SOMERVILLE, Mass. -- The Mitchell College baseball team clinched first place in the New England Collegiate Conference with a doubleheader split at Lesley University on Saturday afternoon at Trum Memorial Stadium.
The Mariners won the opener 6-1 as Al Jordan Johnson improved to 6-0 and struck out 11 in a complete-game performance. In the second game, Mitchell fell behind by five runs and nearly fought all the way back before falling 6-5.
Mitchell will host the final game of the series on Sunday, April 24 at noon.
Game 1: Mitchell 6, Lesley 1
Jordan Johnson was dominant on the hill for the visitors, allowing just one run on five hits in 7.0 innings of work. The right-hander racked up 11 strikeouts against just one walk and tossed 67 of this 100 pitches on the day for strikes.
The Mariners plated a pair of runs in the top of the second before doubling the score to 4-0 in the top of the fifth. Sophomore Jack Finnegan blasted a two-run home run to left field in the frame, the first of his collegiate career.
The Lynx struck back for a run in the bottom of the inning when Casey Blanchard scored J.P. Agiorgousis with a sacrifice fly to left field. However, that was all the Lesley offense would manage off Johnson, who picked up the 24th victory of his career.
Tyler Pina supplied a pair of insurance runs for the guests in the seventh as he laced a two-run double to left-center.
Finnegan finished 1-for-3 with two RBI and two runs scored while Pina collected a pair of hits, knocked in two and scored once. Peter Abate went 1-for-2 with a run while leadoff hitter Tristan Hurley crossed the plate twice.
Mike Slaby powered the Lynx offense with a 2-for-3 day at the plate while Agiorgousis, Daniel O'Donnell Jr. and Jacob Cervantes each finished with one hit.
Game 2: Lesley 6, Mitchell 5
The Lesley offense that was dormant in the opener came alive in the early stages of the second game. The Lynx piled up a 6-1 lead after three innings and held off the Mariners late.
The Lynx loaded the bases with one out in the top of the first before Cervantes opened the scoring with a ground out to second base that allowed Agiorgousis to score. O'Donnell followed with an infield single to bring in Slaby and Vincent Taliercio capped the inning with an RBI single to left for a 3-0 lead.
Mitchell responded in the top of the second with a run as Chandler Whitney led off with a triple to the right-center gap and came in one batter later on a ground out by Garet Griffin.
The Lynx opened up a five-run advantage as they pushed across three more runs in the bottom of the third. A Taliercio sac fly to center scored Ryan Pumphret, who led the inning off with a double down the right field line, before Lesley caught a break with a Mariner error in the infield to plate the second run. With a runner on second base and two outs, Blanchard came through for the Lynx with an RBI single to extend the margin to 6-1.
The five-run advantage dissipated quickly, however, as Mitchell plated four in the next half inning to pull within one. With two runners in scoring position and no outs, Griffin laced an RBI single to left before Brandon Russo and Markus Melendez each produced run-scoring ground outs to cut the deficit to 6-4. Hurley then capped the rally with a solo home run to deep center field to trim the margin to one.
Lesley loaded the bases with one out in the fifth, but Mitchell reliever Eddie Santiago induced a 1-2-3 double-play to escape the jam unscathed.
In the bottom of the seventh, the Mariners put the tying run in scoring position as Russo looped a two-out double down the left field line. However, Lesley reliever Nick Iadevaio forced a ground out as the Lynx held on for the 6-5 win.
Iadevaio allowed just three hits and struck out two while earning the win for the hosts.
Slaby extended his hitting streak to 11 games, finishing 1-for-3 with a run scored. Pumphret supplied two hits and two runs scored while O'Donnell also added two hits to go with one RBI. Agiorgousis went 2-for-4 with a run scored and Taliercio knocked in a pair.
Pina, Whitney, Griffin, Russo, and Kyle Hartenstein combined for 10 of Mitchell's 12 hits as they each finished with a pair of base knocks. Griffin added a pair of RBIs while Whitney crossed the dish twice.
