BRUNSWICK, Maine – For the first time since 2013, the Bowdoin College baseball team will appear in the NESCAC Championship weekend as the Polar Bears battle Tufts in the opening game of the double-elimination tournament Friday evening.
 
Colby will serve as host of the championship and will open play against Middlebury at 2:30 p.m. Friday afternoon. Bowdoin and Tufts will play at 6:00 p.m. Play continues throughout the weekend with a full schedule available at NESCAC.com. All games will be carried live by the Northeast Sports Network.
 
The Polar Bears advanced to the championship weekend for the first time since 2013 after a 2-1 series win to knock out the West No. 1 seed, Wesleyan. Bowdoin enters the weekend with an 18-14 record and is 5-2 in its last seven games. The Polar Bears' pitching staff has a combined 4.68 ERA, which is third in the conference, and Bowdoin boasts 24 home runs (4th - NESCAC).
 
Kevin Murray leads Bowdoin with a .418 average while slugging .684 and boasts a 1.152 OPS. He has collected 41 hits, including six home runs, scored 25 runs, and registered 26 RBI. Gabe Peckler and Ben McKenzie are both hitting .316. McKenzie has four homers with 31 hits and 23 runs scored while Peckler has 13 extra-base hits, including four home runs, and a 1.002 OPS.
 
Jack Mullen ranks third among NESCAC pitchers with a 3.12 ERA. Mullen kept the Polar Bears' season alive with a complete game win in Game 2 versus the Cardinals. It marked his fourth complete-game effort this season. Mullen, who has a NESCAC-best six wins, has thrown 52 innings and registered 43 strikeouts. Teammate Jason Boganos has tossed three complete games and issued 11 walks over 55.1 innings pitched, the second most innings worked by a NESCAC pitcher this season.
 
Full coverage will be provided all weekend at GoUBears.com and NESCAC.com.