The baseball team split its doubleheader against Bates College last weekend at Franklin Pierce University, winning the first game 15-3 and dropping the second 9-5. The team currently stands at 7-11 (2-3 NESCAC).
After losing two games in its three-game series against Tufts the previous weekend, the Polar Bears were looking for more consistent play.
“My hopes were for us to put together a complete day,” said Head Coach Mike Connolly in a phone interview with the Orient. “I honestly believe that when we play really well and when our team is at its best level, typically we’re going to win our games. It’s just a matter of us trying to put together 16 innings of high-level baseball.”
The Polar Bears dominated the first game. Bowdoin jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first inning and tacked on runs in the third, fourth, fifth and sixth innings to secure the win. Two Polar Bears were perfect at the plate: Chad Martin ’16 went 4-4 with four runs scored, and Sean Mullaney ’17 went 3-3 with three RBIs. Chris Cameron ’15 and Nick Sadler ’18 each had a pair of RBIs for Bowdoin as well.
“From an offensive standpoint, we established that we were going to battle every at bat and make the pitcher pay for any mistakes,” Martin said. “We strung four or five hits together at one point in the first inning, and we got to a point where the next man up couldn’t wait to step up to the plate and keep the rally going.”
Captain Henry Van Zant ’15 pitched six innings, striking out three batters and allowing only one earned run.
In the second contest, Bates (6-8, 1-1 NESCAC) struck first, scoring in the first inning. The Bobcats extended their lead to 7-2 with runs scored in each of the next four innings. Despite scoring two runs in the eighth inning, the Polar Bears could not complete the comeback.
Offensively, captain Sam Canales ’15, Buddy Shea ’15, Martin and Mullaney led the Polar Bears with two hits each. Bowdoin struggled defensively, committing four errors. Captain Erik Jacobsen ’15, who started the game, pitched three innings, giving up four earned runs.
“We all considered game two to be a must-win game, but I think our intensity died down a little after the blowout in game one,” Martin said. “Collectively, we felt that some pressure was taken off of us because we already had one game in the bag, so we didn’t necessarily grind out at bats. We started to press at the plate once Bates started to pull away, and once that happens, your whole plate approach changes and you put yourself in a hole.”
Looking forward, the team hopes to be a contender for the NESCAC post season tournament. In order for that to happen, Connolly believes that the team will have to play more consistently.
“We’re trying to accomplish the ability to play every pitch the same,” Connolly said. “There’s a level that we’ve been able to get to at certain times of the year, and we’re trying to stretch out the period of really high-level play. If we do that, our long term goals are to get to the point when we are winning conference weekends.”
The Polar Bears travel to Wesleyan University for a doubleheader tomorrow.