TUCSON, Ariz. -- The Bates baseball team slugged three home runs but came up on the short end of a wild 22-11 contest Tuesday afternoon against Wesleyan University at the Tucson Invitational Games. 

Bates (7-4) fell behind from the jump as the Cardinals (9-1) tallied four runs in the top of the first inning. A single and a walk set up Wesleyan's Jack Carpenter, who doubled in a pair of runs. Connor Sullivan doubled in Carpenter, and with two away a Bates error allowed a fourth run to score for Wesleyan. 

First-year Keagan Ryan (Salem, N.H.) got one back for the Bobcats in the bottom of the third, driving one out to left for his second home run of the season. But the Cardinals tallied two more in the top of the fourth on an Ernie Little RBI single and a bases loaded walk.

The Bobcats continued to play long ball in the bottom half of the fourth, as senior Noah Jankowski (Methuen, Mass.) crushed his second home run of the season to make the score 6-2.

Wesleyan appeared to run away with the win when the Cardinals scored four runs in the fifth and four more in the sixth to go up 14-2.

Then, shockingly, the Bobcats tallied nine runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to trim the deficit to 14-11. It all started with senior captain Chris Cimino (Scarborough, Maine) singling to right. Junior Ben Genser (Newton, Mass.) followed with a single of his own and sophomore Gibby Sullivan (Yarmouth, Maine) got hit by a pitch, loading the bases.

Jankowski singled home a pair of runs and senior Dylan Azcárate (Tiburon, Calif.) singled in another, making the score 14-5. Pinch hitter first-year Henry Prince (McLean, Va.) tripled in two runs and senior captain Jack Brennan (West Hartford, Conn.) got hit by a pitch. Ryan drew a walk, chasing Wesleyan starter Oliver Dmochowski from the game. Reliever Matt Spada got a rude welcome to the game when junior Brandon Biggane (Rensselaer, N.Y.) launched a grand slam to left field, cutting the Wesleyan lead to three.

But those proved to be the final runs of the game for Bates. Spada settled down and blanked Bates the rest of the way, going four innings to get the save. Dmochowski (1-0) earned the win despite giving up 10 runs in five plus innings pitched.

Meanwhile, the Cardinals tallied four runs in the seventh, two in the eighth, and two more in the ninth to secure the victory.

Bates tallied 11 hits in the loss. The Bobcats struggled defensively, committing five errors in the field. Eight of Wesleyan's 22 runs were unearned. The Bobcats used seven pitchers in the defeat, with starting pitcher sophomore Diego Sarabia (Atlanta, Ga.) taking the loss, giving up six runs (five earned) in 3.1 innings pitched. Bates pitching struck out 11 Cardinals, but also walked 12. Wesleyan finished with 17 hits. 

Biggane (2-5 with a run scored and four RBIs), Jankowski (2-5 with two runs scored and three RBIs), and Brennan (2-4 with a double and a run scored) paced the Bates offense. 

The Bobcats are back in action Thursday at the Tucson Invitational Games when they take on Carleton College at 4pm eastern time, 1pm locally in Arizona.