BRUNSWICK, Maine -- Senior John Tully threw six strong innings to earn the win and sophomore Ezra Pate picked up his first collegiate save as the Bates baseball team defeated Bowdoin 5-3 Friday afternoon in NESCAC action. 

The Bobcats (13-3, 2-2 NESCAC East) won their third straight game and second straight NESCAC contest. Tully (Framingham, Mass.) tossed six innings of two-run ball, shutting out the Polar Bears (9-9, 2-2 NESCAC East) over the course of his final five innings of work. It's the fifth straight quality start for Tully (5-1) as the right-hander continues to be the ace of the Bates pitching staff. 

Bates doubled up Bowdoin 12-6 in the hit column, with junior captain Keagan Ryan (Salem, N.H.), junior Henry Prince (McLean, Va.), sophomore John Federico (Durham, N.H.), and senior Joe Yoxall (Dallas, Texas) recording two hits apiece. Ryan and Federico also scored a pair of runs each. 

With the Bobcats down 2-1, senior Jack Margiloff (Rye, N.Y.) drew a one-out walk in the top of the third. Then with two away, Margiloff swiped second base to get into scoring position. Sophomore David Swift (Yarmouth, Maine) followed with a clutch RBI single and the game stood tied at two.

Sophomore catcher Max Dushney (Ashland, Mass.) helped Tully get out of a jam in the bottom of the third. With runners at first and second and two outs, the Polar Bears attempted a double steal. Dushney threw out Tommy O'Donnell at third base, ending the inning with the game still tied.

Bates took the lead for good in the top of the fourth. Federico led off with a single up the middle. He advanced to second on a ground out and advanced to third on a Yoxall single to center. With runners at the corners and two outs, Ryan stepped to the plate and bunted his way aboard. Federico scored on the play and Bates led 3-2.

The Bobcats picked up an insurance run in the top of the seventh. Ryan led off with a double down the left field line. Margiloff moved him up 90 feet with a ground out to second. Then senior Gibby Sullivan (Yarmouth, Maine) singled home Ryan to make the score 4-2 in favor of the Bobcats. Sullivan leads all of NCAA Division III in RBIs per game this season. 

Pate (Baton Rouge, La.) entered the game in the bottom of the seventh and was greeted rudely by Bowdoin's Reuben Siegel, who smacked a solo home run to cut the Bates lead to 4-3. But Pate took care of business from there on out, as he retired nine out of the next 10 batters he faced to close the game out. A Yoxall RBI single to score Federico in the top of the eighth provided the final margin of victory for the visitors.

Sam Almy (0-5) took the loss for the Polar Bears, giving up three runs (two earned) on six hits in four innings pitched. The Bobcats got to him right away in the top of the first, with Ryan getting hit by a pitch and moving to second on a balk. With two down, Prince singled him home to put Bates up 1-0. Bowdoin's Will Cooke answered with a two-out, two-RBI double off Tully in the bottom half of the frame, but that would be all the runs for Bowdoin until Siegel's solo home run.

Bates and Bowdoin are back in action on Saturday when the Bobcats host the Polar Bears at Leahey Field for a doubleheader. First pitch of game one is set for noon.