Egelson	Vitti
Thayer	Farrell

SANFORD, Fla. -- The Bates College baseball team finished up play at the Central Florida Invitational with a pair of losses to the Grove City College Wolverines. Grove City (3-1) won the first game 8-2 and came from behind to take the second game 5-4.

First-year righthander Paul Chiampa (Bryantville, Mass.) started for Bates in Game 1 and ran into trouble in the second inning, allowing six runs. Senior Ralph Vitti (Winchester, Mass.) came in to start the third inning and allowed two runs over the final four innings.

Top hitters for Bates included senior Alex Egelson (Fairfield, Conn.), 2-3, senior Brian Buckley (Andover, Mass.), 2-4, and senior Rob Patton (Darien, Conn.), 1-2.

Egelson had a pinch hit RBI in the sixth inning of Game 2 to score the go-ahead run for the Bobcats at 4-3, but the Wolverines answered with two runs in the bottom of the sixth and kept Bates scoreless in the seventh.

Junior Benjamin Shwartz (Mattapoisett, Mass.) started and lasted 2 2/3 innings. Junior Ben Thayer (Gorham, Maine) came on for 3 1/3 innings, allowing just one run, further underscoring some excellent bullpen work by the Bobcats thus far.

Junior Dave Farrell (Chatham, Mass.) went 2-3 with an RBI for Bates (1-4), while first-year catcher Gordy Webb (Hampden, Maine) went 1-3 with an RBI.

Bates will next play UMaine-Presque Isle on Saturday, March 22 in a doubleheader at Darien (Conn.) High School. The games were originally scheduled to be played at Bates.

BOX SCORE: Grove City 8, Bates 2 (Game 1)

BOX SCORE: Grove City 5, Bates 4 (Game 2)