Normally three wins for Trinity isn't good news for the Bowdoin Baseball Team. These, however, are not normal circumstances. With the Bears lying in third place in the NESCAC and needing to pass second place Tufts to make the playoffs, the Bantams sweep of the Jumbos is exactly what Bowdoin needed.
Though the Bears still need help, Tufts' record now lies at 4-5 in the NESCAC, while the Bowdoin's stands at 3-5. However, were the teams to tie, Tufts would advance because of its 2-1 head-to-head record against the Bears. That is why this weekend is huge for the Bears, who must sweep Bates and have Colby take at least one game from Tufts if the Bears are to remain in playoff contention.
Putting playoff hopes on hold for a week, the Polar Bears played a week filled with six non-conference games.
On Friday, Bowdoin played host to Thomas College, and handily defeated the Terriers, 17-15. The Bears scored 17 runs on 15 hits, including four doubles. Pat Duchette '08 and Brendan Garner '11 each had three hits in the game.
"It was great to see our offense explode like that because we have the potential to do that every game," Adam Marquit '11 said.
However it was the pitching, which has struggled of late, that carried the Polar Bears. Despite a rocky first inning from Joe Pace '10 who gave up three earned runs, he settled down and threw six scoreless innings. Simon Fischweicher '11 and Scott Ogden '10 finished the game with an inning each in relief.
On Saturday, the Bears traveled to Middletown, Conn., to face Wesleyan in a doubleheader. Pat Driscoll '08 started his first game for the Bears since coming back from surgery, and everything seemed fine as the score was 10-2 Bowdoin heading into the bottom of the third. Driscoll would run into trouble, however, and after recording only one more out, would walk off the mound with the game tied. Wesleyan would go on to win the game 17-12.
In game two, Bowdoin again took the lead, jumping out to a 4-0 score. Despite having their ace Carter Butland '10 on the mound for the entire game, fielding would haunt the Bears, as the Cardinals would go on to score six runs, three of them unearned.
On Sunday, Bowdoin traveled to Brandeis to play two against the judges. In the first game, Ryan Turgeon '08 got lit up for six runs over only a third of an inning, and the Polar Bears were unable to mount any sort of comeback, falling 8-3. In the second game, things turned around for the Polar Bears. Steve Hall '10 started on the mound and put in a solid outing, allowing three over five-and-two-thirds innings. Ben Higgins '11 closed out the game for the save. The Bears had been down early, but Jason Koperniak '09 hit a three-run home run in the fifth inning and Bowdoin went on to win 4-3.
On Wednesday, Bowdoin took on Husson at home, and was able to carry the momentum from the Brandeis win. Despite having one fewer hit than the Braves, the Polar Bears secured a 6-4 win. Six pitchers took the mound for the Bears, giving up three earned runs between them.
"It was nice to end this run of games with a couple of wins," Fischweicher said.