ANNANDALE, N.Y. -- The Bates baseball team defeated Bard 4-2 on Sunday in a 15-inning epic that saw the Bobcats rally from two runs down in the ninth to force extras in the longest game innings-wise for Bates since 2006.

Junior Brandon Biggane (Rensselaer, N.Y.) smashed a solo home run to lead off the top of the 15th inning, putting the Bobcats (6-3) ahead for good. Senior Jack Potash (Stratford, Conn.) was outstanding on the mound, tossing seven shutout innings out of the bullpen to earn the win, allowing just three hits and striking out four. 

Bard (2-3) grabbed an early lead with two runs in the bottom of the first on back-to-back RBI doubles from Sam Dumper and Mike Hannan.

Bates starting pitcher senior Sam Hough (Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.) battled some wildness over his 4.2 innings pitched, striking out six while walking four and hitting four batters. But he kept the hosts off the scoreboard for the remainder of his outing, and sophomore Diego Sarabia (Atlanta, Ga.) relieved Hough in the bottom of the fifth with the bases loaded and two outs. Sarabia got Jimmy Famularo to ground out to second, ending the threat.

Sarabia continued the high-wire act for Bates pitching in the sixth inning, leaving runners stranded at second and third when he got Mike Lynch to ground out to second. But he walked a pair of batters in the seventh, and the Bobcats brought in sophomore Max Dio (Wellfleet, Mass.) to put out the fire. He did exactly that, getting a 4-6-3 double play to end the inning.

Dio shut down Bard in the eighth, and the Bobcats finally got on the board in the top of the ninth.

With Bates still down 2-0, senior captain Chris Cimino (Scarborough, Maine) got the rally started with a single down the right field line. Sophomore Gibby Sullivan (Yarmouth, Maine) reached on an error and junior Ben Genser (Newton, Mass.) bunted the runners over. 

Senior Noah Jankowski (Methuen, Mass.) got the first run across the plate with an RBI groundout to shortstop and senior Dylan Azcárate (Tiburon, Calif.) reached on an error, scoring pinch runner junior Brennan Kelley (Charlotte, N.C.) and tying the game at two. 

Dio hit Hannan to start the bottom of the ninth, at which point Potash entered the game. He got the first two batters he faced out before Emmett O'Brien singled, putting runners at the corners. Potash got Michael Kurlan to hit into a fielder's choice, sending the game to extra innings.

Potash (1-0) was brilliant the rest of the way, as the game stretched into the 15th inning, at which point Biggane led off with a home run. Then Cimino singled to left and Kelley reached on a fielder's choice. Kelley advanced to second on a wild pitch and scored on a Genser RBI single, extending the lead to 4-2.

Potash worked around a walk and a hit-by-pitch to secure the win with a scoreless bottom of the 15th, the longest game for the Bobcats innings-wise since Bates beat Western Connecticut State 1-0 in 16 innings in 2006.

The Bobcats get this week off and head to the Tucson Invitational Games after that, where they'll take on Carleton College at 12:30pm EDT / 9:30 AM in Arizona on Monday, March 18.