Bates (1-1) found themselves down 3-2 after only one inning of play but took the lead for good against Whittier (0-7) thanks to two runs in the third. The game was called in the top of the ninth inning due to darkness. 

Connor Speed '18 (San Diego, Calif.) tossed five innings, allowing three runs (two earned) on five hits to pick up the victory. He walked only one batter and struck out six. 

Warren '16 (Norfolk, Va.) went 3-4 at the plate, scoring three runs and driving in a run on his solo homer, the first long ball of the year for the Bobcats and Warren's third of his career. 

Canavan '17 (Carlisle, Mass.) went 2-4 with two RBI. Meanwhile Evan Czopek '16 (Portland, Ore.) went 1-3 at the plate with two runs scored, a RBI and two walks. 

The Bobcats tallied 11 hits in the contest. 10 of their 11 hits were singles. Bates also drew nine walks and left 10 men on base. 

Whittier managed eight hits, seven of which were singles. They drew only two walks and left eight men on base. Both teams committed three errors on the afternoon.

The Bobcats jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first against Whittier starter Justin Ushio. For the second straight game, Ryan McCarthy '17 (Plaistow, N.H.) got hit by a pitch to begin the contest. John Dinucci '17 (West Hartford, Conn.) followed with a walk. Warren bunted the runners over and Czopek singled home McCarthy. Daniel Trulli '19 (Melrose, Mass.) executed the squeeze play to perfection to drive in Dinucci and Bates led 2-0. 

But the Poets responded in the bottom half of the first. 

With one away, Dmitri Washington reached on an error. Max Morohashi singled Washington to third. Another Bates error allowed Matthew Macey to reach safely, with Washington scoring and Morohashi advancing to third on the play. With runners at the corners and one out, the Poets executed a double steal and Morohashi scored to tie the game at two. Jake Raynaud singled Macey to third and Max Bradshaw singled in the go-ahead run. A line drive double play got Speed out of the inning.

The Bobcats answered in the top of the third against Whittier reliever Jacob Sween. Warren led off the inning with a solo shot to tie the game at three. With two outs and nobody on, Asher MacDonald '18 (Hillsborough, N.C.) singled to right and stole second. Canavan singled him home to put Bates up 4-3. 

The Bobcats tallied two more runs in the fifth against reliever Royce Komesu. Czopek drew a lead-off base-on-balls. Trulli bunted him to second and MacDonald singled Czopek to third. The Bobcats gave the Poets a taste of their own medicine, pulling off a double steal to score Czopek and put MacDonald at second base. Canavan followed with a single, putting runners at the corners again. A Conor Reenstierna '16 (Lincoln, Mass.) single drove in MacDonald to extend the Bates lead to 6-3.

MacDonald finished the day 3-4 with two runs scored.

Bates did more damage in the sixth. With one out, Warren reached on an infield single. He stole second and advanced to third on a passed ball. A wild pitch plated Warren and Bates led 7-3.

Speed (1-0) pitched very well to pick up the victory. He retired the side in order in the second, worked around a one-out double in the third, retired the side in order in the fourth, and worked around a lead-off walk in the fifth.

Andrew Freeman '18 (Newton, Mass.) replaced Speed to begin the sixth inning and proceeded to toss two innings of shutout baseball, surrendering a pair of hits and striking out two Poets out of the bullpen. 

Already up 7-3, the Bobcats added to their lead with two more runs in the eighth. Warren singled to start the frame and moved to second on a wild pitch. Czopek struck out but reached on a dropped third strike which also allowed Warren to move to third. Trulli drew a walk to load the bases and Brendan Fox '17 (West Hartford, Conn.) walked as well to drive in Warren. Canavan hit into a double play but Czopek scored on the play to make it 9-3 Bobcats.

Robert Jones '17 (South Berwick, Maine) pitched the bottom of the eighth for the Bobcats, allowing a lone run on a Tanner Marcoe RBI single.

With one out in the top of the ninth, the game was called due to darkness.

Bates is back in action Friday as they take on Lewis & Clark at Whittier College. First pitch is set for 1:00 p.m. eastern time (10:00 a.m. pacific).