The Bates baseball team played a three-game series against Bowdoin Friday, March 30 and Saturday, March 31 opening up their NESCAC play for the spring. They lost on Friday by a score of 3-1, and then dropped the first game on Saturday 4-3 in extra innings. In this game, they were down 3-1 heading into the seventh inning, when Connor DiVencenzo ’18 singled to left field. Next up was Kyle Carter ’20, who also singled. After another single by Dan Trulli ’19 and a sacrifice bunt by Jack Arend ’20, Bates had runners on second and third with one out. Zach Avila ’20 delivered, grounding out but bringing in Carter to tie the game. Unfortunately, Bowdoin scored a run in the top of the eighth to take back the lead, and the Bobcats could not answer in the bottom of the inning.
During the sixth inning of the first game, DiVencenzo saved the Bobcats from a potential bases clearing hit by Polar Bear Colby Joncas. DiVencenzo made an outstanding diving catch to end the inning and helped the Bobcats get back into the game. Although this play was not enough to help Bates earn the win, it was definitely a highlight of the game. DiVencenzo, Arend, and Trulli all tallied doubles in the game.
Bobcats’ five runs. Senior captain Jake Shapiro ’18 was also critical to the team’s success in this game. He came in during the seventh inning, striking out three batters and earning his second save of the season. Foley came back from his loss in game one and earned the win in this game against the Polar Bear. Foley’s record is now 2-2.
As March ends and April begins, the team heads into the bulk of their schedule, playing a number of series against NESCAC teams. They will play Colby, Williams, Hamilton, Trinity, and Tufts prior to the NESCAC championships. With all of these important games ahead, Shapiro says, “Obviously this is a big month for us, so we try to approach every game with the same intensity.”
In the second game of the double header, the ‘Cats were able to avoid the sweep by winning 5-3. Justin Foley ’19 earned the win, pitching five innings and allowing only four hits and one run. Notable hitting performances came from Trulli and Jon Lindgren ’20, who were each responsible for two RBIs, accounting for four of the Bobcats’ five runs. Senior captain Jake Shapiro ’18 was also critical to the team’s success in this game. He came in during the seventh inning, striking out three batters and earning his second save of the season. Foley came back from his loss in game one and earned the win in this game against the Polar Bears. Foley’s record is now 2-2.
As March ends and April begins, the team heads into the bulk of their schedule, playing a number of series against NESCAC teams. They will play Colby, Williams, Hamilton, Trinity, and Tufts prior to the NESCAC championships. With all of these important games ahead, Shapiro says, “Obviously this is a big month for us, so we try to approach every game with the same intensity.”
In addition to this difficult baseball schedule, there is the academic calendar to battle with as well. Shapiro stresses the necessity of staying focused as finals come around, the semester ends, and short term begins. “These couple of weeks can be tough for a lot of guys as they finish up their classes,” he says. “At this point, we want to make sure that everyone gets their work done and is ready for finals, while also making sure we’re ready for our series next weekend against Colby.” Clearly, this is a hard balance at this time of the school year.
Ultimately, the team needs to maintain focus in order to finish the season strong. To this point, Shapiro says, “In order to be successful the rest of the year, it’s going to be important that everyone does their job and stays focused. Especially with the distractions during short term, keeping everyone focused is going to be important.” The team will play this Wednesday at home against Plymouth State, and then at home against Colby on Friday.
