AMHERST, Mass. - The Bowdoin College baseball team survived 22 innings of play and an elimination game to reach the final day of the 2011 NESCAC Championship, splitting a pair of games on Saturday to reach Sunday's final round. The Polar Bears dropped a 12-inning affair to Tufts in their opener before rallying late to stun Amherst in the 10-inning nightcap. Weather permitting, Bowdoin will have to beat Tufts twice on Sunday to capture its first conference title.

Tufts 4, Bowdoin 2 (12 inn.)
Tufts University senior David Orlowitz and junior Sam Sager each had run-scoring hits in the top of the 12th-inning as the Jumbos rallied past Bowdoin College 4-2 in the winner's bracket of the the NESCAC Baseball Championship on Saturday morning. With the win, Tufts improved to 26-7-1 overall on the season and earned a berth in the conference final.

Tufts starter Pat O'Donnell surrendered just two runs on seven hits in seven innings of work, while senior righthander Edward Bernstein pitched four and two thirds shutout innings en route to the win, allowing just three hits and striking out five. Orlowitz and Sager each notched three hits and an RBI to lead the Jumbos.Bowdoin starter Jordan Lefeber went seven and a third innings, giving up two runs on eight hits, while reliever Ian Edwards surrendered two runs on four hits in four innings in the loss. Lefeber also went 4-for-6 from the plate, while first-year Duncan Taylor had a pair of base-knocks.

Senior Dan Hicks drew a lead-off walk to start the Bowdoin fifth. Taylor then laid a perfect bunt down the third base line to move the runner to second. Hicks later advanced to third on a passed ball setting the plate for Marquit, who lifted a sacrifice fly to deep center, bringing home the contest's first score. Hoping to jump-start the Tufts' response, Orlowitz reached on a hit-by-pitch before moving to third on Sager's single to right center. Down to his last strike, Weikert came through with a big two-out single past a diving Hicks, pushing Orlowitz across to knot the game at one.

Looking to help his own cause, Lefeber led-off the bottom of the sixth with a comebacker up the middle. Junior Jordan Edgett would move Lefeber to second with a bunt down the first base line before Gorman ripped a one-out RBI single to left, plating the go-ahead run. Still trailing 2-1 in the eighth, Orlowitz singled through the left side to put the tying run on. After a fly-out to left, Weikert hit a ground ball up the middle. Edgett would make a nice diving play behind second, keeping it in the infield, but a Marquit error on the flip left both runners safe. Looking to keep things going, Goldberg promptly singled to left, loading the bases and spelling the end of Lefeber's day. Edwards entered the game, inducing a ground ball to short, but a hustling Rose slid into first, beating out the double play, allowing Orlowitz to come home.

Bowdoin had a chance to take the win in the bottom of the ninth as Taylor led off the ninth with a single to left center. With two out and Taylor on second, Lefeber poked a single to right, but a charging Izzo came up firing, gunning the would-be game-winner out at home to send the game into extra innings.

Deadlocked at two in the top of the 12th, Izzo jump-started the Jumbos attack with a single to center. After a ground-out to third, Orlowitz belted a triple into the right centerfield gap, giving Tufts their first lead of the game. Sager followed up Orlowitz's big base-knock with an RBI-single of his own, putting the Jumbos up 4-2. Looking to rally, Bowdoin put the lead-off runner on with Marquit slapping a single to center, but Bernstein retired the next three batters on a fly-out to center and a pair of strikeouts to close the door and secure the Tufts come-from-behind win.

Bowdoin 6, Amherst 5 (10 inn.)
Bowdoin senior CF Brendan Garner laced a walk-off RBI double in the top of the tenth inning as the Polar Bears plated three runs in the final two frames, stunning Amherst College 6-5 in a NESCAC Championship elimination game at Memorial Field on Saturday afternoon. With the win, Bowdoin, now 24-14 overall on the year, secured a place in tomorrow's conference championship final against Tufts University. The Lord Jeffs fell to 25-10 on the season with the loss and will now wait to hear about a possible at-large bid to the upcoming NCAA Tournament.

Garner finished with two hits in the game, while junior Jordan Edgett went 2-for-5 with three RBI and two runs scored. Senior Adam Marquit put together a 2-for-4 afternoon with a run scored for Bowdoin. Senior starter Ben Higgins went 7.1 innings, allowing four runs on five hits, while striking out six. Fellow senior Evan Farley, who entered the game in the ninth, pitched the final two innings, allowing one run on three hits in the win. Amherst seniors Brian Merrigan and Jose Espinosa each tallied two hits for the Lord Jeffs. First-year Fred Shepard tossed eight strong in the start, allowing just three earned runs on seven hits, while striking out seven. Freshman Cam Windham, who entered the game in the tenth, took the loss.

Amherst wasted no time getting on the board, loading the bases in the top of the first on a Merrigan single, a hit-by-pitch and a Bowdoin error. With one-out, Wheeler lifted a sacrifice fly to deep center, allowing Merrigan to come home. With Shepard cruising early, having retired his first eight batters, Marquit recorded Bowdoin's first hit in the bottom of the third, finding a hole through the right side. After moving to second on a failed pick-off attempt before advancing to third on a passed ball, Marquit scored on an Amherst error. Looking for more, the Polar Bears loaded the bases on an Edgett base-knock and a Ruane walk, but Shepard bore down, striking out Brett Gorman to limit the damage.

Still hoping to tack on to the Bowdoin lead, Lefeber led-off the bottom of the fifth with a sharply hit infield single to third. After stealing second to get into scoring position, Edgett belted a towering homer to left, staking the Polar Bears to a 3-1 margin. Amherst strung together several hits in the eighth, with hopes of tying the game. Espinosa kicked things off with a single up the middle before consecutive Merrigan and Taiki Kasuga hits loaded the bases, spelling the end of Higgins' day. Reliever Jay Loughlin entered the game with hopes of protecting the Bowdoin lead, but Heller promptly laced a two-RBI single to right, pulling the Lord Jeffs even. Samela then lifted a sacrifice to right, allowing Kasuga to break for home, sliding under Taylor's tag to put Amherst back on top, 4-3.

The Lord Jeffs added an insurance run in the top half of the ninth on Espinosa's two-out RBI-single to center, setting the stage for the bottom of the frame. Hicks would draw a lead-off walk, bringing the tying run to the plate and Amherst righty Hayden Metz into the game. Marquit then ripped a single to left before Edgett reached on a fielder's choice. Metz then induced a grounder to short, where Cook made a great back-handed stop in the hole, turning to get the force at second. With two out and the game on the line, LeBlanc hammered a double to left center, allowing Edgett to come all the way around from first, sending the game into extra innings.

Hoping to regain the lead, Amherst put two on in the top half of the tenth thanks to a Samela two-out double and a Hero infield single, but a ground out back to the mound quickly ended the Jeffs' threat. Gorman led-off the Polar Bears half of the frame with a walk, which brought in Windham. Looking to play the role of hero, Garner doubled to right center, bringing home Gorman for the walk-off win, securing the Polar Bears' place in the league final.