QUINCY, Mass. – Bates College baseball dropped a pair of games to Suffolk University, 8-2 and 7-6, in a doubleheader on Tuesday afternoon at Adams Field.
The Bobcats (19-17) held a 6-3 lead entering the seventh and final scheduled inning in game two, but the Rams (23-14-1) rallied for a 7-6 extra-inning win in the eighth after taking game one, 8-2, behind five first-inning runs.
Next, Bates hosts St. Joseph's College of Maine for a doubleheader tomorrow beginning at 11 a.m. before squaring off with Wesleyan on Friday at 3 p.m. on day one of the NESCAC Championship.
Game One Recap – Suffolk 8, Bates 2
Chuck Gibson pitched six innings, Rob Marks and Justin Knight each notched two RBIs, and Suffolk took game one, 8-2.
Gibson (3-0) earned the win, allowing two runs, one earned, on five hits and striking out one. Marks, Knight, Devan Jones, and Matt Brenner each tallied two hits for the Rams.
For the Bobcats, senior Kevin Davis (North Andover, Mass.) and Brendan Fox (West Hartford, Conn.) each posted an RBI while sophomore Samuel Warren (Norfolk, Va.) recorded a triple and a run scored.
Sophomore Mark Cunningham (Canton, Mass.) tossed three scoreless innings in relief, giving up just one hit. First-year Anthony Telesca (Holtsville, N.Y.) absorbed the loss (1-1) in the start.
After the Bobcats scored on a sacrifice fly from Davis in the top of the first, Suffolk countered with five runs in the bottom half of the inning to capture a 5-1 lead. Jones knocked in the team's first run with a single before Marks brought in two more with another single. Mike Muse hit an RBI single, and Knight registered an RBI double to close the inning's scoring.
The Rams stretched their lead to 8-1 with three runs in the bottom of the third. Knight charted his second RBI of the game in the inning.
Fox singled home Bates' second run in the top of the fifth.
Game Two Recap – Suffolk 7, Bates 6 (8 innings)
Bates held a 6-3 lead entering the seventh and final scheduled inning, but Suffolk scored three times in the bottom of the frame and plated the winning run in the bottom of the eighth to gain a 7-6 extra-inning win in game two.
James hit an RBI double in the last half of the eighth to score James McConville and give the Rams the walk-off win. In the bottom of the seventh, Suffolk plated three unearned runs with two outs to tie the game.
Sophomore Evan Czopek (Portland, Ore.) went 2-for-4 with three RBIs for the Bobcats while senior Griff Tewksbury (Concord, N.H.) and first-years Ryan McCarthy (Plaistow, N.H.) and Fox also each registered two hits in the contest.
Suffolk's Steve Chamberland went 4.1 innings in the start, allowing three runs on five hits while Dan Shields (3-2) snagged the win with two scoreless innings of relief.
Bates junior starter Will Levangie (Frederick, Md.) did not allow a run in two innings in his first appearance since April 19. Sophomore Rob DiFranco (Melrose, Mass.) ended up with the loss (3-3), tossing 2.2 innings with three strikeouts and conceding four runs, one earned, on four hits.
The Rams snared a 3-0 edge in the bottom of the third which included a two-run single from Jake Cintolo.
The Bobcats staked themselves to a 5-3 advantage in the top of the fifth beginning with a two-run single from Czopek. Warren followed with an RBI single before Fox followed suit, bringing home a run with a single of his own. Fox eventually came home on an error to cap the inning's scoring.
Bates pushed its lead to 6-3 after another RBI single from Czopek, but Suffolk managed to score three times in the bottom of the seventh as McConville scored on an error prior to a two-run single from Mac Jacobson. Jones's double in the next inning ended the game.
