Recap
The Nichols College Baseball team held off two late rallies from Bates College as they took the two-game sweep on Saturday afternoon at the New England Baseball Complex in Northborough, Massachusetts.

Game 1 – Nichols 7, Bates 6 (7 innings)
Nichols (2-1) collected multiple hits from five student-athletes, including DJ Caron, Kyle Bouchard, Christian Naccari, Brad Ellis, and Will Kleinhenz. Ellis was a key factor in the Bison win, scoring two runs on a single to center field in the fifth inning, extending the Bison lead to 4-1 at the time. Caron and Naccari both drove a run in, in the sixth inning, to put the Bison up 6-3 going into the final frame.

Bates (1-5) came rallying back in the top of seventh inning, when Pat Beaton was walked with the bases loaded brining the Bison lead to just two runs. Two batters later, Giovanni Torres drove in two runs on a single to left center, knotted the game up at six apiece. Nichols responded quickly, loading the bases in the bottom half of the seventh off a triple, single, and an intentional walk. Sophomore Patrick Chen See then singled down the left field line, scoring freshman Andrew Martins from third for the walk-off win.

Game 2 – Nichols 8, Bates 6 (10 innings)
The Bison (3-1) sent freshman Kyle McCutcheon to the mound for his first collegiate start. The freshman threw five innings for Nichols, giving up eight hits, striking out 4 and giving up two runs (one earned) as he picked up the no decision. Sophomore leadoff man DJ Caron notched three hits, including his first homerun of the season, a two-run homer down the right field line in the fourth inning, which at the time gave Nichols a comfortable 6-0 lead.

The Bobcats however, would come storming back for the second time on the day, scoring six unanswered runs over the next three innings, highlighted by homeruns from Torres, and a three-run shot from John Nowak in the seventh inning that bounced off the glove of Caron in centerfield and over the fence, which knotted the game at six apiece.

The Bison eventually regained the lead in the top of the 10th inning. Freshman Brad Ellis doubled to right center, before Kleinhenz took a walk to put two on with one out in the inning. Junior Nathaniel Cormier singled, driving in one run to give Nichols the 7-6 lead. Two batter later, freshman Michael Sobolewski singled to center, driving in another run for Nichols to give them an 8-6 lead going into the bottom half of the frame. Sophomore Brendan Duffy then made quick work of the Bobcats (1-6) setting them down, 1-2-3 to complete the two-game sweep of Bates.
 
Three things you need to know…
-Caron's homerun was the first of the season for the Bison. After, hitting a program record 24 last season.
-The Bison and Bobcats combined for 48 hits, and 27 runs in the double-header.
-Today's games marked the 16th and 17th all-time meetings between the two programs. Nichols holds a 10-7 advantage all-time.
 
Next Game
Monday, March 9 vs MIT, 3:30 p.m., NC Baseball Field