MEDFORD, Mass. -- Bates senior Sam Berry hit a pair of two-run home runs which spurred the visiting Bobcats to a 9-4 victory at Tufts in the opener of a three-game NESCAC East Division series Friday at Huskins Field.
Berry's (Hamilton, Mass.) two-run home run over the hitter's backdrop in center field gave the Bobcats a 2-0 lead in the third. He hit another in the fourth to right-center as part of a four-run inning that put Bates ahead 6-0. Berry finished 3 for 5 with the four RBIs and two runs.
The Bobcats improved to 12-13 overall and 4-2 in the NESCAC East. Tufts, which received three hits and two runs from Tom Petry, fell to 22-7 and 6-4. Bates and Tufts are currently the only two teams with winning records in the division. The teams play a double-header at Huskins tomorrow starting at noon.
Bates chased Tufts starter Tim Superko in the fourth. He allowed five hits and six runs with five walks in 3 2/3 innings overall. In addition to Berry's fourth-inning home run, senior Nate Pajka(Douglas, Mass.) had an RBI single and senior Mekae Hyde (Lewiston, Maine) walked and scored on a wild pitch during the inning.
The Bobcats extended their lead to 8-0 with two in the fifth. Berry loaded the bases with a single and Hyde walked to plate the first run. Pajka then scored on senior Rockwell Jackson's (Fort Worth, Texas) foul out to right.
Bates junior righthanded starter Connor Colombo (Mendon, Mass.) held Tufts scoreless through four. The Jumbos left three in scoring position during that time. Trailing 8-0, Tufts got on the board with two in the fifth. Petry led off with a single and Cody McCallum followed with a walk. A pair of ground outs scored Petry, and Tommy O'Hara singled home McCallum.
Colombo departed after five innings, allowing four hits and two runs (one earned) with four walks and four K's while earning the victory to move to 3-0. Junior righthander Rob DiFranco(Melrose, Mass.) came on to pitch the sixth, seventh and eighth innings, allowing two runs (one earned) on two hits and four walks while striking out four. Senior righthander Sam Maliska(Palo Alto, Calif.) pitched a shutout ninth, getting out of a bases-loaded jam by striking out Petry to end the game.
Jumbo senior Connor McDavitt drew a walk off DiFranco to lead off the seventh, took second on a wild pitch and scored on a Bates error, drawing the hosts within 8-3. However, Bates got it back in the top of the eighth on a walk to Hyde and a single by junior Conor Reenstierna(Lincoln, Mass.) that followed by a pinch-hit RBI single from sophomore Brendan Fox (West Hartford, Conn.), making it 9-3.
McDavitt singled home Petry, who had hit a two-out single, for the game's final run in the eighth.
Pajka scored three runs for Bates and Hyde crossed the plate twice.