PASADENA, Calif. -- Sophomore Daniel Trulli homered and drove in five runs to lead the Bates baseball team to a 13-6 victory over the Caltech Beavers Wednesday afternoon.
The Bobcats (2-2) scored six runs in the sixth inning to take the lead for good.
With the game tied at five entering the top of the sixth, junior Asher MacDonald (Hillsborough, N.C.) reached on an infield single to start the frame.
Senior co-captain Ryan McCarthy (Plaistow, N.H.) followed with a single to left and first-year Kyle Carter (Plantation, Fla.) drew a walk to load the bases.
With the bases juiced and nobody out, senior John Dinucci (West Hartford, Conn.) singled home a pair of runs to put the Bobcats up 7-5. Senior Brendon Canavan (Carlisle, Mass.) continued his hot start to the season with a triple to the left-center field gap, clearing the bases and extending the lead to 9-5.
Immediately after Canavan's triple, Trulli (Melrose, Mass.) stepped to the plate and crushed his first collegiate home run. Trulli's blast put the Bobcats up 11-5.
The Beavers (2-8) got a run back in the sixth but Bates added two more runs in the eighth.
Carter started the top of the eighth by reaching on a bunt single. He advanced all the way to third thanks to an error by the Beavers' pitcher.
Dinucci singled home Carter for his third hit of the game. Dinucci finished 3-3 with three runs scored, three runs batted in and a walk.
After a double play eliminated Dinucci from the base paths, Trulli kept the inning going with a single. First-year Leo Watson (Indianapolis, Ind.) drew a walk and junior Jake Shapiro (Sandy, Utah) doubled in Trulli to put the Bobcats up 13-6.
First-year Nolan Collins (Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif.) got the start on the mound for Bates. He tossed four innings, giving up four runs (three earned) on five hits. Collins walked three and struck out two in the no-decision.
The Beavers took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first on a Cortland Perry two-out RBI double.
Bates took their first lead of the game thanks to a big third inning that saw them score four runs. After being shutout for two innings by Caltech starter Tim Menninger, Bates jumped on reliever Alex Corado in the third.
First-year Jack Arend (Newfields, N.H.) doubled to start the frame. One out later, Carter and Dinucci drew back-to-back walks to load the bases.
A wild pitch scored Arend, tying the game at one. Then Canavan drew a walk to load the bases again. That's when Trulli came up big for the first time on the day, doubling to clear the bases and the Bobcats took a 4-1 lead.
Trulli's final line: an impressive 3-5 with two runs scored, a double, a home run and five runs batted in.
The Beavers scored two in the bottom of the third and one in the bottom of the fourth to tie the game at four.
Dinucci got hit by a pitch from new pitcher Kai Kirk (1-4) to start the top of the fifth. Canavan drew a walk and one out later Dinucci stole third.
Watson drove Dinucci in with a sacrifice fly to put the Bobcats up 5-4.
First-year Cameron Carlson (Tampa, Fla.) entered the game in the bottom of the fifth out of the bullpen to pitch for Bates. He gave up an unearned run, tying the game at five. But he was able to strike out David Adams to avoid further trouble.
Carlson (1-0) picked up the win thanks to Bates' huge top of the sixth inning against Kirk. Carlson got the first two outs in the bottom of the sixth before being replaced by sophomore Brendan Smith (Hingham, Mass.) after Caltech got a run back. Smith retired Cortland Perry to end the frame.
Smith ended up pitching two and a third shutout innings before being replaced by senior Robert Jones (South Berwick, Maine). Jones pitched a scoreless ninth inning to finish off the win for the Bobcats.
Besides Trulli and Dinucci, Carter and Canavan also had big games at the plate. Carter finished 1-3 with three runs scored and two walks. Canavan went 1-3 with two runs scored, a triple, two runs batted in and two walks.
Bates pounded out 12 hits and drew seven walks on the afternoon.
The Bobcats wrap up their California trip on Friday when they visit Claremont-Mudd-Scripps. First pitch is set for 5:30 p.m. eastern/2:30 p.m. pacific.