BABSON PARK, Mass. – Bates College baseball rallied to take a 3-2 lead in the seventh, but Wesleyan University tied the game in the eighth and walked off with a 4-3 win on a suicide squeeze on day one of the NESCAC Championship on Friday afternoon.
Playing at Babson College's Govoni Field – the designated second field on the tournament's first day – the Bobcats (19-20), the NESCAC East Division's No. 2 seed, almost knocked off the Cardinals (25-10), the NESCAC West Division's No. 1 seed.
The Bobcats, playing in their first NESCAC Championship since the tournament began in 2001, will meet Amherst tomorrow at 10:30 a.m. in an elimination game at Bentley University's DeFelice Field in Waltham, Mass. Wesleyan will square off with tournament-host Tufts at the Jumbos' Huskins Field tomorrow at 10:30 a.m. Tufts beat Amherst 9-5 in the championship's other first round game.
Wesleyan scored the game-winning run as Will O'Sullivan dropped down a bunt with the bases loaded to score Donnie Cimino from third. Bobcat sophomore reliever Rob DiFranco (Melrose, Mass.) nearly made a bare-handed toss to home to get the out. The Cardinals loaded the bases as two runners were hit by pitches and another walked.
Bates senior left-handed starter Brad Reynolds (Lafayette, Colo.) threw 110 pitches over 7.1 innings striking out three and allowing three runs, one earned, on seven hits. Junior Sam Maliska (Palo Alto, Calif.) took the loss (1-1) giving up one run in one inning.
Wesleyan's Sam Elias earned the win (3-1) not allowing a run on two hits over 2.2 innings of relief. Left-handed starter Nick Cooney hurled six innings, conceding three runs, one earned, on one hit with seven strikeouts.
Trailing 2-0, the Bobcats changed the complexion of the game with three runs in the top of the seventh to gain a 3-2 lead. Senior Steve Burke (Bedford, N.H.) and junior Nate Pajka (Douglas, Mass.) led off the inning with back-to-back walks. Attempting to bunt, sophomore Conor Reenstierna (Lincoln, Mass.) fouled off his first two attempts but succeeded on his third try.
Cooney fielded the bunt cleanly but misfired on his throw to third allowing both Burke and Davis to round the bases and knot the score at 2-2. First-year Brendan Fox (West Hartford, Conn.) then singled into left field to plate Reenstierna and put Bates up 3-2.
The Cardinals tied the game at 3-3 in the top of the eighth as Ben Hoynes hit a sacrifice fly to left field with the bases loaded to send home Guy Davidson. Burke almost threw out the runner at the plate, but the fly ball was just deep enough.
The Cardinals opened the game's scoring in the bottom of the second as Ellis Schaefer hit an RBI single. Davidson walked and Jonathan Dennett singled to right center in between a pop out to put runners on first and second. Schaefer then worked a ball through the left side to plate Davidson.
Wesleyan doubled its lead to 2-0 in the last half of the fifth, tacking on an unearned run. After Nick Miceli singled to left with one out, and Andrew Yin reached on an error, Cimino just reached on a fielder's choice, beating a throw to first. Sam Goodwin-Boyd then sent a single to left field to send home Miceli from third.
Bates senior Griff Tewksbury (Concord, N.H.) nearly hit a home run in the top of the sixth, but Hoynes leaped in the air at the wall in right field and took away the potential round tripper.
