Bates College

LEWISTON, Maine -- The Bates baseball team celebrated their eight seniors with a doubleheader sweep of Lesley on Saturday, defeating the Lynx 9-1 in game one and hanging on for a 9-8 victory in game two.

The Bobcats (19-10) host the University of Southern Maine on Sunday at 1 p.m. in their final home game of the season.

Game One: Bates 9, Lesley 1

Senior John Tully tossed a complete game and the Bobcats scored five times in the sixth inning to run away with a 9-1 victory over the Lynx in game one of Saturday's twin bill.

Tully (Framingham, Mass.) struck out a career-high eight batters in the win. He allowed just one run on five hits. 

The Bobcats took the lead for good against Lesley starter Kolten Moyer (1-5) in the bottom of the third. With two outs and nobody on in a scoreless contest, junior captain Keagan Ryan (Salem, N.H.) got hit by the pitch. He stole second and senior Jack Margiloff (Rye, N.Y.) also got plunked. The Bobcats pulled off a double steal before senior Gibby Sullivan (Yarmouth, Maine) drew a walk to load the bases. Junior Henry Prince (McLean, Va.) stepped to the plate and promptly got hit by a pitch to drive in Ryan. Then sophomore John Federico (Durham, N.H.) reached on an infield single, plating Margiloff for a 2-0 Bates lead.

The Lynx got one back in the top of the fourth off Tully (6-3) but that was all the right-hander would allow. Caden Shott doubled home Gerlys Martinez and the Bates advantage was at 2-1 heading to the bottom of the fourth.

But the Bobcats answered right away, with senior Andrew Fortunato (Fairfield, Conn.) doubling to lead off the bottom of the fourth. He advanced to third on a wild pitch and sophomore Max Dushney (Ashland, Mass.) drew a walk. Dushney stole second and senior Joe Yoxall (Dallas, Texas) drove in Fortunato with a sacrifice fly to center. Ryan followed with a sacrifice fly of his own and Bates led 4-1.

Bates broke the game open in the sixth. Dushney drew a walk to start the frame and Yoxall reached on a fielder's choice. Ryan bunted his way aboard and a failed pickoff attempt at second moved both runners up 90 feet. Margiloff delivered a sacrifice fly and Sullivan drew a walk to put runners on the corners. Ryan read Lesley left-hander Payton Albin's pick-off move to first perfectly and stole home for a 6-1 Bates lead. Prince singled Sullivan to second and Federico followed with an inside-the-park home run to left field, clearing the bases and putting the Bobcats up 9-1. It's the first home run of Federico's collegiate career.

Prince and Federico both tallied two hits in game one to pace the Bates offense, with Federico driving in four runs.
   
Game Two: Bates 9, Lesley 8

The Bobcats broke a 6-6 tie with three runs in the bottom of the fifth and hung on from there for a 9-8 win in game two of Saturday's doubleheader with Lesley.

Federico got the offense going, leading off the bottom of the fifth with a single to center off Lesley reliever Jack Butler. Sophomore David Swift (Yarmouth, Maine) followed with a single through the left side which got bobbled in left field, allowing the Bobcats to advance to second and third. Two outs later, Yoxall drew a walk to load the bases and Ryan came up big with a single to left, driving in a pair of runs for an 8-6 Bates lead. A wild pitch moved both runners up 90 feet and another wild pitch scored Yoxall to put the Bobcats ahead by three runs.

The Lynx (10-22) tried to rally in the top of the ninth. With one away, Grant Bazinet and Martinez drew back-to-back walks. The Bobcats called upon sophomore Ezra Pate (Baton Rouge, La.) out of the bullpen to replace first-year Joe Williams (Georgetown, Mass.), who had pitched 3.2 excellent innings in relief himself. Pate surrendered a single, a walk, and a hit by pitch, as Lesley cut the deficit to 9-8. With the bases loaded and still only one out, Pate got Christopher Wallace to fly out to shallow right and he struck out Payne Johnson to end the game, securing his second save of the season.

The Bobcats got on the board first in game two, scoring a pair of runs in the bottom of the second. Federico singled to start the frame and advanced to second on a passed ball. Swift doubled him home and one out later Dushney reached on an error, putting runners at first and second. A Yoxall infield single loaded the bases and a Ryan sacrifice fly gave Bates a 2-0 lead.

Lesley got one back in the third when a walk, a single, and another walk loaded the bases with nobody out. Bates starting pitcher senior Max Dio (Wellfleet, Mass.) got the next batter to hit into a 5-3 double play, which did score a run but helped the Bobcats limit the damage in the frame.

Bates appeared to get themselves some breathing room with four runs in the fourth inning. Swift got things started with a double to the left-center gap. One out later, Dushney singled him home. Yoxall drew a walk and Ryan reached on an infield single to load the bases. A Margiloff two-RBI single put Bates up 5-1 and Ryan stole home yet again to extend the lead to 6-1.

But the Lynx rallied with five runs in the top of the fifth. A walk, a single, and a hit by pitch loaded the bases with one out. Martinez delivered a sacrifice fly and Shott and Anthony Nyhuis followed with back-to-back RBI singles to cut the Bates lead to 6-4. Williams (1-0) entered the game for Dio and bounced back from a hit by pitch and a two-RBI single off the bat from Owen Finnegan to get the final out of the inning.

Bates took the lead for good in the bottom half of the frame, allowing Williams to earn the first win of his collegiate career, as he silenced the Lesley bats in the sixth, seventh, and eighth innings.

The Bobcats tallied 13 hits in game two, paced by Swift who went 3-5 with two doubles and three runs scored, to go along with an RBI.