BATES SPLITS DOUBLEHEADER WITH CALDWELL COLLEGE

LEWISTON, Maine -- First-year player Ben Donaldson (Lemoine, Maine), who had started 11 straight games as a catcher made his first appearance of the season on the other end of the battery and pitched the Bates College Bobcats (2-11) to a 5-2 victory in the second game of a double-header, salvaging a split with the Caldwell College Cougars (8-10).

Donaldson went six and two-thirds strong innings in the second game, allowing just two runs (both earned) and three hits, while striking out three Caldwell batters. After Donaldson got two outs and walked a pair of batters in the top of the seventh, junior Jason Coulie (Manchester, N.H.) came in and struck out the only batter he faced on five pitches to earn his first career save.

Bates scored all the runs they would need on just one hit in the top of the first. Junior RF Austin Philbin (Clinton, Mass.) led off the game by getting hit by a pitch. He was forced at second on a ground ball by senior 3B Scott McAuliffe (Concord, N.H.), who took third on a double by Coulie, who started the game in center field. Senior DH Shirl Penney (Eastport, Maine) hit a wicked shot to third base, which was thrown away by the Cougars, enabling McAuliffe and Coulie to score, while Penney came home on a wild pitch to the next batter. Penney ended the day 1-3, picking up a second RBI in the fifth. With Philbin on third and Coulie on first, the Bobcats executed a perfect hit-and-run, with Penney hitting the ball to the right side of the field just vacated by the second baseman going to cover the bag.

Caldwell earned their first win on the trip up from New Jersey in the first game, holding the Bobcats to one run on seven hits for an 8-1 victory. Bates junior James Hanley (Pawtucket, R.I.) allowed just three earned runs in five and two-third innings, but he was charged with three unearned runs in the sixth as the Cougars busted open a 4-0 game. The Cougars were led in game one by junior 1B Nick Barese (Bogota, N.J.), who was 2-4 with a a double and three RBI, and first-year 2B Brian Belton (Bayonne, N.J.), who was 3-4 with a double, two RBI and two runs scored. Junior 1B Drew Blicharz (Rutland, Vt.) was 1-2 with a pair of walks, a double and scored the Bobcats' lone run. Bates stranded 13 runners in the game.

Bates opens CBB play tomorrow with a doubleheader against Bowdoin at Leahey Field starting a noon.

Game 1
Caldwell 8, Bates 1

                 1 2 3   4 5 6   7       R   H   E 
Caldwell (8-9)   0 1 3   0 0 4   0   -   8  11   0 
Bates (1-11)     0 0 0   0 0 1   0   -   1   7   4  

Batting
LOB - C, 7. B, 13.
2B - C - Brian Belton, Nick Barese, John Pein. B, Drew Blicharz, Austin
Philbin.
SB - B, Coulie.
HBP - C, Dan Keller (by Hanley).

Pitching
C - Kevin Johanssen, John MacEntee (5) and John Pein.
B - James Hanley, Austin Philbin (6), Jason Coulie (7) and Ben Donaldson,
Dave Argereow (7).

W - Johanssen (n/a)
L - Hanley (0-1)

Game 2
Bates 5, Caldwell 2


                 1 2 3   4 5 6   7        R   H   E 
Caldwell (8-10)  0 0 2   0 0 0   0    -   2   3   2
Bates (2-11)     3 0 0   1 1 0   X    -   5   6   0

Batting
2B - C, Dan Keller. B, Jason Coulie. 
3B - B, Ben Bines. 
SH - B, McAuliffe. 
SF - C, Nick Barese. B, Drew Blicharz.
HBP - B, Austin Philbin (by Peters)

Pitching
C - Charlie Peters, Kevin Carberry (5) and Jeff Kearns. 
B - Ben Donaldson, Jason Coulie (7) and Dave Argereow.

W - Donaldson (1-0)
L - Peters (0-1)
S - Coulie (1)