Baseball continues breakthrough season with doubleheader sweep of Bowdoin
The Bates baseball team's remarkable campaign continued Saturday with a doubleheader sweep of Bowdoin, as the Bobcats took game one 2-1 before blowing out the Polar Bears 10-1 in game two at Leahey Field. With the pair of wins, the Bobcats (15-3, 4-2 NESCAC East) completed their first three-game sweep of Bowdoin (9-11, 2-4 NESCAC East) since 2019. It's their third series sweep of the Polar Bears in the past 25 years. Bates returns to action on Wednesday when the Bobcats host Husson at 3 p.m.
LEWISTON, Maine -- The Bates baseball team's remarkable campaign continued Saturday with a doubleheader sweep of Bowdoin, as the Bobcats took game one 2-1 before blowing out the Polar Bears 10-1 in game two at Leahey Field.
With the pair of wins, the Bobcats (15-3, 4-2 NESCAC East) completed their first three-game sweep of Bowdoin (9-11, 2-4 NESCAC East) since 2019. It's their third series sweep of the Polar Bears in the past 25 years.
Bates returns to action on Wednesday when the Bobcats host Husson at 3 p.m.
Game One: Bates 2, Bowdoin 1
Sophomore pitcher
Charlie Bushley went the distance on the mound and senior
Jack Margiloff delivered the eventual game-winning hit as the Bobcats prevailed 2-1 over Bowdoin in game one of Saturday's twin bill.
Bushley (Cohasset, Mass.) tossed seven innings of three-hit ball and did not surrender an earned run in his second collegiate start.
With the score tied at one, senior captain
Liam Yardley (Keene, N.H.) drew a walk against Bowdoin starting pitcher Jackson Melendy (1-2) to lead off the bottom of the fifth of the seven-inning contest. Bowdoin brought Will Bordes in from second base to pitch and senior
Joe Yoxall (Dallas, Texas) greeted him with a sacrifice bunt. The Bobcats brought in first-year
Jackson McBride (Hanover, N.H.) to pinch run for Yardley. Then with two down, Margiloff (Rye, N.Y.) ripped an 0-1 pitch down the left field line for the go-ahead RBI single.
Bushley (2-1) worked a 1-2-3 sixth inning. Bordes singled to lead off the seventh for the visitors. Reuben Siegel bunted Bordes to second but Bushley got Tommy O'Donnell to ground out to short and Wim Nook to ground out to first, ending the game and securing the series victory.
The Bobcats won game one despite only tallying two hits. They pushed across a run in the top of the first thanks to junior captain
Keagan Ryan (Salem, N.H.), who worked a lead-off walk. He promptly stole second and third base, setting himself up to score when Melendy threw a wild pitch on ball four to Margiloff.
Bowdoin finally got to Bushley in the fourth, but the Bobcats were able to limit the damage. With one away, Will Cooke drew a walk and with two down Henry Bibeau reached on an infield single. Finn Cahill drew a walk as well and Bordes hit a grounder in the hole at short. Sophomore
John Federico (Durham, N.H.) did a good job to get to the ball, but his throw to Yoxall at second was high and pulled the senior off the bag. Cooke scored on the play, tying the game at one. Siegel had the chance to do further damage but Bushley came up huge, striking him out on a 3-2 pitch to end the inning. It was one of three strikeouts on the afternoon for Bushley.
Melendy struck out six batters for the Polar Bears but also issued five walks to the Bobcats. Margiloff and junior
Henry Prince (McLean, Va.) both tallied hits for Bates, while Ryan drew a pair of walks.
Bordes paced Bowdoin, going 2-3 at the plate and tossing two shutout innings on the mound.
Game Two: Bates 10, Bowdoin 1
The Bobcats scored eight runs in the third inning to run away from Bowdoin in game two of Saturday's doubleheader, winning 10-1 and completing the sweep.
With the score tied at one, Yoxall got the Bobcats going in the third, smacking a single to right field. Ryan got hit by a pitch and Margiloff singled to center, driving in Yoxall. The Bowdoin center fielder bobbled the ball and Ryan took third on the play. Margiloff stole second and with the count even at 1-1 on senior
Gibby Sullivan (Yarmouth, Maine), Bowdoin starter Will Logue (3-1) was forced to leave the game due to injury.
Bowdoin reliever Aidan Aybar struck out Sullivan and sophomore
David Swift (Yarmouth, Maine) followed with a grounder to short. The Polar Bears tried to get Margiloff at third but Bowdoin's third baseman dropped the throw and everyone was safe. Ryan scored on the play and the Bobcats led 3-1. Prince followed with a sacrifice fly, driving in Margiloff. Federico drew a walk and a wild pitch put Swift on third and Federico on second. Junior
Luke Yoon (Honolulu, Hawaii) drew a walk, loading the bases. Aybar walked sophomore
Max Dushney (Ashland, Mass.) as well, forcing in a run. The Polar Bears brought in Jake Kavanaugh out of the bullpen and Yoxall gave him a rude welcome with a single up the middle. Federico and Yoon scored and Bates extended the lead to 7-1.
Margiloff snuck one through the left side for his second two-RBI single of the inning. He got in a rundown between first and second and Ryan tried to score as well but the Polar Bears threw him out at the plate, ending the inning.
But the damage was done, as the Bobcats went up 9-1.
Junior
Nolan Hobbs (South Portland, Maine) turned in a strong performance on the mound for the Bobcats, going a career-long seven innings and allowing just one run on two hits. He struck out two and didn't walk anyone. Hobbs (3-0) survived a rocky third inning when he hit three straight batters. With the bases loaded and one run in, Hobbs got Lukas Tsai to hit into a double play, limiting the damage and setting up Bates' huge bottom of the third.
Ryan, Margiloff, Federico, and Yoxall recorded two hits apiece in game two. Margiloff drove in four runs and Yoxall drove in two. Sophomore
Charlie Cariello (Bedford, N.H.) retired all six batters he faced out of the bullpen, striking out three.
An RBI single from sophomore
Tyler Tucker (Hamilton, N.J.) in the bottom of the seventh provided the final margin of victory for Bates.
Gallery: (4-4-2026) Baseball vs. Bowdoin (Carly Philpott)