Isabel Arvelo and Katy McCullough each added two goals for Williams.

Madie Donovan, Caroline Taggart, Shelby Howard and Hanna Matthews scored two goals apiece for Bates. Julia Roelofs also had a goal.

Ephs goalie Caroline Pratt stopped eight shots, and Cammie Lavoie made 13 saves for the Bobcats.

HUSSON 15, UMF 2: Averi Baker, Laela Martinez and Natalie Whitten each had a hat trick for the Eagles (5-3 overall, 1-0 NAC) in the win over the Beavers (0-5 overall, 0-1 NAC) in Bangor.

Sophia Gomez and Devyn Veits scored two goals apiece for Husson, and Maddie Benoit and Serafina Melino each contributed one goal.

Lewiston High School graduate Emma Begin stopped 10 shots in the win.

Emma Bourget and Ruby McMinis scored for UMF, and Kate Nowell stopped 11 shots.

BRYANT & STRATTON 12, CMCC 4: The Mustangs fell to 17-8 with a loss to the Bobcats (18-17) in a game in Albany shortened to eight innings due to a storm.

Bryant & Stratton of Albany pulled away from Central Maine with six runs in the seventh inning, turning a 6-4 score to a 12-4.

The Mustangs scored all four of their runs in the fourth inning.

Brandon Gour, Jimmy Reed and Stefan Lesco tallied two hits apiece for CMCC, and Shane Sullivan drove in a pair of runs.

Diego Paez led the Bobcats’ offense with three RBIs.