LEWISTON — As a mid-week, in-betweener for both Bates College and the University of Maine at Farmington, Wednesday’s baseball game at Leahey Field had some earmarks of a spring training contest.

Mekae Hyde’s swing, on the other hand, well, that was in pure, midseason form.

Two innings after narrowly missing a home run to left field, Hyde hoisted one over that same section of the fence in the third frame of Bates’ 7-2 triumph.

The opposite-field blast was the second round-tripper of the season for Hyde and only the fifth for Bates (12-14), and it fattened the lead to 4-0.

Hyde, a sophomore catcher from Lewiston, entered the game as the Bobcats’ second-leading hitter at .329.

“I just missed both of them. They were just high pop flies,” Hyde said. “The ball was carrying well today. That was the first time this year the ball’s been carrying. Any other day (it isn’t) out. Lucky for me today it went out.”

Hyde also caught five innings, and in a twist you won’t see every day, or maybe ever again this late in any season, he handled five different pitchers.

Will Levangie, Mark Cunningham, Aidan Sullivan, Sam Falkson and Dillon Dresser each worked an inning. Bates didn’t allow a hit until Brett Wallingford’s one-out single off Falkson in the fourth.

“Getting our work in. Refining our approach at the plate,” Hyde said of the relaxed focus of the game. “Having the pitchers throw strikes. Just trying to get better.”

It was the fifth appearance of the season for Dresser and the third for each of the other early Bates hurlers.

“Roles are tough to define with a very limited schedule. We don’t have the benefit of four weeks in the fall. We don’t have extra time in the winter. We kind of get out of the gates and get going, and just at the time we’re figuring out who can do what, we’re toward the end of our season,” Bates coach Mike Leonard said. “The guys that threw today are not bottom-of-the-barrel by any means. Every single guy that threw today is capable of helping us.”

Rob DiFranco worked a 1-2-3 sixth, then struck out the leadoff batter and later benefited from a double play in the seventh to notch the win.

Farmington (8-17) averted the shutout with a two-out rally against Bates’ seventh arm, Sam Maliska, in the ninth.

Dale Winchenbach led off with a single, went to second on a groundout, took third on a wild pitch and scored on Zach Keene’s double to the left field corner. 

Jory Humphrey’s second hit of the game in a reserve role also tacked on a run before Maliska fanned Grayson Beressi to end it.

“Sometimes that makes it harder, even if it’s the bottom of their staff, to see a different guy every inning,” UMF coach Chris Bessey said. “The third time through (the order) you usually get a feel for what they have. They’re good. They have guys who throw strikes.”

Bates got down to business with two unearned runs in the first off Ben Pearson.

Rockwell Jackson reached on an infield error. Kevin McGregor’s sacrifice bunt attempt led to another miscue when the throw to first base was dropped.

Kevin Davis delivered both runners with a one-out double.

“Our guys have showed up ready to play every day, every single game we’ve had. We haven’t had the results that we’ve wanted all year,” Leonard said. “We’re better than our record, and it is not at all a reflection on their preparation and their focus.”

Samuel Warren’s walk set up a two-out, RBI double by Jackson in the second. Hyde’s homer came with one out in the third.

McGregor singled and Ryan Sonberg doubled to lead off the fifth. Davis’ sacrifice fly made it 5-0.

Another hometown product, St. Dom’s graduate Alex Parker, provided the exclamation point with a two-run single in the eighth.

Parker, also a sophomore, was making only his fourth start of the season. He also had four infield assists and was pivot man on one of two inning-ending double plays.

“Alex is always ready,” Leonard said. “He showed today he’s as good a defender as anybody. He has good at-bats. He’s continuing to get better.”

Bates begins a three-game weekend series with Colby on Friday.

UMF faces key doubleheaders Thursday at Colby-Sawyer and Saturday at Lyndon State as it tries to chase down one of the fourth available berths in the North Atlantic Conference playoffs. The Beavers matched the Bobcats with seven hits apiece.

“We had won four of our last six,” Bessey said. “Our bats have gotten going a little bit.”

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