STANDISH, Maine -- The Bates baseball team returned to the field for the first time in more than a year and hit the ball very well in a doubleheader split with Saint Joseph's Saturday afternoon. The Bobcats (1-1) dropped game one 5-4 but rallied to win game two 6-5 over the Monks (5-8), tallying 22 hits over the course of two games.

Game One: Saint Joseph's 5, Bates 4 (7 innings)

The Monks scored three times in the bottom of the sixth, rallying to defeat Bates 5-4 in game one of Saturday's twin bill. 

The Bobcats saw their 4-2 lead trimmed to one when pinch hitter Kevin Aylward homered to left field leading off the sixth. One out later, pinch hitter Mattingly Simaan drew a walk and the Bobcats brought junior Braden Karess (Boxborough, Mass.) in from the bullpen. Karess got Hunter Richardson to hit a slow roller to third but Richardson beat it out, putting runners at first and second with one away. Zach Miles delivered an RBI single and Ben Gravel doubled home a run, giving the Monks a 5-4 edge. 

Karess got out of the inning without any further damage thanks to a ground out and a strikeout. 

Junior Antonio Jareno (Marietta, Ga.) drew a two-out walk in the top of the seventh but Jonathan Marchia got the next batter to fly out, securing himself the save and the victory for Saint Joseph's.

Bates started the game with a bang when sophomore Tyler Attal (Los Angeles) smoked the first pitch of the season for the Bobcats off the scoreboard in left-center for his first collegiate home run. 

The Monks responded in the bottom half of the frame, tying the game at one on a Richardson RBI triple. 

That proved to be the only run allowed by senior captain Peter Schuldt (Winnetka, Ill.), who tossed three innings of four-hit ball. He struck out three and walked one on the mound for Bates.

With the score still tied at one in the top of the fourth, senior captain Zach Avila (San Francisco, Calif.) singled up the middle with one out. With two down, junior Kevin Lucey (Topsfield, Mass.) doubled deep down the right field line, scoring Avila to give Bates a 2-1 lead. He advanced to third on the throw home but was left stranded.

The Bobcats added to their lead in the top of the fifth. Senior captain Christian Beal (Flossmoor, Ill.) got the inning started with a single. One out later, sophomore Alex Ross (Ridgefield, Conn.) doubled Beal home. Then with two away, senior captain Noah Loughlin (Mililani, Hawaii) reached on an error, scoring Ross and extending the Bates lead to 4-1. An Avila single chased Monk starter Matt Poff from the game. 

Reliever Matt Thibault (1-0) pitched well for the Monks, getting the final out of the fifth and retiring the side in order in the sixth, earning the win. First-year Jack Potash (Weston, Conn.) pitched well out of the bullpen for Bates, shutting down the Monks in the fourth inning. But Saint Joseph's pushed across a run in the fifth off Potash on a Luke Stephens RBI single before rallying against Potash and Karess (0-1) to grab the lead in the sixth. 

Beal, Avila and Ross all recorded two hits apiece and the Bobcats tallied 10 hits total in the contest. Ross also stole a base.

Game Two: Bates 6, Saint Joseph's 5 (7 innings)

The Bobcats scored four times in the top of the fifth and first-year Luke Linnehan (Hingham, Mass.) turned in a brilliant performance out of the bullpen as Bates prevailed 6-5 in game two of Saturday's doubleheader.

With Bates down 5-2, Lucey got the Bobcats going in the fifth with a lead-off double. Attal singled Lucey to third and advanced to second on a passed ball. With two runners in scoring position, Beal delivered a two-RBI single, cutting the Monk lead to 5-4. One out later, junior Bryan Gotti (Westwood, Mass.) hit a frozen rope over the right field fence, putting the Bobcats ahead for good with his fourth career home run. 

Sophomore Drew Fallon (Mansfield, Mass.) chased Monk starter Johnathan Flynn (0-2) from the game with a double. He was left stranded but the damage was done. 

Linnehan (1-0) proved to be the story of the game for Bates. Junior Grant Iuliano (Waltham, Mass.) started the contest and tossed three innings, allowing four runs (three earned) on six hits. He walked two and struck out three. Linnehan entered the game in the bottom of the fourth with Bates trailing 4-2. The Monks did push across a run that inning, thanks two a two-out double from Miles and an RBI single from Gravel. 

After that, the Monks had no answer for the right-hander making his collegiate debut. After Bates took the lead, Linnehan retired the side in order in the fifth. Then with runners at second and third and one away in the sixth, the Bates defense came up big. Miles hit a grounder to second baseman and senior captain Colin Coyne (Falmouth, Maine). Coyne was playing in and fired a throw home to get the runner for out number two. Linnehan struck out Gravel, ending the inning and preserving the one-run edge for the Bobcats.

Linnehan proceeded to work a perfect seventh inning, ending the game and giving the Bobcats the doubleheader split. He tossed four innings of one-run ball, striking out three and walking one. 

The Bobcats recorded 12 hits in game two, led by a 3-4 performance from Beal, who finished the doubleheader a cool 5-8 at the plate. Attal went 2-4 at the plate in game two and Fallon finished 2-4 with two RBIs. Beal and Lucey both stole a base in the contest. Fallon, Coyne and Lucey all recorded doubles and of course Gotti's home run proved to be the game-winner.

The Bobcats are back in action Saturday, April 10 when they visit Colby for a non-conference doubleheader. First pitch is set for 1pm.
 

First pitch of the season for @BatesBaseball: first collegiate homer for Tyler Attal '23!@BatesSBall's Amanda Taylor '23 hit her first college dinger and Bryan Gotti '22 put baseball ahead for good with a two-run jack.

And there's video!#mesports #GoBates #d3baseball #d3sb pic.twitter.com/vCBMqdPVwu

— BatesSports (@BatesSports) March 28, 2021