TROY, N.Y. -- The Bates baseball team continues to hit the ball well, but it wasn't enough Sunday as they got swept in a non-conference road doubleheader by RPI. The Bobcats fell 9-7 in game one and dug themselves an early hole in a 10-7 loss in game two.

Bates (1-4) looks to get back on the winning track this Wednesday when the Bobcats visit No. 6 nationally ranked Endicott for a 3:30 p.m. first pitch.

Game One: RPI 9, Bates 7

The Bobcats jumped out to a 6-2 lead in game one of Sunday's twin bill, only to see RPI score three in the third and two in the fourth to take the lead for good as Bates fell 9-7.

With Bates holding on to a slim 6-5 lead, RPI's Ian Oehlschlaeger delivered a two-out RBI triple in the bottom of the fourth, tying the game at six. Then Julian Scarpa singled him home, putting the hosts up by one.

The Engineers picked up two insurance runs in the seventh, then held off a Bates rally in the ninth to hold on for the win. Junior Liam Yardley (Keene, N.H.) tried to get the comeback started with a lead-off double in the ninth. Two outs later, junior Jack Margiloff (Rye, N.Y.) singled home pinch runner junior Joe Yoxall (Dallas, Texas), trimming the RPI lead to two. Senior captain Brandon Biggane (Rensselaer, N.Y.) singled as well, bringing the go-ahead run to the plate. But reliever Zach Zajac got the next batter to fly out to left, securing the save.

Things were looking good early for Bates. Margiloff singled with one out in the top of the first. He stole third and Biggane singled him home for a 1-0 lead. Starting pitcher junior John Tully (Framingham, Mass.) worked a 1-2-3 bottom of the first, and the Bobcats tallied another run in the top of the second. First-year Tyler Tucker (Hamilton, N.J.) led off with a single and first-year David Swift (Yarmouth, Maine) bunted him over. Yardley singled to right field but Tucker was thrown out at the plate. Yardley was able to advance to second on the play though and came around to score on a single to right by senior captain Brennan Kelley (Charlotte, N.C.), putting Bates up 2-0.

A single and two walks loaded the bases for the Engineers in the bottom of the second. With two outs, Jack Mullins singled home a pair, tying the game at two.

But the Bates offense got right back to work in the top of the third, as Bates scored four times with two outs. Biggane got the two-out rally started with a single to left. Junior Gibby Sullivan (Yarmouth, Maine) followed with a two-run home run, putting the Bobcats up 4-2. Senior Ben Genser (Newton, Mass.) got hit by a pitch and Tucker singled him to second. Both runners moved up 90 feet on a wild pitch and Swift doubled them both in, making the score 6-2 in favor of Bates.

RPI wasted no time responding in the bottom half of the frame. It all started with a lead-off base-on-balls, and a sacrifice fly followed later in the inning by a two-out, two-RBI triple off the bat of Kameron Levesque trimmed the Bates lead to 6-5.

Tully left the game after three innings with Bates up by one, but RPI's pair of runs in the fourth off senior Christopher McGrail (Dedham, Mass.) flipped the script and gave them a one-run lead. McGrail (0-1) left the game after an inning and a third and first-year Charlie Bushley (Cohasset, Mass.) pitched the remaining three and two thirds innings, giving up two runs on five hits.

RPI's Liam Riordan (1-0) managed to go six innings, allowing six runs on 10 hits to pick up the win. 

Both teams tallied 14 hits in the contest. Biggane finished 3-5 with a run scored and an RBI. Margiloff, Tucker, Yardley, and Kelley picked up two hits apiece for Bates, while Sullivan and Swift both drove in two runs. Bates pitching walked five batters in the contest, while Tucker drew the only walk for the Bates offense.

Game Two: RPI 10, Bates 7

The Bobcats fell behind 10-0 in game two of Sunday's doubleheader before they nearly pulled off a huge rally in the seven-inning contest, falling just three runs short in a 10-7 loss to the Engineers.

RPI (4-4) hit the first three Bates pitchers hard, scoring five runs in the first, two runs in the second, and three runs in the third. But then the Bobcats got a trio of strong performances out of the bullpen from junior Diego Sarabia (Mableton, Ga.), first-year Charlie Cariello (Bedford, N.H.), and sophomore Kenny Carlisle (South Portland, Maine) as they retired the final 11 batters of the game in order, giving Bates a chance to come back.

The rally started with one out in the top of the fifth. Swift drew a walk and advanced to second on a wild pitch. First-year Max Dushney (Ashland, Mass.) reached on an infield single, advancing Swift to third. First-year John Federico (Durham, N.H.) drove in Swift with a sacrifice fly and Bates was on the board. 

The Bobcats got three more runs in the top of the sixth. Sophomore Luke Yoon (Honolulu, Hawaii) walked to start the frame and two outs later Yoxall reached on an error. With two on and two out, Swift cleared the bases with a three-run home run to left, his first collegiate long ball. 

Now down 10-4, the Bobcats scored three more in the seventh inning. With two outs and nobody on, Margiloff got hit by a pitch. Yoon singled him to second and Sullivan reached on a throwing error. Margiloff scored on the play, putting runners at second and third with two outs. Tucker singled in both runners to make the score 10-7 and Yoxall followed with his first collegiate hit, a single to center. That brought the tying run to the plate, but RPI reliever Kyle Gallo was able to strike out Swift to end the game. 

The Engineers tallied 10 hits in game two while Bates finished with seven. Swift had a huge game for the Bobcats, going 2-3 with two runs scored, a home run, three RBIs, and a stolen base. Tucker drove in a pair of runs in the contest, as the rookies continue to impress in their debut seasons.

Ayush Krishnappa, Michael Lebenson, and Jake Contois all finished with two hits apiece for the Engineers.

Ben Belliss pitched three shutout innings to start the game for RPI, and Mike Nelson (1-0) tossed a scoreless fourth inning to pick up the win.

Bates senior starting pitcher Ian McAslan (Baltimore, Md.) could not get out of the first inning, giving up five runs as he took the loss for the Bobcats.