Bates Pitchers impress in baseball's 4-2 loss to Thomas College

LEWISTON, Maine -- The Bates baseball team used a host of effective pitchers on Wednesday in a narrow 4-2 loss to Thomas College.

First-year Justin Foley (Lynnfield, Mass.) was outstanding in his first collegiate start. He tossed three innings of shutout baseball for Bates. Foley did not allow a hit, walked one and struck out four.

In only his second appearance of the season, junior Matt Doyle (Northborough, Mass.) tossed an inning of shutout ball in relief of Foley.

The Bobcats took the lead in the bottom of the fourth against Thomas starter Derek Kane. Senior captain Conor Reenstierna (Lincoln, Mass.) singled to start the frame. The Bobcats bunted him to second and sophomore Jake Shapiro (Sandy, Utah) singled him to third.

With runners at the corners and one out, Shapiro tried to steal second. He got caught stealing but
Reenstierna scored on the play to put Bates up 1-0.

Bates pitchers didn't allow a hit until the fifth inning.

Junior Anthony Telesca (Holtsville, N.Y.) had no trouble with the first two hitters he faced. But with two outs in the top of the fifth, a Bates error allowed Anree Benitez to reach first. He proceeded to steal second and score on a Kane single. The Kane single marked the first hit of the game for the Terriers.

Sophomore Connor Speed (San Diego, Calif.) struck out a pair of batters in a scoreless sixth inning.
The score remained tied at one until the top of the seventh.

Senior Mark Cunningham (Canton, Mass.) issued a lead-off base-on-balls and that got the rally started for the Terriers. After a sacrifice bunt, Benitez reached on a single, putting runners at the corners. After Benitez stole second, Kane came up huge again with a single to left. Two runs scored on the play and Kane advanced to second on a Bates error.

A Nik Beeson single plated Kane and Thomas took a 4-1 lead.

The back end of the Bates bullpen kept them in the game. Seniors Chris Ward (Pasadena, Calif.) and Rob DiFranco (Melrose, Mass.) each tossed a scoreless inning. DiFranco tallied a strike out, giving the Bates pitching staff eight on the day.

The Bobcats tried to rally in the bottom of the ninth against Thomas closer Dominic Esposito. With one away, junior captain Ryan McCarthy (Plaistow, N.H.) drew a walk. First-year Christian Colon (Hamden, Conn.) singled him to third. Junior Brendan Fox (West Hartford, Conn.) picked up his team-leading 14th RBI of the year with a sacrifice fly to cut the deficit to 4-2.

But Esposito was able to get the crucial final out after that to secure his third save of the season.
Bates out-hit Thomas 8-5 in the game. Fox led the way, going 2-3 with an RBI and a walk. The teams committed a combined seven errors on a chilly day at Leahey Field.

The Bobcats visit Bowdoin Friday at 3:00 p.m. and return home to host the Polar Bears in a doubleheader Saturday at noon.