LEWISTON, Maine -- First-year Antonio Jareno hit his first collegiate home run and doubled in the eventual winning run to support an outstanding performance on the mound from junior Nolan Collins in a 5-2 win for the Bates baseball team over the Trinity College Bantams Saturday afternoon at Leahey Field.
Collins (Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif.) threw 122 pitches over eight and a third innings of five-hit baseball. After allowing a pair of runs in the second inning, Collins (3-1) dominated Trinity (14-3, 3-1 NESCAC), retiring the next 10 batters in a row. He worked around two-out singles in the fifth and sixth innings. Then he retired the side in order in the seventh and eighth.
With Bates (8-9, 2-2 NESCAC) trailing 2-0, Jareno (Marietta, Ga.) led off the bottom of the fourth against Bantam starter Andrew DeRoche (3-1) and smacked a solo home run to left field. Jareno hit two home runs in high school and the solo shot marked the first of his collegiate career. It is the second home run hit by the Bobcats this season through 17 games.
DeRoche bounced back after Jareno's home run and retired the next seven batters he faced. But the Bobcats got to him again in the bottom of the seventh. Junior captain Jack Arend (Newfields, N.H.) drew a walk to start the frame. Senior Justin White (Whitesboro, N.Y.) singled Arend to third and sophomore Noah Loughlin (Mililani, Hawaii) drove him home with a sacrifice fly to right field, tying the game at two.
With one out in the bottom of the eighth, junior Jon Lindgren (Plainville, Conn.) worked the count to 2-0 against DeRoche. At that point, the Bantams brought in Erik Mohl out of the bullpen. Lindgren ended up drawing a walk and sophomore Christian Beal (Flossmoor, Ill.) ripped a single to left field. Jareno stepped to the plate and delivered his second big hit of the day, a double to right-center field, scoring Lindgren to give the Bobcats a 3-2 lead. The Bantams elected to intentionally walk Arend, loading the bases for White. White put together an outstanding at bat, drawing a walk to force in another run. Then Loughlin legged out a ground ball to third. The Bantams got a force out at third base but the throw to first was late and Bates took a 5-2 lead as Jareno crossed the plate with the third run of the inning.
Mack Lauder doubled to start the ninth against Collins. Collins struck out the next batter but walked Robbie Cronin to put runners at first and second with one away. Bates brought in senior captain Alex Simon (Windsor, Conn.) out of the bullpen and he struck out Geoff Stillman for the second out of the inning. Simon walked Vincent Capone to load the bases, bringing the go-ahead run to the plate in the form of Mike Guanci. Simon got Guanci to hit a grounder to junior Giovanni Torres (North Haven, Conn.) at third base. Torres stepped on the bag to end the game, securing Collins' third win of the season and Simon's second save.
Trinity got off to a fast start on Saturday when the Bantams scored twice in the second inning. Lauder walked to start the frame. Reinisch flew out and Cronin hit a slow roller to third that Torres bare-handed and fired to first for the out. Lauder advanced to second on the play and scored on a Stillman single up the middle. Stillman stole second base and Capone drew a walk. Then Stillman stole third and scored when Collins uncorked a wild pitch, giving the Bantams a 2-0 lead.
They did not score again.
After walking three batters through the first two innings, Collins was in complete command. He did not walk anyone else until the ninth inning. Meanwhile, the Bates defense made some outstanding plays in the field. Loughlin made a spectacular running catch on a pop up in foul ground by the Bates dugout to end the sixth inning. Then in the seventh inning, Beal made a diving catch in deep left-center, robbing Capone of extra bases.
Bates recorded six hits on the day. Jareno finished 2-4 at the plate with two runs scored, a home run, and the eventual game-winning double. Beal went 2-4 with a run scored and White finished 2-3 with an RBI and a walk. Trinity tallied five hits, with Matt Koperniak going 2-4 at the plate. Lauder finished 1-3 with a run scored, a double and a walk. Stillman went 1-4 with a run scored, an RBI and two stolen bases. DeRoche pitched really well in defeat, going seven and a third innings, allowing three runs on four hits. He walked two and struck out one.
The Bobcats look to sweep the Bantams Sunday, with a doubleheader at Leahey Field getting underway at noon.