YAPHANK, N.Y. – Bates College baseball swept SUNY Old Westbury in a doubleheader, winning game one 3-2 in extra innings and taking game two 14-9, in the team's first action since Feb. 22 on Saturday at Baseball Heaven.
In a game originally scheduled to go seven innings, the Bobcats (3-6) tied the game in the seventh before junior Nate Pajka (Douglas, Mass.) hit the go-ahead home run in the top of the ninth to give the visitors a 3-2 win in game one. Bates scored six runs in the top of the fifth to beat the Panthers (2-11) in a seven-inning game two.
Bates concludes a three-game series with Old Westbury tomorrow at 11 a.m. at St. Joseph's College of Long Island.
Game One Recap – Bates 3, Old Westbury 2 (9 innings)
Pajka led off the top of the ninth with his second home run of the season, and sophomore Samuel Warren (Norfolk, Va.) faced just four batters in the bottom half of the frame for the save as Bates defeated Old Westbury, 3-2.
Senior lefthander Chris Fusco (Annapolis, Md.) went five innings in the start for Bates, striking out two and allowing two earned runs. Arismendy Nunez struck out eight over seven innings and gave up two runs, one earned, for the Panthers.
Senior Kevin Davis (North Andover, Mass.) and sophomore Berto Diaz (Carson, Calif.) each tallied two hits while Pajka, senior Griff Tewksbury (Concord, N.H.), and Warren each posted RBIs.
Bates opened the game's scoring in the top of the first as Tewksbury stroked a one-out home run over the right field wall. The Panthers responded with two runs in the bottom of the second to take a 2-1 off solo shots from John Angelino and Mike Cardino.
Neither team could scratch a run across the plate until the Bobcats knotted the game in the top of the seventh as Davis singled to start the inning and eventually scored on a ground out from Warren. Winning pitcher sophomore Rob DiFranco (Melrose, Mass.) struck out five over three innings of relief in the sixth, seventh, and eighth to setup Pajka's heroics.
Game Two Recap – Bates 14, Old Westbury 9 (7 innings)
Tewksbury went 3-for-5 with 5 RBIs, three runs scored, and a home run as Bates scored 14 runs on 11 hits to top Old Westbury in game two, 14-9.
Junior Rockwell Jackson (Fort Worth, Texas) recorded two hits and three runs, Davis went 3-for-3, and seniors Steve Burke (Bedford, N.H.) and Jeff Gunn (Lilburn, Ga.) each charted a pair of RBIs.
Senior left-handed pitcher Brad Reynolds (Lafayette, Colo.) earned the win with seven strikeouts over four innings.
Old Westbury took a 4-0 lead after the bottom of the first as both Jonathan Pagan and John Angelino hit two-run home runs. The Panthers pushed their edge to 6-0 after Nick Yip sent a two-run home run over the center field wall in the second.
The Bobcats began their comeback in the top of the third as Tewksbury blasted a three-run homer into right field, and Davis plated a run with a single to bring the team within 6-4.
Bates then took a 7-6 advantage in the top half of the fourth as Tewksbury singled, and Burke and Gunn each worked walks to force runs home. Old Westbury regained an 8-7 lead in the bottom half of the frame before the visitors registered their six-run fifth, taking a 13-8 edge.
Bates scored once more in the sixth, and Old Westbury tacked on another run in the seventh as Bobcat sophomore relievers Mark Cunningham (Canton, Mass.) and Chris Ward (Pasadena, Calif.) combined to allow one run on three hits over three innings.
