The lingering winter weather in the northeast has cooled down Bowdoin's hot streak, as the baseball team struggled against NESCAC rival Amherst College. After jumping out to a 9-3 record during their Spring Break trip, the Polar Bears suffered back-to-back losses last Sunday against the Lord Jeffs.
In the morning game, Bowdoin took an early lead and looked strong and confident from the start, carrying a 5-0 lead into the bottom half of the fourth inning.
From there, however, the momentum began to swing as the lead quickly evaporated. Bowdoin would try to bounce back, but after Amherst's six-run explosion in the 8th, the game was too far out of hand and the Bears fell 14-7.
Nevertheless, last year's NESCAC pitcher of the year, Oliver Van Zant '13 pitched well, allowing just one earned run in four and a third innings.
This year's first year class has also shown promise, with pitcher Christian Martin leading the way with 31 strikeouts in just 25 innings.
"I'm very happy with how the freshmen have been able to bond with the rest of the team," said senior captain Brett Gorman. "We have never had such a close team in my four years at Bowdoin."
In the afternoon game, Amherst continued its effective hitting, gaining a 6-0 lead by the third inning. Bowdoin could only muster one run in the 7th and eventually fell 8-1 to round out an unsuccessful day.
The two losses dropped the team's record to a 9-5 tally overall. Amherst, however, is not in Bowdoin's division within the conference, meaning that the two losses will not have any effect on the team's postseason prospects.
Bowdoin is preparing for a weekend which boasts five games in just three days, four of which are at home. The team is hopeful that the field has recovered from last week's storm and will be ready for what should be an exciting 72 hours. Today, the team travels to Lewiston to play a single game against Bates, the beginning of its first series against a divisional opponent.
"We have moved past the Amherst games, corrected the mistakes, and are ready for our first [divisional] games," said senior centerfielder Brendan Garner.
In Bowdoin's home opener tomorrow against Bates, the two teams will then play a doubleheader to round out the series. The Polar Bears will play two more games against Thomas College on Sunday to finish off a very busy weekend.