STANDISH — Sam Canales smiled and quickly explained that his at-bat didn’t exactly play out the way it was planned.

But the Thornton Academy graduate wouldn’t change the particulars of his first collegiate home run, even if he possessed the ability.

“To be honest, it was a hit-and-run and I was trying to hit it on the ground,” Canales confessed after helping Bowdoin to a 9-4 win over St. Joseph’s in a non-conference baseball game Monday afternoon at Larry Mahaney Diamond.

“I think they knew we were going to try and hit-and-run, and they threw a high fastball and I just tried to barrel it up. My first thought was that I didn’t get the ball down.”

Canales’ two-run shot to left-center came in the second inning and staked the Polar Bears (14-8) to a 3-0 lead over the Monks (21-3). The freshman third baseman from Saco finished 3 for 4 with two RBI and two runs scored.

The performance continued an impressive transition for Canales, who was hitting .333 in his first nine games with the Polar Bears.

“He was fantastic today,” said Bowdoin Coach Mike Connolly. “We’re trying to get him as much playing time as possible because he has a great future. I think Sam looks at every day as a chance to get better.

“When his name is in the lineup, he plays as hard as he can, and when it’s not he certainly is a great teammate and ready to go in whenever we need him to.”

The Polar Bears actually had two homers in the second inning after hitting only one in their first 21 games. Luke Regan started the scoring with a one-out solo shot, also to left-center.

Bowdoin made it 4-0 in the third. With two out, Jordan Edgett laced a double down the third-base line and was singled home by Dan Findley.

The Monks, ranked No. 1 regionally in Division III and 18th nationally, got back on even terms in the bottom of the third. Brandon Chase’s triple highlighted a four-run rally.

But Bowdoin surged back ahead in the top of the fourth and never looked back. Tim McGarry, who went 3 for 5 with three RBI, stroked a two-out, two-run double to give the Polar Bears a 6-4 lead.

While the Polar Bears were clicking offensively, reliever Jay Loughlin kept the Monks in check. Loughlin took over for starter Erik Jacobsen start the sixth and allowed only two hits in the final four innings.

“I thought the game was in the balance when Loughlin entered the game, and he kind of slammed the door and didn’t give them a whole lot of life,” Connolly said.

The Polar Bears padded their lead in the sixth as the first three batters reached to load the bases. Kyle LeBlanc grounded into a double play as Duncan Taylor scored, and McGarry singled home Canales to give Bowdoin an 8-4 lead.

“Our guy (starting picture Joe Gruntkosky) got the ball up a little bit, we didn’t play great defensively, and they were there to take advantage of it,” said St. Joseph’s Coach Will Sanborn. “We didn’t play well in any aspect of the game today.”

Gruntkosky (3-1) took the loss for the Monks, who saw their 10-game winning streak come to an end. Gruntkosky gave up eight runs on 10 hits over seven innings.