Guilford 20, Bates 5
at Greensboro, N.C.

BATES BASEBALL DROPS SEASON OPENER TO GUILFORD

GREENSBORO, N.C. - The Bates College baseball team (0-1), making their annual February Break trip to North Carolina, opened the season on the wrong end of a 20-5 decision to Guilford College (3-1) at McBain Field in Greensboro.

All of the Bobcats' scoring came in the seventh inning. The first three batters reached on an error and two walks, loading the bases. Rookie third baseman John Merriman (Clinton, Mass.) singled home junior first baseman Drew Blicharz (Rutland, Vt.) to start the scoring. After a pop-up and a strike out, senior tri-captain Scott McAuliffe (Concord, N.H.) cleared the bases with a double down the left field line. McAuliffe was then driven in by sophomore left fielder Ben Bines (Lexington, Mass.), but the Bobcats could not add any more. Sophomore Kevin Walsh (Wakefield, Mass.) picked up the loss.

The Bobcats are making the trip south without two-thirds of their starting outfield from 1998 - junior centerfielder Austin Philbin (Clinton, Mass.) is rehabilitating a leg injury, while classmate Jason Coulie (Manchester, N.H.) remains up north to compete in the New England Division III indoor track and field championships.

Guilford 20, Bates 5
                1 2 3   4 5 6   7 8 9       R   H   E
Bates (0-1)     0 0 0   0 0 0   5 0 0   -   5   7   2
Guilford (3-1)  0 3 1   2 4 1   2 7 x   -  20  19   3

Batting
LOB - B, 9. G, 8.
2B - B, Scott McAuliffe. G, Steve Danis.
3B - G, Zach Whicker, Bryan Probst.
HR - G, Whicker, Kevin Moore, Eric Pelletier, Danis, Jerry Inman (2).
SB - G, Chris Butcher (3), Moore, Andrew Duffy, Probst, Jon Hardy (2).
SF - G, Butcher, Probst, Inman. 

Pitching
BAT: Kevin Walsh, Josh Moody (6), John Merriman (8) and Ben Donaldson,
Dave Argereow (8).

GUIL: Joe Dooley, Josh Wolfe (7) and Nick Black, Scott Sinclair (9)

W - Dooley (1-0)
L - Walsh (0-1).
S - Wolfe (1)

WP - Walsh 2, Moody, Wolfe.

Fielding
E - B, McAuliffe, Walsh. G, Whicker, Duffy, Inman.