Trulli homers in baseball's 9-2 loss at Whittier

Dan Trulli hit his third career home run in the sixth inning of Bates' 9-2 loss at Whittier College on Feb. 20, 2018. (File photo by Phyllis Graber Jensen/Bates College)

WHITTIER, Calif. -- Whittier College rode a 14-hit attack to defeat the Bates College baseball team 9-2 on Tuesday, in the Bobcats' third of six games played in Southern California.

The host Poets (5-3) collected six runs (five earned) on eight hits and three walks in five innings against Bates junior Justin Foley (Lynnfield, Mass.) to build a 6-1 lead, then added three more runs over Bates sophomore reliever Will Slayne's (Dedham, Mass.) three-inning stint.

Bates (0-3) was limited to five hits and no walks against Whittier starter Justin Kottinger, who gave up both of Bates' runs over six innings, and reliever Dante Mancia, who threw a perfect final three innings with four strikeouts.

Bates scored a run in the third inning to cut Whittier's lead in half, as senior Asher MacDonald (Hillsborough, N.C.) singled, senior Connor DiVincenzo (Westwood, Mass.) doubled and sophomore Will Sylvia (Newton, Mass.) drove MacDonald in on a groundout. Junior Dan Trulli (Melrose, Mass.) tagged a solo home run in the sixth inning, his third career homer.

Whittier collected 12 singles and two doubles in the game, and put runs on the board in five different innings. Matthew Macey and Michael Angulo both went 3-for-4 on the day.

DiVincenzo and MacDonald both batted 2-for-3 to lead the Bobcats.

Bates next plays at Cal Lutheran in Thousand Oaks, Calif., Wednesday at 2:30 Pacific time.