St. Joseph's 12, Bates 8
at Lewiston, Maine

ST JOE'S BASEBALL RALLIES IN LATE INNINGS TO DEFEAT BATES, 12-8

LEWISTON, Maine Ð The visiting St. Joseph's College Monks (16-10) used three-run innings in the seventh and ninth frames to pull away from the host Bates College Bobcats (1-13), 12-8, on Leahey Field today.

Bates jumped out to a 5-1 lead after two innings, thanks to run-producing doubles by senior CF Jason Coulie (Manchester, N.H.) and sophomore SS Ben Donaldson (Lemoine, Maine) in the first and a pair of wild pitches uncorked by St. Joe's starter Charlie Buker (West Paris, Maine) in the second.

Rookie hurler Ryan Weaver (Canton, Ohio) looked good over the first four innings, allowing three hits and one unearned run. The Monks touched Weaver and reliever Andy Stanton (Great Bend, Pa.) for five runs in the top of the fifth. The big blow was a two-run single by junior C Joe Holland (Jefferson, Maine), the second batter Stanton faced, that put the Monks ahead 6-5.

Bates tied the game in the bottom of the fifth on a suicide squeeze bunt by sophomore 3B John Merriman (Clinton, Mass.) and took a 7-6 lead in the sixth on senior C Frost Hubbard's (E. Walpole, Mass.) first home run of the season.

St. Joe's reclaimed the lead for good, 8-6, against reliever Drew Blicharz (Rutland, Vt.) in the top of the seventh on a two-run triple by senior pinch hitter Ben Gosselin (Biddeford, Maine), who scored on a two-strike single by sophomore 2B Marcus Crowell (Biddeford, Maine).

Gosselin came in to pitch in bottom of the seventh and was touched for a run on a two-out single by Bates junior 2B Pat Collins (Walpole, Mass.) that brought on Monks junior closer J.P Pyne (Milford, Mass.). Pyne retired four of the five batters he faced, including three on strikeouts, for his fifth save of the season.

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