LEWISTON, Maine -- The Bates College baseball team defeated Colby College 17-0 in the second game of a doubleheader Sunday at Leahey Field, to earn a split for the day and take two out of three games in the teams' NESCAC East Division series.
Colby won 5-2 in the first game of the day, as Mules ace Soren Hanson scattered eight hits and two walks over 6 1/3 innings to move to 3-0. Hanson recorded seven strikeouts.
Bates rose to 8-9 overall and 3-2 in NESCAC East play with the Game 2 win. Colby dipped to 12-6 overall and 3-3 in the division.
Due to final exams this week, the Bobcats will return to action on Saturday, April 18 at 1pm for a home doubleheader against Endicott.
Game 2 Recap
Bates scored four runs in the first inning off of Colby starter Greg Ladd (3-3) and went on to score multiple runs in the second, fourth, sixth, seventh and eighth innings in the Game 2 rout.
Senior Nate Pajka (Douglas, Mass.) was 3-for-4 in Game 2 with three doubles and five runs scored, leading Bates' 16-hit attack. Pajka was hit by Colby pitching twice in the game, as were sophomores Ryan McCarthy (Plaistow, N.H.) and Brendon Canavan (Carlisle, Mass.). Canavan and junior Conor Reenstierna (Lincoln, Mass.) drove in five runs apiece, while seniors Sam Berry (Hamilton, Mass.) and Rockwell Jackson (Fort Worth, Texas) both had three hits in the game. Berry scored four runs.
Senior righthander Will Levangie (1-1) threw seven shutout innings to earn his first victory of the season. Levangie allowed the Mules two hits and two walks while striking out seven. JuniorsMark Cunningham (Canton, Mass.) and Chris Ward (Pasadena, Calif.) pitched perfect eighth and ninth innings, respectively, combining with Levangie (Frederick, Md.) on a two-hitter.
Game 1 Recap
Hanson and Bates first-year righthander Connor Speed (San Diego, Calif.) traded zeroes for the first three innings, with Speed allowing fewer baserunners (three) than Hanson (five). But Speed hit Nils Carlson to lead off the fourth, and the Mules designated hitter scored the game's first run with the benefit of a Tim Corey single and a Zach Ellenthal double. Ellenthal was thrown out trying to stretch his hit into a triple, and Speed avoided further trouble by inducing a groundout.
In the bottom of the inning, Berry and Brendan Fox each singled and John Dinucci walked to load the bases, and Bates tied the game at 1-1 when Reenstierna drew a walk. Hanson struck out McCarthy to end the threat.
Colby's Tyler Starks and Ryder Arsenault both reached on Bates errors to lead off the fifth, and both scored for a 3-1 lead, with an RBI single by Tommy Forese and a run-scoring fielder's choice. Bates senior righthander Sam Maliska (Palo Alto, Calif.), who had come on for Speed (1-2), ended the inning with a pickoff and a strikeout.
Colby extended its lead in the sixth as Dan Csaplar singled, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt and scored on Ellenthal's single and second RBI of the game. In the seventh, the Mules made it 5-1 as Forese was hit by a pitch, stole second base and scored on Jason Buco's single up the middle.
Bates got back a run in the bottom of the seventh. McCarthy struck out but reached base safely on a passed ball. McCarthy reached third base on Jackson's double to right center, then scored on a wild pitch by Forese, who had come on in relief of Hanson.