Christian Martin '14 may have pitched six scoreless innings against Colby College last week, striking out eight, but his performance still wasn't the most impressive of the opener of the three game series. Senior captain Brett Gorman led the way with a school record tying three home runs, missing a fourth by only a few feet when he bounced a ball over the wall in his third at bat.
"It was definitely the best hitting performance I've seen in my four years here," said Adam Marquit '11.
The domination continued throughout the weekend as Bowdoin took two games from the Mules without allowing a run. The team was unable to go for the sweep as the third game was postponed due to rain.
In the opener, the Bears quickly took a commanding lead, failing to score in only two innings. Although Gorman was responsible for most of the damage, Marquit and Dan Hicks '11 also had three hits on the day. Together, the team scored 12 total runs on just 13 hits, a testament to Gorman's power.
On the other side of the ball, Colby seemed helpless against the Bowdoin pitchers, combining for just three hits in the contest. Martin improved to 4-1 with the victory.
On Saturday, Colby continued to struggle with sophomore pitcher Oliver Van Zant on the mound against the Mules. With almost identical numbers as Martin, Van Zant held Colby to zero runs on two hits, striking out 10.
In the seventh, Ian Edwards came on in relief to record his seventh save of the season, striking out the side. Offensively, the Bears couldn't quite match their incredible success from the day before, but were able to get three runs off six hits.
The wins improved the team to 7-1 in the NESCAC while also clinching them a spot in this year's playoffs. Van Zant also was also awarded NESCAC Pitcher of the Week honors for his strong play. He is now 2-1 on the season with a 2.75 ERA and 51 strikeouts.
After the impressive weekend, Bowdoin suffered a tough loss at home on Wednesday against Brandeis University. After the Polar Bears took an early 4-0 lead, Brandeis rallied for five runs in the seventh to take a late 7-5 advantage.
After a couple of errors in the inning, the Judges capitalized with a grand slam and an RBI single. Bowdoin would score two runs in the ninth to tie it up, taking the game into extra innings. But in the top of the 11th, Brandeis lead off with a solo home run that Bowdoin could not match in the bottom half of the inning.
With the 8-7 loss, Bowdoin now stands at 19-8 overall as it heads into a crucial three-game series against Tufts, who is currently first in the NESCAC East division.
"Tufts has ended our season the past three years," said Joe Comizio '11. "And its an opportunity to take over the top spot in the division, so we're definitely excited to play them."