Baseball Rallies in Ninth to Top Becker 6-5

NASHUA, N.H. – The Mitchell College baseball team nearly squandered a five-run lead but scored a run in the ninth inning to salvage a 6-5 victory over third-seeded Becker College on Friday afternoon at the 2010 NECC Championship.

Junior Paul Martinez drove in the winning run with a one-out single to right in the bottom of the ninth to score pinch runner Eric Pesino with the winning run. The hit capped a 4-for-5 day at the plate for Martinez, who also scored a run and drove in two.

The second-seeded Mariners (16-12 overall) move on to face top-seeded Daniel Webster College in the next round. Play has been canceled for Saturday due to expected rain, so the team will meet on Sunday, May 9 at 10 a.m. Mitchell took two out of three games from the Eagles during the regular season.

Mitchell built up a five-run lead over the first four innings. A double by senior Andrew Langlais brought home the first run in the second, and sophomore Ethan Graynor drove in two more runs in the third with a base hit to right. The Mariners added a pair of runs in the fourth, the first on a sacrifice fly by sophomore Tommy Derosier and the second on an RBI single by Martinez.

Senior Jeremy Chapman made the start for the Mariners and cruised through the first six innings, allowing only three hits while striking out six. Becker finally got to him in the seventh, loading the bases with one out before Austin Phillips delivered a double that plated two runs. Weston Meehan then followed with a single to drive in two more, cutting the deficit to 5-4 and knocking Chapman from the game. Junior Cody Faddis took the ball in relief for the Mariners and got out of the frame without further damage.

The Hawks tied the game in the eighth on an RBI triple by Keith Kandel. With the go-ahead run only 90 feet away, Faddis got the next batter to foul out to end the threat.

Becker put a runner on base in the ninth with one out, but second baseman John McGarry snagged a line drive and double up the runner at first to end the frame. The Mariners then scratched across the run in the home half of the inning, with freshman Justin Szela reaching base on an error to start the rally. Pesino replaced him at second base and moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by Derosier, setting the stage for Martinez's walk-off hit.

Faddis threw the final 2.2 innings and allowed one unearned run on one hit while striking out two and walking one. He earned the win and improved to 2-3 overall on the season.