The baseball team will enter this weekend’s series against Colby on a four-game win streak after sweeping Bates and picking up another victory against St. Joseph’s on Wednesday.
The Polar Bears travelled to Lewiston on Friday and took an early lead against the Bobcats. Bowdoin loaded the bases in the top of the second inning, captain Luke Regan ’13 scored on an errant throw and John Lefeber ’14 drew an RBI walk. Sam Canales ’15 knocked in another RBI at the top of the third to give pitcher and captain Oliver Van Zant ’13 a 3-0 lead to work with. He let up only five hits and struck out eight to preserve the lead into the top of the ninth.
The Bowdoin bats came alive with two outs left, RBIs from Erik Jacobsen ’15, Duncan Taylor ’14 and Lefeber widened the gap to 7-0. The insurance runs were needed as Bates found five runs off of reliever Dave Bernstein ’13 before Henry Van Zant ’15 struck out the last batter to seal the 7-5 victory.
Bowdoin then hosted Bates for a cold and windy Saturday doubleheader.
“A big thing our coach preaches is mental toughness,” said Oliver Van Zant. “Everybody’s dealing with the same weather conditions and if you can deal with it better, then it gives you an edge on your opponent.”
Bowdoin stayed hot behind Henry van Zant, who pitched a complete game on the mound in the opener. Bates was able to tie the game at 2-2 in the top of the fifth, but Bowdoin regained control following a two-run single from Regan in the bottom of the same inning. Two more runs in the bottom of the sixth ensured the 6-2 victory.
“Regan was huge all weekend,” said Oliver Van Zant. “He caught fire Friday and just ran with it. Offense had been a struggle for the first half of the year. It came around halfway through the second game at Trinity, and against Bates we started clicking.”
Christian Martin ’14 took the mound for the final game of the doubleheader, striking out ten batters and allowing just four hits in the seven-inning effort. Bowdoin scored in each of the first three innings, and captain Tim McGarry ’13 punched in a 4-4 day with two RBIs. Aaron Rosen ’15, Lefeber, Regan and Taylor all knocked in runs to cap off the weekend with a 10-1 win.
“There has been a lot more energy from the team as a whole,” said Oliver Van Zant. “The bench in particular has done a fantastic job of staying in the game—staying with guys and keeping everyone focused and pumped up.”
Bowdoin also hosted St. Joseph’s for a mid-week game. Harry Ridge ’16 put forth a stellar effort from the mound, allowing only four singles and striking out five batters. The Monks took a brief 1-0 lead off an unearned run before Regan hit a two-run single in the bottom of the fifth to give Bowdoin the lead. Ridge put away nine of the next 11 batters he faced to end the game.
Ridge “was throwing a lot of strikes and keeping the ball down in the zone,” said Oliver van Zant. “His changeup was tailing a foot and a half; it wasn’t touchable.”
The Polar Bears will first host Colby this afternoon before heading up to Waterville tomorrow for a pair of games.
“If we do what we did against Bates, we’ll take care of business,” said Oliver van Zant. “We have to get our work in, stay crisp and keep the energy level high. It’s really on us and if we play to our potential, we’re a tough to team to beat.”