LEWISTON, Maine -- The Bates baseball team got a pair of outstanding pitching performances but couldn't get the offense going in a 2-0 loss to Colby Monday afternoon in NESCAC action.

Bates (7-14, 3-5 NESCAC East) tallied four hits, three hit by pitches, and one walk on offense, leaving eight runners stranded on the day. Sophomore Luke Yoon (Honolulu, Hawaii) led the way at the plate, going 2-4 with a pair of well-placed opposite field singles. Junior Liam Yardley (Keene, N.H.) and first-year David Swift (Yarmouth, Maine) both tallied doubles for Bates. But on the whole it was a tough day for the offense, as the Bobcats struck out 11 times against Colby pitching.

Junior Diego Sarabia (Mableton, Ga.) got the start on the mound for the Bobcats and turned in a strong performance. He allowed two runs on six hits in six innings pitched, striking out six along the way. First-year Charlie Bushley (Cohasset, Mass.) was excellent out of the bullpen, going three shutout innings while allowing just one hit.

Ryan Grecco (2-2) earned the win for Colby (14-9, 2-3 NESCAC East), tossing five plus innings of shutout ball. He struck out six batters and held Bates to just two hits.

The Mules struck first in the top of the first inning. Clint Flippo led off the game with a single through the right side. Ryan Grace drew a walk and Myles Gythfeldt singled in Flippo for a 1-0 Colby lead. The Mules loaded the bases on a Tony Silva single before Sarabia (0-4) buckled down and got a strikeout and a flyout to end the inning without any further damage.

The bottom of the first sort of foreshadowed how the rest of the game would go for the Bates offense. With one away, junior Jack Margiloff (Rye, N.Y.) got hit by a pitch. Then senior Ben Genser (Newton, Mass.) hit a line shot that Colby shortstop Patrick Shrake was able to snag with a leaping catch. He threw back to first to double off Margiloff and end the inning.

Yardley recorded the first hit of the game for Bates with a one-out double in the third. But a grounder back to the mound caught Yardley between second and third and he was thrown out for the second out of the frame. Grecco was able to strike out the next batter to send the game to the fourth with Colby still up 1-0.

In the top of the fifth, Grace was able to hit a two-strike pitch up by his eyes out to right-center field for a solo home run, putting Colby up 2-0. 

The Bobcats threatened in the bottom of the sixth. Junior Joe Yoxall (Dallas, Texas) led off the inning with a walk, chasing Grecco from the game after 64 pitches. Relief pitcher Kyle Bourque hit sophomore Keagan Ryan (Salem, N.H.) with a pitch, putting runners at first and second with nobody out. Margiloff bunted the runners over, but Genser got unlucky for the second time in the game, once again lining out to Shrake. Bourque struck out the next batter to end the threat.

Yoon singled with one out in the seventh and advanced to second on a wild pitch. However, Bourque got out of the jam with a groundout and a strikeout. 

In the bottom of the eighth, Ryan got hit by another pitch, this time from Colby reliever Sam Lowenstein. Margiloff hit a grounder to third and the Mules tried to get Ryan at second, but he beat the throw and Bates had runners at first and second with one away. Genser hit a liner to right that got caught for out number two. Bates pulled off a double steal to put the tying runs in scoring position, only for the next batter to fly out to center, ending the inning.

Swift doubled with two outs in the ninth, but Colby closer Matt Higgins was able to get Yardley to hit into a fielder's choice, as the Mules evened the three-game series at one apiece.

Bates is back in action this Friday when the Bobcats host Bard at 3:30 p.m. Bates and Colby will play the rubber match of their three-game set at Leahey Field on Sunday, April 27 at 1 p.m.