The men’s baseball team bounced back this week with four huge wins. Colby is now 10-10 overall, and 0-3 in the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) East.

The Mules had a big win at home over Husson University on April 7. Senior captain Dominick Morrill pitched an outstanding six innings for the Mules, allowing Husson zero hits on the day. Lucas Geoghegan ’14 and Brady Hesslein ’13 worked the final three innings for the Mules, only allowing one hit in the eighth.

Taro Gold ’12 brought the lead to 2-0 when he ripped a home run in the bottom of the second. Gold also had a pair of doubles on the day. Nikolas Atsalis ’12 also had a big day for the Mules, contributing to the win with a three-run home run in the third inning, making the score 5-0. Atsalis had four hits on the day. Senior captain and Colby’s leading hitter this season, Rich Newton went 4-for-5 and scored three runs against the Husson Eagles. The Mules scored at least one run in the first six innings of the contest, scoring two runs in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings to pull away from the Eagles and solidify the win.

The next day the Mules took on St. Joseph's College at home and gave the Colby fans an exciting 5-3 win. Pitcher Connor Sullivan ’12 earned his team-high third win of the season while working into the seventh inning. Newton, who entered the game batting .459, showed his talent and opened the first inning with a double, moving to third on an error. After a walk by Nate Ellis ’14, Newton and Ellis double-stole second and home to put the Mules on the board 1-0. Junior Brendan Gallagher smacked an RBI double to bring home Ellis with two outs. Robb Arndt ’12 followed with another double to drive in Gallagher, bringing the lead to 3-0 against the Monks. Arndt had a big day for the Mules, leading Colby’s offense with three hits and three RBIs.

Colby held the 3-0 lead until the top of the sixth, when Todd Keneborus of St. Joseph’s led off with a single, later scoring on a single by Alex Markakis. Colby managed to answer back in the bottom of the sixth when Devin McConnell ’12 hit a single, moved to second after Gallagher was hit by a pitch, took third off a wild pitch and scored off an RBI single by Arndt. The Monks retaliated in the seventh, scoring their last two runs of the day, making the score 4-3.

Junior Mike Mastrocola scored the final run for the Mules in the bottom of the eighth after leading off with a double. Gallagher and Arndt once again contributed to the win; Gallagher brought Mastrocola to third off a sacrifice bunt, and Arndt drove him home, solidifying the score at 5-3. Gallagher came up big for the Mules with a double, a sacrifice bunt and a hit-by-pitch. Newton also added two hits and a walk.

The following Sunday, April 10 the Mules traveled to Concord, N.H. for a double-header against Plymouth State University. Colby took 3-2 and 7-6 wins against the Panthers, bringing its season record to 10-10. Nate Sugarbaker ’13 pitched his first game of the season coming back from an elbow injury and combined with Geoghegan, to allow just three hits in the first game. Arndt had another big day with a two-run single, the biggest hit of the game. Gold added an RBI single, Atsalis finished with two hits and one run, and Gallagher added a hit and a run scored.

In the second game, pitcher Abhi Chandel ’12 moved to 2-1 this season, while Mark Nelson ’13 got the the save. Atsalis had another big game with a hit, two runs, two walks and four stolen bases for the Mules. Brandon Nieuw ’12 and Gallagher both had two-run doubles, and McConnell had one hit, one run and one RBI. Arndt, Newton and Mastrocola each added one hit and one run to give the Mules their second victory of the day. Nelson said, “We played solid defense, had great pitching and got off to a good start.” The Mules will travel on April 13 to take on the University of Southern Maine and will play Tufts University at home this weekend.