LEWISTON – Drew McKenna homered in the eighth inning to breath new life into Bates College as the Bobcats went on to defeat Colby College 6-5 in baseball action Friday.

After McKenna roped a line drive to tie the score at 5-5, Rob Schuler followed with a single to right center. He advanced to second on a wild pitch, and then scored when Owen Miehe hit a ground ball through the shortstop’s legs.

The Mules (3-15) had a chance to build a two run lead in the top of the eighth when Tyler Hales smacked a two-out triple to center field, but was nailed on a double steal attempt two batters later.

Bates freshman righthander Griffan Finan allowed a pair of doubles in the first inning, before settling down to retire 12 of the next 13 batters to improve to 3-0 on the season.

Maine, Northeastern split

BOSTON, Mass. – Simon Williams hit a home run in the opener as Maine split a double header, 3-2 and 1-7, with Northeastern.

The Black Bears (14-12) received offensive support from Williams and Matt McGraw in Game 1 with two hits apiece in the No. 1 and 2 spots.

Huskies’ (11-9) pitcher Jordan Thomson effectively scattered six Black Bear hits in the nightcap, while Miguel Paquette and Arman Sidhu notched key hits for Northeastern to pick up a pair of RBIs each.

Endicott 17, Bowdoin 5

BRUNSWICK – Endicott College pounded the the ball relentlessly to grab a 17-5 victory from Bowdoin.

The Polar Bears (14-6) found themselves down eight runs before rallying back for four of their own in the fourth inning. However, Endicott (13-11) scored another two in the fifth and slammed the door shut with seven in the ninth.

Bowdoin catcher John Clifford went 1-for-2 with a run and two RBIs, while second baseman Nick Lawler went 2-for-4.

Thomas, St. Joseph’s split

STANDISH – Thomas College rallied in the fifth inning of the nightcap for 11 runs to prevent a St. Joseph’s sweep, 2-3 and 11-9.

The Monks (6-14) were outhit eight to four in the opener. However, designated hitter Aaron Cieslak had a two-run single in the first inning to lay the foundation for the win.

The Terriers (4-13) were trailing 8-0 at the start of the fifth inning of the nightcap when they exploded for 11 runs. Fine relief pitching preserved the win.

Softball
Maine sweeps

ORONO – Sophomore Sarah Bennis of Pownal tossed a five-hit shutout for the University of Maine to record a 2-0 win in the opener, while junior Jess Brady scored once and plated freshman pinch runner Tara Vilardo for the game-winner in a 2-1 victory over Binghamton in the nightcap of a softball matchup Friday.

The Black Bears (15-13) scored both runs of the opener in the first inning on fielding errors following singles from Brady and Brittany Cheney.

Maine scored in the first inning again in Game 2 when sophomore Dana Grimm successfully laid down a bases-loaded RBI bunt single.

The Bearcats (3-2) committed a total of four errors on the afternoon to account for all of Maine’s runs.

UMF, Lasell split

FARMINGTON – Lasell College used 14 hits to claim a 9-0 win in the opener, while the University of Maine at Farmington rebounded in the nightcap with a 5-1 win.

Mary Berry and Holly Tripp secured the only UMF (1-5) hits in the opener, while six different batters garnered seven hits for Farmington’s first win of the season.

in the nightcap. Center fielder Kristi Cochin had two hits and plated a run.

Stephanie Moriarty struck out 10 batters in Game 2, while giving up only three hits and one free pass for the Beavers.

Bowdoin, Tufts split

MEDFORD, Mass. – Sophomore shortstop Danielle Chagnon went 9-for-12 in double header action for Bowdoin as the Polar Bears split a pair, 5-7 and 3-1.

Junior shortstop Courtney Bongiolatti hit two home runs in the first game, inlcuding a three-run blast in the fourth to propel the Jumbos (6-12) to a 6-2 lead. The Polar Bears (11-6) made Game 1 interesting in the late innings, scoring three runs in the top of the seventh.

The nightcap was even more suspenseful as the game went into extra innings, before Chagnon blasted a two-run homer to left in the top of the eight for Bowdoin. Freshman pitcher Emily Nelson polished off a superb outing by striking out the 2-3-4 batters in the bottom of the eighth for the win.