ANNANDALE, N.Y. -- The Bates baseball team rallied to beat Bard College 8-6 in game one of Saturday's doubleheader, and game two was suspended until Sunday due to rain with Bates leading 3-2 in the top of the fifth inning. Then the Bobcats finished off the hosts the next day, winning game two 7-3.

Game One: Bates 8, Bard 6

The Bobcats (4-3) tallied 17 hits against Bard pitching in Saturday's series opener. 

Trailing 4-2, Bates scored a pair of runs in the top of the seventh to even the contest. First-year Keagan Ryan (Salem, N.H.) got the offense going with a double to left-center, and junior Brandon Biggane (Rensselaer, N.Y.) tripled him home. Senior captain Chris Cimino (Scarborough, Maine ) followed with a sacrifice fly, tying the game at four. 

Then the Bobcats took the lead with four runs in the top of the eighth. With one away, senior captain Jack Brennan (Scarborough, Maine) drew a walk. Ryan doubled him to third and Biggane singled home both runners for the 6-4 lead. Biggane advanced to second on a wild pitch and Cimino drew a walk. Biggane advanced to third on a passed ball and Cimino swiped second, setting up sophomore Gibby Sullivan (Yarmouth, Maine), who singled in both runners for an 8-4 Bates edge. 

Bard tried to come back in the bottom of the ninth, as Bryant Elliott singled in a pair of runs. But sophomore John Tully (Framingham, Mass.) got Michael Kurlan to ground out to short, ending the game.

The Bobcats had an early 2-0 lead in the contest. In the top of the second, senior Noah Jankowski (Methuen, Mass.) doubled to right-center. Junior Ben Gesmondi (Narragansett, R.I.) singled him to third and sophomore Jack Margiloff (Rye, N.Y.) doubled in Jankowski, putting the Bobcats up 1-0. They added to the lead in the third, with Cimino doubling to left-center and Sullivan singling him home.

Bates starting pitcher senior Luke Linnehan (Hingham, Mass.) tossed three scoreless innings before the hosts got to him for three runs (two earned) in the fourth. He left the game after four innings trailing 3-2, and Bard also tallied a run in the fifth inning to extend the lead to 4-2 over Bates. 

But in the sixth inning, the Bobcats brought in junior Ian McAslan (Baltimore, Md.) and that made all the difference. He tossed three shutout innings, allowing just one hit, to earn the win. 

Every Bobcat in the starting lineup got a hit in the game, led by junior Ben Genser (Newton, Mass.), who went 3-5 at the dish. Biggane and Sullivan both drove in three runs. Bard finished with 10 hits, led by Elliott, who went 2-4 with a run scored and an RBI.

Game Two: Bates 7, Bard 3

The Bobcats held a 3-2 lead in the top of the fifth in game two of Saturday's doubleheader, but the game was suspended until Sunday due to rain. Bates had no problem waking up early the next day, winning the seven-inning contest by a count of 7-3.

In game two, Brennan got the offense going in the top of the first with a lead-off walk. He advanced to second on a throwing error, and proceeded to steal third base. Biggane played small ball, grounding out to second to drive Brennan in.

Bates starting pitcher first-year Nolan Hobbs (South Portland, Maine) did not allow a run in his first two innings of work, but Bard did get to him in the third, tying the game at one on a Mike Hannan RBI double.

Biggane singled to start the fourth inning, moved to second on a Cimino sacrifice bunt, advanced to third on a wild pitch, and scored on a passed ball, putting Bates up 2-1.

Bard answered in the bottom of the fourth, drawing three walks to load the bases, and scoring the tying run on a wild pitch. 

The weather continued to deteriorate, and Bates grabbed a 3-2 lead in the top of the fifth. With one down, Margiloff drew a walk, advanced to second on a wild pitch, stole third, and scored on another wild pitch, prompting the suspension of the game until Sunday.

On Sunday, Brennan, who had walked after Margiloff the day before in the top of the fifth, got the day started by stealing third and stealing home. Ryan drew a walk and stole second as part of the double steal with Brennan, then he scored on a Biggane triple, making the score 5-2. Cimino drew a walk and Biggane scored on a wild pitch. Cimino moved to second on a wild pitch and stole third. Then Sullivan doubled him home for a 7-2 Bates lead.

The five-run fifth inning held up as senior captain Noah Timmer (Keene, N.H.) earned the win with two and a third innings of one-run ball out of the bullpen.