Courtsey of Brian Beard

Last weekend, the baseball team (22–9; 7–5 NESCAC) played its last NESCAC series of the regular season against  Colby College (16–10; 4–4 NESCAC). The Polar Bears went 1–2 in the three games but remain in position to grab a high seed in the NESCAC tournament.

The series started at home on Friday afternoon, where the Polar Bears lost 4–10. After a Liam Foley ’26 two-run single in the first inning, Bowdoin’s offense was dormant as the Colby starting pitcher threw eight innings, only allowing five hits and two walks. The Mules scored five runs in the top of the second inning and added five more throughout the game. The Polar Bears rallied in the bottom of the ninth, scoring a run with a wild pitch and a Foley single to left center field. Jason Bogdanos ’25 was the starter on the mound for the Polar Bears. He pitched six innings and was responsible for all ten of Colby’s runs while also striking out five batters.

The Saturday doubleheader took place in Waterville on Colby’s home field, where the Polar Bears bounced back from Friday afternoon’s loss to take the first game 3–1. Bowdoin hit the ball well in the top of the first inning, as Kevin Murray ’25 and Lucas Tsai ’26 hit back-to-back solo home runs to put the Polar Bears ahead 2–0 after four batters.

Murray noted how he waited for the right pitch to attack.

“I saw a lot of pitches that at bat, [which was] a 3–2 count and just wanted to find a way on base,” Murray said. “I knew [the Colby pitcher] was probably going to throw a strike, so I got ahead on the fastball and hit it in the gap.”

Both pitchers and defenses had four scoreless half innings before Colby got on the board with a single in the bottom of the fifth inning, making the score 2–1. In the top of the seventh, Cal Thompson ’27 grounded out to the first base side, allowing Conor Moriarty ’28 to score from third. Alex Saavedra ’26 started on the mound for the Polar Bears, pitching five innings, allowing one run on four hits and striking out two Mules, and Will Bordes ’26 earned his sixth save of the year.

The second game of the doubleheader and the decider of the series was dominated early by the Mules, resulting in a 5-0 deficit leading into the eighth inning before Bowdoin’s offense responded.  Will Cooke ’28 hit a two-run double to left center that scored Foley and Tsai. Henry Bibeau ’27 then drove in Cooke with a single, narrowing the Mules’ lead to only two runs going into the top of the ninth inning.

After Thompson was hit by a pitch, Murray hit a double down the right field line to drive in a run, making the score 4–5. Tsai was then hit by a pitch, putting two runners on with only one out for the Polar Bears. Foley then hit into a fielder’s choice, leaving runners on first and second with two outs. Cooke struck out looking to finish the game, nearly securing a come-from-behind win.

Despite not winning the series, Murray believes the Polar Bears gave full effort in all three games.

“We definitely wanted to win the series, [as] that would have locked up a home playoff series for us,” Murray said. “We played a really complete baseball game in game [two] and made the [third] game competitive when we fell behind early against a good team.”

The Polar Bears traveled to play Husson University (18–10) on Monday night, winning against the team after losing two weeks ago. Even though it was a non-conference game, Collins emphasized how the team was hungry to beat the Husson Eagles.

“It didn’t matter how it looked or what the stats lines were or what the box score looked like; it was just about winning the game,” Collins said. “I’m really proud of our guys the way we battled and came away with a win.”

After a fielding error, Husson scored a run in the first inning, but the Polar Bears tied the game with a Bordes sacrifice fly in the third inning, and took the lead 3–1 the following inning after a Foley double and Cooke single scored two runs. In the bottom of the eighth inning, Husson tied the game, sending the game into extra innings.

In the top of the tenth, Murray hit his eighth home run of the season, a solo shot into the trees to put the Polar Bears ahead 4–3. Jacob Warren ’25 then came on to pitch, getting the Husson batters to ground out before handing things over to Cassidy to complete the final out.

The Polar Bears have a weekend off before they play at Saint Joseph’s College of Maine (17–16) on Monday night and at home against the University of Maine Farmington (7-18) on Wednesday for their last game of the regular season.

“Baseball is a game of momentum,” Murray said. “So winning these next couple of games going into the playoffs would definitely help.”