LEWISTON, Maine -- The Bates baseball team scored seven times in the bottom of the eighth inning to run away with a 12-5 victory over the University of Maine-Farmington Beavers Wednesday afternoon at Leahey Field.

Bates (12-9) stole 13 bases in the victory, the second-most they've recorded in one game this season. The Bobcats lead all of NCAA Division III in steals per game this year and their 103 stolen bases are by far the most in program history. 

With the score tied at five, first-year Liam Yardley (Keene, N.H.) got the offense going in the eighth with a lead-off walk. Senior Drew Fallon (Mansfield, Mass.) drew a walk as well, putting runners at first and second with nobody out. The Bobcats tried to bunt them over, but UMF pitcher Anthony Boyle (0-1) made a good play on the ball, throwing out Yardley at third. The Bobcats did not concern themselves about the setback, as junior Christopher Cimino (Scarborough, Maine) singled in Fallon to put the Bobcats up 6-5. First-year Jack Margiloff (Rye, N.Y.) hustled to third on the play and Cimino advanced to second on the throw home.

Senior captain Tyler Attal (Los Angeles) drove in Margiloff with a sacrifice fly to center, extending the lead to 7-5. Senior Henry Jamieson (St. Simons Island, Ga.) followed with a single through the right side, scoring Cimino. Up three, the Bobcats broke the game open when sophomore Brandon Biggane (Rensselaer, N.Y.) launched his team-leading fifth home run of the season, a towering two-run shot out to left field.

Now ahead 10-5, the Bobcats tacked on two more runs with two outs. Junior Jack Brennan (West Hartford, Conn.) drew a walk and sophomore Ben Genser (Newton, Mass.) got hit by a pitch. The Bobcats pulled off a double steal and Yardley doubled in both runners to cap off the scoring.

For most of the game, the visiting Beavers (3-18) hung with the Bobcats. In fact, they scored three times in the top of the first to grab a 3-0 lead. Bates answered with a run in the bottom of the first, as Margiloff got things started with a single to right field. He stole second and moved to third on a Cimino ground out. Attal singled him home and Bates trimmed the deficit to 3-1.

The Beavers added another run in the top of the second when Jameson Bloch doubled in Hunter LaBossiere for a 4-1 lead for the road team. Bates responded with two in the bottom of the second, as Brennan led off with a single through the left side. He stole second and Genser singled him home. Genser stole second, advanced to third on a wild pitch, and scored on a Fallon ground out to second, making the score 4-3 through two innings of action.

Things settled down for a bit, with neither team scoring in the next two innings. First-year John Tully (Framingham, Mass.) pitched well out of the bullpen, tossing three and a third shutout innings and striking out five.

The Bobcats grabbed their first lead of the game in the bottom of the fifth. With one away, Attal smacked his fourth home run of the season, tying the game at four. Jamieson drew a walk and stole second. He stole third as well when Biggane drew a walk of his own. Then Biggane stole second base and Brennan drove in Jamieson with a sacrifice fly to left, putting Bates up 5-4.

The lead did not last long, as UMF tied things up in the sixth. A Bates throwing error put Nate Coombs on second base to lead off the inning. He advanced to third on a ground out and eventually scored on an infield single off the bat of Ryan Sargent. 

Sophomore Matthew Shrake (Chicago) bounced back from allowing the unearned run to toss a scoreless seventh inning. Then sophomore Micah Sheats (Niwot, Colo.) pitched a scoreless eighth. Thanks to the Bobcats scoring seven runs in the bottom half of the frame, Sheats (1-0) earned his first collegiate win. 

Sophomore Ian McAslan (Baltimore, Md.) struck out a pair in a scoreless ninth inning to finish off the win for Bates. Bobcat pitching struck out 10 batters on the afternoon.

Every Bates hitter reached base at least once in the contest. Brennan led the way, going 3-3 with two runs scored, an RBI and a walk. Attal (2-4, with a home run and three RBI) and junior Dylan Azcarate (Tiburon, Calif.) both recorded multi-hit games, with Azcarate going 2-3 at the plate with a double.

LaBossiere and Sargent both went 2-4 at the plate to pace the Beavers. The Bobcats out-hit UMF 13-8 in the contest.

Bates returns to action Friday when the Bobcats host Trinity in NESCAC play. First pitch is set for 3pm.