Over the weekend, the Colby baseball team swept a three-game series against rival Bates Bobcats, building momentum as the team heads towards postseason play. The Bobcats came into the game on a tear, boasting a 16–3 record, with highlights such as a 34–7 rout of UMaine-Farmington and a three-game sweep of Bowdoin.
The Mules, led by starting pitcher Thomas Rioux `26, traveled to Lewiston on Friday afternoon for the first game of the set. Bates jumped out to a one-run lead in the first inning behind a sacrifice bunt, but it would be their only one of the afternoon. Rioux settled into the game afterwards, finishing with a complete-game performance, posting four strikeouts, two walks, and only five hits allowed.
On the offensive side, the Mules broke out with a five-run sixth inning, led by a pair of doubles off the bats of Jeb Burkhart `29 and Max Diamond `28. Diamond added another RBI with a single in the ninth inning, where the Mules brought the final score to 9–1, and the series shifted to a doubleheader in Waterville on Saturday.
Matt Higgins `28 got the start on the mound for Colby in the first game, rising to the occasion with an excellent performance. He allowed no runs on one hit across five innings, giving the Mules a chance to win late in the game. A Marco Zirpolo `27 RBI single and a Will Burns `27 sacrifice fly had the Mules ahead 2–1 in the seventh, but Bates tied the game with only a single out to spare, and the game went to extra innings. Matt Mahoney `28 pitched brilliantly in five innings of his own, allowing two runs but also striking out six. When Burns came up to bat again in the tenth inning, he won the game for Colby in walk-off fashion, blasting a solo home run to dead center field, earning a roar from the large assembled crowd.
In the third and final game, the two offenses battled, with Colby taking another walk-off win by a score of 11–10. Bates had a 7–3 advantage at the conclusion of the fourth inning, with a Patrick Shrake `27 triple and sacrifices by Tony Silva `26 and Henry Silva `28 responsible for the Mules’ scoring. By the sixth inning with the Bobcats ahead by six runs, Colby began to crawl back. Tony Silva added an RBI single and Burkhart crushed a three-run home run to cut the deficit to one. Burns added to his heroics with a game-tying sacrifice groundout to tie the score and bring the tying run into scoring position.
It would be Burkhart again making the big swing later in the inning, as his single brought Myles Gythfeldt `28 home and secured the sweep. With a huge momentum-building weekend, the Mules look forward to a matchup against Husson on Wednesday, April 15.They will be hosting the Trinity College Bantams for a three-game weekend series the following weekend. With a 4-2 NESCAC record, the Mules sit tied atop the East Division with the Bantams, giving next weekend’s series implications for postseason seeding.
~ Matt Quealy `27
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