ROME, Ga. – Bates College baseball tallied 18 runs over two games on Opening Day but lost twice – to Berry College 13-10 and to Covenant College 10-8 – on Tuesday afternoon and evening at Berry's William R. Bowdoin Field.
The Bobcats (0-2) posted 24 hits on the first day of their season after just three days of practice while the host Vikings (4-3) entered the matchup with six games played. The Scots (1-0) came back from an 8-6 deficit in the seventh inning to win their season opener in Bates' second game of its Georgia trip.
Next, Bates plays a doubleheader against Berry tomorrow beginning at 1 p.m.
Game One Recap – Berry 13, Bates 10
Bates opened the game with a 5-0 lead but fell victim to seven errors and seven unearned runs as Berry took a 13-10 win in the Bobcats' season opener.
Senior captain Griff Tewksbury (Concord, N.H.) went 4-for-5 at the plate leading four Bobcats with at least two hits. Seniors Steve Burke (Bedford, N.H.) and Kevin Davis (North Andover, Mass.) as well as first-year Ryan McCarthy (Plaistow, N.H.) each picked up two hits while Davis and McCarthy each netted two RBIs.
Senior left-hander Brad Reynolds (Lafayette, Colo.) made the start for the Bobcats allowing four runs, none earned, with two strikeouts over three innings.
Danny Parry earned the win for the Vikings, giving up just one earned run as he pitched through the fourth, fifth, and sixth innings.
The Bobcats struck first with two runs in the top of the first as Davis notched a SAC fly, and first-year Brendan Fox (West Hartford, Conn.) worked a walk to bring in a run. The next inning, Tewksbury and Davis each singled in runs to give Bates a 4-0 lead.
After the visitors tacked on another run in the top of the third, Berry responded with four runs in the bottom of the inning, taking advantage of an error and a passed ball. Bates then made it 6-4 with a fourth inning run before the Vikings added a pair in the bottom of the frame, tying the score at 6-6.
The home team took an 8-6 lead in the bottom of the sixth, capitalizing on two Bobcat errors and brought a 13-8 edge into the ninth after a two-run home run from Alex McGill in the bottom of the eighth. Bates scored twice in the top of the ninth but could not complete the rally.
Game Two Recap – Covenant 10, Bates 8
Bates brought an 8-6 lead into the bottom of the seventh with four-run innings in each the second and fifth, but Covenant scored a pair of runs in both the seventh and eighth innings to earn a 10-8 win.
Junior Nate Pajka (Douglas, Mass.) went 2-for-4 at the plate, hitting the team's first home run of the season in the top half of the second. Tewksbury contributed a pair of hits while sophomore Berto Diaz (Carson, Calif.) charted two RBIs on two sacrifice flies.
Senior lefty Chris Fusco (Annapolis, Md.) made the start for the Bobcats, allowing just one run and striking out three over three innings. For Covenant, Chris Rollins picked up the win, pitching a scoreless eighth and ninth.
After the Scots scored in the bottom of the first, Pajka led off the top of the second with a solo shot to right field. Diaz then knocked in his first run of the game on a sacrifice to right. Still with one out, junior Rockwell Jackson (Fort Worth, Texas) doubled in a run, and Tewksbury singled in another to give the Bobcats a 4-1 lead.
Covenant responded with four runs in the bottom of the fourth to capture a 5-4 edge. Will Cleland capped the rally with a triple to right field which drove in two runs. Will Carlton stole home earlier in the inning.
Countering, the Bobcats plated four runs in the top half of the fifth to regain an 8-5 edge. As part of the inning, junior Alex Parker (Lewiston, Maine) brought in a run on a bunt single, junior John Anagnost (Boulder, Colo.) singled in a run, and Diaz registered his second sacrifice fly.
From there, Dan Thomas, Scott Gillespie, and Rollins combined to throw four scoreless innings, and Covenant added a run in the bottom of the fifth and a pair in each of the seventh and eighth innings to gain the victory. Carlton connected on a two-RBI double in the eighth to break an 8-8 tie, and the Bobcats went in order in the top of the ninth.
