Baseball Holds On to Win Season Opener

FORT MYERS, Fla. – The Mitchell College baseball team opened the 2016 season with a 7-6 victory over Otterbein University on Friday afternoon at the Cusic Classic.

The Mariners never trailed but had to hold off a rally in the bottom of the ninth to seal the deal. The Cardinals trailed 7-2 heading into the final frame but pushed across four runs, highlighted by a three-run homer with two outs that cut the margin to one. Mitchell reliever Domenick Giaramida gave up the long ball but got the next batter to foul out to end the game.   

The Mitchell offense finished with 13 hits and drew four walks on the day. Garet Griffin went 3-for-5 with a double, RBI and two runs scored in his Mitchell debut while Steven Pagan had two hits and knocked in a pair of runs.

Starting pitcher Axel De Jesus worked 3.0 scoreless innings and struck out three before turning the ball over to the bullpen. Clayton Shaw tossed 1.1 innings before Giaramida came in to close out the game. He picked up the win in relief and allowed four runs on five hits and struck out three over 4.2 innings.

After wasting a scoring chance in the first inning, Mitchell got on the scoreboard in the second on a single by Pagan that plated Griffin and Chandler Whitney. The Mariners made it 3-0 in the third when Kyle Hartenstein led off with a single and later scored on a base hit through the left side by Griffin.

A two-out double by Griffin in the fifth led to another Mitchell run as Whitney followed with a single. However, the Cardinals struck for two runs in the home half to pull within 4-2. Giaramida entered the game with two runners on but got the final two outs of the frame to keep the Mariners in front.

Mitchell tacked on a run in the seventh and two more in the ninth behind RBI singles by Pagan, Tyler Pina and Francis Prettitore. The extra runs proved important as the Cardinals loaded the bases with no outs in the ninth. After a ground out brought in the first run, Giaramida struck out the next batter before surrendering the homer to Tyler Kent. Jake Simmerman, Otterbein's clean-up hitter, came up as the potential tying run, but he popped up behind the plate to end the game.  

Mitchell will enjoy an off day before kicking off New England Collegiate Conference play against Newbury College on Sunday, March 6. The first game of the scheduled doubleheader is set for 9 a.m. at the Cusic Classic.