LEWISTON, Maine -- The Bates baseball team trailed No. 23 nationally ranked Tufts 2-1 through five innings on Thursday, but the Jumbos scored 16 runs over the course of the next three innings, running away from the Bobcats by a final score of 18-2 at Leahey Field. 

Michael Volgende (3-0) pitched a complete game for the Jumbos (21-10, 6-6 NESCAC), throwing 116 pitches and limiting the Bobcats (6-23, 1-8 NESCAC) to two runs on six hits. He walked one and struck out nine along the way. 

Junior Teddie Nelson (Marshfield, Mass.) turned in his longest outing of the season for the Bobcats, tossing five and two thirds innings. He was outstanding for the first five innings but ran into trouble the third time around the order in the sixth. Nelson (0-7) ended up allowing six runs on eight hits, striking out four batters without walking anyone on Thursday. 

With the Bobcats trailing 2-0, junior Drew Fallon (Mansfield, Mass.) absolutely crushed a pitch well over the left field fence for his second home run of the season, cutting the Tufts lead to 2-1 in the bottom of the fifth inning. 

But Tufts scored four runs in the top of the sixth to go up 6-1. Three of the four runs came with two outs, as Ryan Noone launched a two-run home run to chase Nelson from the game. First-year Ian McAslan (Baltimore, Md.) got the final out of the inning out of the bullpen for the Bobcats.

McAslan ran into some trouble of his own in the seventh, allowing a two-run home run to Kyle Cortese as the Jumbos scored four more runs. 

Then Tufts tallied eight unearned runs in the eighth inning as Bates made three errors in the frame. 

Miles Reid led the Jumbo offense, going 5-6 with two runs scored and three RBIs. Tufts finished the game with 18 runs on 18 hits. The Bobcats tallied six hits as a team. Senior Bryan Gotti (Westwood, Mass.) tallied a double and an RBI, driving in junior Tyler Attal (Los Angeles) with an RBI ground out in the ninth. 

Bates looks to bounce back Friday when they visit Bowdoin for another NESCAC game, with first pitch at 3pm.