LAGRANGE, Ga. – Bates College baseball secured its first win of 2014 with a 1-0 victory over LaGrange College in the second game of a doubleheader after falling 7-3 in game one on Saturday afternoon at Cleaveland Field.
First-year John Dinucci (West Hartford, Conn.) knocked in the game's only run, and sophomore right-hander Samuel Warren (Norfolk, Va.) earned a two-inning save to help the Bobcats (1-6) gain the shutout win in game two. In game one, the Panthers (2-5) scored four runs in the sixth and three in the eighth on their way to the victory.
With its Georgia trip now concluded, Bates next plays a doubleheader at Endicott on March 8 beginning at noon.
Game One Recap – LaGrange 7, Bates 3
LaGrange starter Justin Yestrumsky allowed just one earned run in seven innings, and the home team plated seven runs on only four hits to take a 7-3 win in game one.
For the Bobcats, senior third baseman Kevin Davis (North Andover, Mass.) went 3-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI while senior left-hander Chris Fusco (Annapolis, Md.) pitched 5.1 innings and struck out five in the loss.
Bates tallied the game's first two runs as Davis capitalized on a passed ball in the top of the second before singling in senior Griff Tewksbury (Concord, N.H.) with two outs in the top of the third to give the visitors a 2-0 lead.
LaGrange then struck for four runs in the bottom half of the sixth. With the bases loaded and one out, Cain Sauls hit a single to center field, knocking in a pair of runs. The hosts tacked on a third run on a ground out and a fourth on a passed ball to grab a 4-2 edge.
The Bobcats pulled within 4-3 in the top of the eighth after Davis led off the inning with a double, and junior Mekae Hyde (Lewiston, Maine) brought him in later in the frame with a pinch-hit ground out. LaGrange pushed its margin to 7-3 in the bottom half of the inning, taking advantage of three errors.
In his second inning of work, Panther reliever Jonathan Fleckenstein pitched to four batters in the top of the ninth, striking out one and causing two ground outs, to finish the game.
Game Two Recap – Bates 1, LaGrange 0
Dinucci doubled in the game-winning run in the top of the sixth and four Bobcat pitchers combined for a two-hit shutout as Bates beat LaGrange 1-0 in the nightcap.
Sophomore Berto Diaz (Carson, Calif.) led off the sixth with a single before junior Alex Parker (Lewiston, Maine) laid down a sacrifice bunt to advance Diaz to second. Dinucci then took to the plate, and his extra-base hit scored Diaz from second.
Senior left-hander Brad Reynolds (Lafayette, Colo.) threw five innings in the start with five strikeouts, giving up just two hits. Senior Dean Bonneau (Amherst, Mass.) pitched a perfect sixth, and sophomore Mark Cunningham (Canton, Mass.) faced four batters in the seventh.
Warren came on in the eighth and faced the minimum of six batters over his two innings of relief.
For LaGrange, starter Jarred Adams went seven innings, conceding the contest's one run on three hits. Reliever Bruno Aurnhammer pitched two scoreless innings in the eighth and ninth.
The Bobcats salvaged a win in the three-game series after falling to the Panthers, 9-2, on Thursday.
