New London — Defensive mistakes at inopportune times have haunted the Coast Guard Academy softball team this season.

It happened again on Wednesday.

As a result, the Bears dropped a pivotal doubleheader and put their hopes of earning a New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference tournament bid on life support.

Six errors led to 10 unearned runs in 6-0 and 11-6 losses to Wellesley, which vaulted ahead of Coast Guard into sixth place. The top six teams earn spots in the conference tournament that begins next week.

"Defensive was our Achilles' heel," coach Donna Koczajowski said. "Both of our teams had something on the line to play for today and clearly Wellesley played cleaner defense and usually that team emerges victorious.

"We've been struggling compounding errors throughout the year and that kind of bit us."

The Bears (18-18, 6-10), who have lost a season-high four straight, slipped from sixth to eighth. They still can earn a postseason spot, but must sweep a doubleheader from Babson (19-13, 12-4) on Thursday. Wellesley (11-15-2, 7-10-1) and Wheaton (21-15, 7-11) have completed their regular season league schedule.

Increasing their degree of difficulty is the fact that their best player, junior Courtney McKenna, is sidelined with a dislocated thumb, an injury that happened April 16 against Saint Joseph. Entering Wednesday, McKenna ranked second in the conference in RBI (40) and fifth in batting average (.411).

McKenna's absence is a difficult adjustment for the Bears at this late stage of the season.

"Without her in the lineup, truly she's one of the best hitters in the NEWMAC, it makes a difference," Koczajowski said.

The Bears managed just four hits in the first game against Haley Moniz (4-5), who walked one and struck out two.

In game two, the bats came alive as Coast Guard out-hit Wellesley 15-13. But the Bears failed to produce a big inning and their NEWMAC foes scored eight runs in the third inning, taking advantage of two errors to push the lead to 9-1. Kalei Oliver's two-run double broke a 1-1 tie.

Overall, the Bears have been a decent offensive team this season, owning the third best team batting average (.318) in the conference. But a lack of timely hitting has hurt them, especially with players on base.

"We need one hit to break it open and that's something that we've struggled with," Koczajowski said. "Non-pressure hitting, we seem to be fine. Pushing those runs across the board is a different story for us."

Claire Hurley, a junior from Waterford, was Coast Guard's hitting star. After going 1-for-2 with a walk in the first game, Hurley went 4-for-4 and scored a run in game two. A seventh-inning double in game two represented her 100th career hit.

Hurley's big day pushed her into the team lead in hits (45) and into a tie for second in runs (35) while increasing her batting average to .366. All three are career highs.

"Claire has probably been one of my most solid players all-around, offensively and defensively," Koczajowski said. "She's played tremendous center field. ... She's having a great year, probably her best year of her career."

Sharayah Simco, one of four seniors, added a double and three RBI in game two while junior Carly Hattman had two hits and an RBI and senior Malia Hindle finished with three hits in the doubleheader.

The Bears will either extend their season on Thursday or see it end.

"We're not eliminated from NEWMAC yet," Koczajowski said. "But, still, we have to sweep. Babson is always a strong team, so it will be a good matchup for us. Beautiful day, beautiful weather. Why not play some ball."

g.keefe@theday.com