WATERVILLE — The Bowdoin College baseball team scored four runs without a hit in the top of the fifth inning to earn a 6-1 win over Colby in a New England Small College Athletic Conference game Friday.

Bowdoin (16-11, 4-3 in NESCAC East) was held hitless by Nate Sugarbaker through five innings. However, four walks, a hit batter and an error led to four Bowdoin runs in the fifth.

Buddy Shea recorded Bowdoin’s first hit, a single in the sixth inning.

Brandon Nieuw and Brendan Gallagher had the lone Colby hits off Oliver Van Zant, who struck out 11 in a complete-game victory.

The Mules dropped to 12-13, 2-5 in the NESCAC.

Castleton 4-4, Thomas 0-2: Dakota Aker and Patrick Riley each threw complete-game victories as the Spartans swept the Terriers in Waterville.

With the victories, Castleton (26-10 overall, 21-1 North Eastern Athletic Conference East Division) clinched home field in the NAC East tournament. The tournament is played in double-elimination format and will be held April 27-29.

Zak Mayo had five hits in the doubleheader for Castleton, and Joe Borowski had two hits in each game.

Thomas (22-13, 17-5) had nine hits in the second game, and worked Riley for seven walks. But the Terriers could not capitalize on their chances in the final innings. In the fifth, Thomas had the bases loaded with one out, but grounded into a double play. The Terriers left the bases loaded in the sixth, and left two more on in the seventh.

Rob Nutter and Josh Gray each had three hits on the afternoon for Thomas.

Softball

MMA 5-7, UMF 1-5: Erica Taylor broke the single-season school record for home runs to help the Mariners sweep the North Atlantic Conference doubleheader at Ritchie Field in Castine.

Taylor clubbed two home runs in the second game and has 10 this season. The home runs helped erase a 4-0 deficit.

Kaitlyn Bartlett had retired the first nine batters she faced in Game 2 for UMF (10-18, 6-8 in the NAC).

She finished 5 for 6 in the doubleheader with two RBIs and a run scored.

Bowdoin 5, Colby 0: Melissa DellaTorre pitched a complete game and Amy Hackett drove in a pair of runs to lead the Polar Bears to the NESCAC victory in Waterville.

DellaTorre struck out two and walked one.

Gen Barlow also drove in a run for Bowdoin (23-10, 4-3).

Lauren Becker had two hits for Colby (8-17, 0-7).

Also Friday: Husson sophomore Becca McCarty, a Skowhegan graduate, earned the victory in an 8-0 win over New England College. McCarty allowed two hits and struck out eight.