LEWISTON, Maine -- The Colby College Mules scored five times in the third inning and added some more runs late in a 9-4 loss for the Bates baseball team Saturday afternoon in the first home game of the season for the Bobcats.
The Mules (9-10) had a big day offensively, tallying 14 hits on the afternoon. It was a somewhat sloppy affair, with the two teams combining for nine errors.
Bates (1-4) led 2-0 early before Colby took the lead for good in the third inning.
Senior captain
Peter Schuldt (Winnetka, Ill.) started on the mound for Bates and faced the minimum in the top of the first, picking off a runner to end the frame.
Then the Bobcats scored twice in the bottom of the first against Colby starter Elijah Cohen. With one away, senior captain
Christian Beal (Flossmoor, Ill.) hit a hard liner to shortstop Charlie Furlong. Furlong dropped the ball and Beal was safe at first as first baseman Jonah Katz did not have time to get his foot on the bag when he received Furlong's throw.
Sophomore
Alex Ross (Ridgefield, Conn.) followed with a line drive double down the left field line, moving Beal to third. Junior
Bryan Gotti (Westwood, Mass.) plated Beal with a ground out to second and sophomore
Henry Jamieson (St. Simons Island, Ga.) singled home Ross for the 2-0 lead.
Schuldt (0-2) blanked Colby in the second with some help from Beal, who made a spectacular diving catch on a line drive to shallow center. But the Mules exploded for five in the third.
With one away, Marcus Forrester singled to left. Patrick McConnell followed with a triple to deep center, cutting the Bates lead to 2-1. Beal nearly made another great catch on the play but the ball just landed beyond his reach. Brady O'Brien singled home McConnell, tying the score at two. Then Cabot Maher doubled O'Brien to third on a line shot to left-center. Russell gave Colby the lead for good with a ground out to short, scoring O'Brien on the play. Katz followed with an RBI double, making the score 4-2 in favor of the Mules. Cole Palmeri singled in Katz to round out the scoring in the third.
The Bobcats answered right away with two runs in the bottom of the frame. Sophomore
Tyler Attal (Los Angeles) ripped a double to start the frame. Beal hit a sharp grounder between the third baseman's legs and the left fielder bobbled the ball, allowing Beal to take second. Attal advanced to third on the play. Ross drove in Attal with a ground out to short and Gotti drove in Beal with a sacrifice fly to right.
Down 5-4, the Bobcats brought in junior
Grant Iuliano (Waltham, Mass.) to pitch the top of the fourth. He ended up pitching the rest of the game for Bates, turning in an excellent performance with six innings pitched, five strikeouts and just two earned runs allowed.
The score stayed 5-4 until the top of the eighth thanks to Iuliano and Colby reliever Frank Driscoll (3-1), who entered the game for the Mules in the bottom of the fifth. Driscoll tossed three shutout innings, striking out five Bobcats while only allowing one hit.
In the top of the eighth, the Mules scored a pair of unearned runs, extending their lead to 7-4 when the Bobcats failed to catch a pop up with the bases loaded and two outs.
Maher, who went 2-5 with a double and run scored at the plate, entered to pitch in the bottom of the eighth. Beal greeted him with a single but got erased on a double play. Maher struck out the next batter to end the inning.
Colby tacked on two more in the top of the ninth. With one away, Palmeri drew a walk. The Mules bunted him to second and he stole third. Matthew Panker ripped a line drive down the right field line to plate Palmeri and Panker scored on a Forrester single.
Maher finished off the game in the bottom of the ninth for his first save of the season.
Five players had a hit apiece for Bates, all at the top five spots in the lineup. Beal scored two runs and Gotti drove in two runs. Attal and Ross both recorded doubles. McConnell paced the Mules with a 3-6 performance at the plate. Katz and Palmeri both went 2-4. Forrester finished 2-5. Colby pitching did not walk any Bates batters while the Mules drew four base-on-balls.
Bates is back in action at Colby Sunday at 1pm.
