BATES AND BOWDOIN SPLIT CONTRASTING GAMES IN WILD DOUBLE HEADER

LEWISTON, Maine -- In a pair of very different games, in-state rivals Bates and Bowdoin split a baseball doubleheader at Leahey Field today, with Bowdoin winning a slugfest in the opener, 23-14, and the host Bobcats taking second game in a pitcher's duel, 5-4, in the bottom of the seventh inning.

In the opener, the Polar Bears jumped right on Bates starter Austin Philbin (Clinton, Mass.), as the first eight hitters reached base safely and nine totals runs scored. Junior LF Ryan Buckley (Dracut, Mass.) led off the inning with a double and added his first home run of the season in his second at bat of the stanza. Bowdoin also batted around in the third and fourth innings en route to their highest scorng output of the season. The Bobcats managed to answer part of the challenge in the first, highlighted by sophomore LF Ben Bines' (Lexington, Mass.) three-run homer. Sophomore 1B Matt Pound (Santa Fe, N.M.) also notched his first career round tripper, leading off the Bobcats' five-run fourth inning.

In all, 11 different players recorded at least two hits in the game, including seven Bowdoin players and four Bobcats. Sophomore C Phil Leigh (Belgrade, Maine) went 4-4 with three RBI and four runs scored, while senior CF Dave DeCew (Newton, Mass.) was 3-6 with two doubles, two RBI, and two runs scored. Bates was paced by Bines' 4-5 performance with a career-high six RBI, two runs scored and the home run, and senior 3B Scott McAuliffe (Concord, N.H.), who was 3-5 with two doubles, two runs scored and four RBI.

In game two, Bates was bolstered by the complete-game pitching performance by sophomore LHP Kevin Walsh (Wakefield, Mass.), who scattered 12 hits allowing four earned runs, while striking out four and walking one. Four different Bobcats recorded RBI, but the winning run in the bottom of the seventh came without a hit. Philbin, playing in left field, coaxed a walk off Bowdoin reliever John Perry (Biddeford, Maine) to lead off the inning and McAuliffe sacrificed him to second. After junior Jason Coulie (Manchester, N.H.) grounded out to third, junior James Hanley (Pawtucket, R.I.) drew a walk. Bines grounded a 3-2 pitch to second base which scooted under the glove of sophomore 2B Joe Nicastro (Gloucester, Mass.), as Philbin charged home from second, just beating Nicastro's throw and giving the Bobcats the 5-4 victory.

Tied at four going into the seventh, Bowdoin was in a position to score a go-ahead run in the top of the inning. After Walsh got a pair of long fly-ball outs to center field, the Polar Bears answered with singles from sophomore C Scott Marcantonio (Sarasota, Fla.) and senior 1B John Paquet (Wells, Maine), putting runners on first and third. On a 2-2 pitch, pinch-runner Steve Rulison (Reading, Mass.) broke from first. As Walsh ran to catch him, pinch-runner Rob Metzler (W. Hartford, Conn.) broke home from third, but Walsh threw a strike to first-year C Ben Donaldson (Lemoine, Maine), who blocked the plate and prevented the run from scoring.

Game 1
Bowdoin 23, Bates 14

                 1 2 3   4 5 6   7       R   H   E 
Bowdoin (5-10)   9 2 4   4 1 0   3   -  23  25   2 
Bates (2-12)     4 0 0   5 2 2   1   -  14  15   1  

Batting
LOB - BOW, 11. BAT, 8.
2B - BOW - Dave DeCew 2, Ryan Buckley, Joe Nicastro, Seth Kolodziejski.
     BAT - Scott McAuliffe 2, Ben Donaldson, Matt Pound
HR - BOW - Buckley (1). BAT - Ben Bines (2), Pound (1).
SB - BOW - Nicastro. BAT - Jason Coulie.
CS - BOW - Mike Warner (by Donaldson)
HBP - BOW - Rob Metzler (by Moody), Warner (by Moody). BAT - Shirl
Penney (by Russo).
SF - BOW - Tom Ryan. 

Pitching
BOW - Paul Delaney, Jamie Russo (6) and Phil Leigh, Mike Taylor (5).
BAT - Austin Philbin, Shane Delaney (1), Josh Moody (4) and Ben Donaldson.

W - Paul Delaney (1-1)
L - Philbin (0-2)

Game 2
Bates 5, Bowdoin 4


                 1 2 3   4 5 6   7        R   H   E 
Bowdoin (5-11)   0 3 0   0 1 0   0    -   4  12   1
Bates (3-12)     2 0 0   1 0 1   1    -   5   6   1

Batting
2B - BOW - Seth Paradis. BAT - Jason Coulie. 
HBP - BAT - Pat Collins (by Perry). 
SH - BAT - Scott McAuliffe.
SB - BAT - Ben Bines
CS - BOW - Dave DeCew (by Donaldson).

Pitching
BOW - Jeff Molles, John Perry (5) and Scott Marcantonio.
BAT - Kevin Walsh and Ben Donaldson.

W - Walsh (1-2)
L - Perry (0-2)