Baseball Powers to Pair of Wins at Becker

ROCHDALE, Mass. – Becker College was swept by Mitchell College in New England Collegiate Conference baseball action Saturday afternoon by scores of 8-5 and 12-2.

The sweep extended Mitchell's winning streak to 13 games and brought its overall record to 28-3 (16-1 NECC). Becker dropped to 14-19 overall (8-9 NECC).

In game one, the Mariners took advantage of some sloppy defense by Becker to score four runs in the top of the first inning. Mitchell loaded the bases on an error, a single by Kyle Hartenstein and a Kenneth Olszewski walk. Evan Peck then plated two runs with a single through the left side. After an error loaded the bases, pitcher Keon Jenkins induced a one-two-three double play. With two outs and runners on second and third, Jenkins uncorked a wild pitch, allowing Peck to scamper home from third. Neftali Arroyo capped off the inning with a RBI single to give the Mariners a 4-0 lead.

Becker cut the Mitchell lead in half in the bottom of the fourth inning. After Trevor Read was hit by a pitch, Matthew Consigli singled up the middle to put runners on the corners. Consigli then attempted a theft of second base, but the throw sailed into center field. Read scored easily on the play, while Gavin LaLima's attempt to get Consigli advancing to third rolled out of play, granting him home.

The score remained the same until the top of the sixth when the Mariners put four more runs on the board with just three hits. After two quick outs, Peter McTernan got things started with a single up the middle. LaLima and Hartenstein then earned back-to-back walks, chasing Jenkins from the game. Kenneth Olszewski drove in two runs with a single past third base to increase the lead to 6-2. Rafael Garcia then belted a two-run double to center to give Mitchell an 8-2 advantage. 

The Hawks made things interesting in the bottom of the sixth when they scored three runs. Francis Baldino led off the inning with a double to center. Consigli plated Baldino with double into deep left-center, and Niko Bedell followed with a towering home run over the left field fence. 

Troy Stango pitched a perfect seventh to secure the 8-5 win for the Mariners. Mitchell starter Al Jordan Johnson improved his record to 8-0 on the year after allowing two earn runs on five hits while striking out seven.

Jenkins suffered the loss after allowing just three earned runs on five hits.

The nightcap belonged to Mariners from the start as they scored 12 runs on 12 hits. 

Mitchell got all the offense it needed in the top of the first when it scored three runs, all with two outs. Olszewski got things started with double down the left field line. After Peck reached on an infield single, Garcia followed with a RBI single through right side of the infield. Ryan Goodwin then capped the inning with a two-run double into the left-center gap. 

The Mariners went on to score a pair of runs in four different innings. Olszewski finished the game with two hits and a RBI while Neftali Arroyo added a pair of hits, including a solo home run over the left-field fence.

Nick Lemay put the Hawks on the board in with his first collegiate home run in the bottom of the second.

Tyler Shamas improved his record to 7-0 after allowing one run in 5.0 innings of work. Mark Brousseau took the loss after allowing four earned runs in 1.2 innings. 

Becker will travel to Mitchell to wrap up the regular season on Sunday, May 3 at noon.