CASTINE, Maine -- Saint Joseph's College of Maine exploded for nine runs in the second inning en route to a 14-3 non-conference win over the Bates baseball team on Monday, in the Bobcats' first game played in Maine this season.

Bates (6-7) was the nominal host of the game -- it was originally scheduled to be played at Leahey Field, which was deemed not quite playable by midday. The Bobcats are scheduled to host UMaine-Farmington on Tuesday at 3:30pm, in a game originally slated for April 1 at Farmington (Edit: The game has been postponed until Wednesday at 3:30).

The Monks (13-10) started off the second inning with Max McCoomb singling off of Bates junior starter Chris Ward (Pasadena, Calif.) and scoring on a triple by Scott Betts. Betts then came home on a Dan Donovan single to make it 2-0. After Mike Kinch's sacrifice bunt, the Monks took advantage of a Bates error, a hit batsmen, a walk and another hit batsmen. Brett Barbati then singled home two runs to make it 6-0, and McCoomb followed with another two-run single, his second hit of the inning.

Bates got on the board in the third when sophomore Brendan Fox (West Hartford, Conn.) was hit by a pitch, advanced on a single by senior Nate Pajka (Douglas, Mass.) and scored on a fielder's choice. But the Monks regained a nine-run lead on Joe Coyne's solo home run in the fourth.

A three-run fifth inning by the Monks all but put the game out of reach at 13-1, but Bates came back with two runs in the fifth. Sophomore Ryan McCarthy's (Plaistow, N.H.) solo home run, his first collegiate homer, and Fox scored on a single followed by an error and two balks.

Junior Mark Cunningham (Canton, Mass.) pitched a strong three innings of relief for Bates, allowing one unearned run on four hits and no walks and striking out five. First-year Chandler Crans (Camden, Maine) threw a scoreless ninth inning for the Bobcats.