Brunswick, Maine - The Colby College Baseball team moved to 19-13 on the season after splitting a Saturday afternoon doubleheader against the Polar Bears of Bowdoin College. The Mules dropped a tight opening contest before holding on for a one-run victory in the nightcap.
Game 1: Colby 5, Bowdoin 6
The Mules opened the scoring in the first inning when
Will Burns lined a single down the right-field line to drive in
Patrick Shrake and
Myles Gythfeldt. Colby held that narrow lead until the sixth, when
Jeb Burkhart cleared the bases with a three-run home run to left-center, scoring
Tony Silva and Burns to push the lead to 5-1.
Matt Higgins turned in a strong start, allowing just two runs over 5.1 innings of work while striking out three. However, the Polar Bears responded with a five-run bottom of the sixth to take the lead.
Corey Aubuchon led the offense with a 3-for-3 performance, while Shrake added a double in the final frame to try and spark a comeback.
Game 2: Colby 7, Bowdoin 6
Colby wasted no time in the second game, using a five-run second inning to take control.
Duncan Cullinane started the scoring with a solo home run, and
Henry Silva followed later in the inning with a two-run shot to left. Gythfeldt and
Tony Silva each added RBI hits in the frame to extend the lead to 6-0.
Henry Silva picked up his third RBI of the game in the fourth with a sacrifice fly that scored
Ellis Lynch-Kahn. The Polar Bears chipped away at the lead, but the Colby bullpen held firm.
Keeler Vogt earned the win after five innings on the mound, and
Kyle Bourque secured a four-inning save, striking out three and allowing no runs over the final three frames to preserve the victory.
Tony Silva and Gythfeldt each finished with two hits in the win, while Shrake scored twice.
While the Mules finished the weekend 1-2 with Bowdoin, they will still advance to the NESCAC tournament, the fourth seed in the East Division. They will travel to take on Amherst College on Friday at 3pm to start the conference tournament weekend.
