Colby Baseball won a three-game series against Bates last week, winning on Friday by a score of 17–7 before splitting the Saturday doubleheader with a 7–4 loss and a 23–4 win. The Mules have put together a strong first half of the season, sitting at second in the NESCAC East with a conference record of 3–3 and an overall record of 14–6. In addition, individual Mules have also earned recognition for their performances, as Brady O’Brien `24 was named NESCAC Player of the Week following a two-game stretch in which he hit three home runs and recorded seven RBIs.
In the first of the three matchups with Bates, Nick Thompson `24 started on the mound for the Mules and was outstanding, throwing seven innings while allowing only four hits and tallying six strikeouts. Both teams’ offenses were quiet early in the first game, and the Mules took a 2–1 lead into the sixth inning before adding six runs in the frame, highlighted by a three-run home run by Marcus Forrester `24. In the eighth, the Bobcats gifted Colby some additional assurance, walking in three runs before a series of hits brought five more home. The Bobcats refused to quit, however, adding five runs of their own in the top of the ninth inning, but the deficit proved to be too much.
The first game of the Saturday doubleheader told a different story, as the Bobcats bounced back, winning 7–4 behind outstanding pitching. Overall, the Mules’ bats were quiet, the lone standout being Cole Palmieri `24, who had two doubles. Colby’s pitchers were solid, especially Jack Bohrer `25, who threw two innings without allowing a single baserunner.
In the third and final game of the series, the Mules did an exceptional job of turning the page, dominating the Bobcats 23–4. Joe Sylvester `26 got the start on the mound for Colby and was nearly perfect, throwing five innings while allowing only two hits and retiring seven batters. After taking a 2–0 lead in the first inning, the Mules added to the gap in the second, driving in six more runs, three of which came across as the result of a Patrick McConnell `24 double. The offensive attack continued in the seventh inning when Ethan Hillenberg `25 launched a grand slam, scoring Charlie Furlong `23, Forrester, and Ryan Grace `25 and bringing the Colby lead to 11–0. The Mules then managed to plate an additional twelve runs in the following two innings through a series of singles and walks, as the Bates defense seemed nearly incapable of producing an out.
Derek Woods `26 and Howell Eglin `23 provided pitching relief to close out the Bobcats in the eighth and ninth innings, allowing only two runs and four hits between them. Three separate Mules scored three runs each in the rout, and the team accounted for twenty hits and eight walks.
Following this massive series win, the Mules continue their schedule of Maine rivals, with games against the University of Southern Maine, Husson, and Bowdoin ahead in the coming two weeks.
~ Julian Cangieter-Hernandez `25
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