Baseball Takes Down Methodist in Extra Innings
| Final (10) | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Mitchell | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 12 | 3 |
|
Methodist | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 11 | 4 |
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. -- The Mitchell College baseball team needed extra innings to pick up its first victory of the season on Saturday, coming back to defeat host Methodist University by a 7-5 final in the Armstrong Invitational.
The Mariners (1-1 overall) scored two runs in the eighth inning to tie the game and went ahead with a pair of runs in the 10th. Brian Ricker picked up his first career victory in relief while Marcus Guadarrama struck out the final two batters of the game to secure the save. Nine different Mitchell players recorded a hit in the contest, led by two apiece from Tristan Hurley, Peter Abate and Markus Melendez.
Mitchell jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the second inning as a ground out by Steven Gonzalez an a single by Hurley each plated a run. After Methodist (6-5 overall) scored three times in the fourth to go up by a run, the Marines tied the game in the fifth on a sacrifice fly by Kyle Hartenstein that scored Gonzalez.
Trailing 5-3 in the the eighth, the Mariners rallied to once again tie the game. Peter Abate doubled to bring in the first run and later scored the tying run on a fielder's choice by Gonzalez.
Brian Stanczuk and Ricker kept Methodist off the scoreboard in the eighth and ninth innings, respectively, to force the game into extras. Garet Griffin led off the 10th with a single to center and later scored the go-ahead run from third on a double steal. Melendez later added an insurance run when he scored from third on an error.
Stanczuk recorded the first out in the bottom of the 10th before surrendering a single. Guadarrama entered the game with a runner on second but kept the lead secure, getting both batters he faced to strike out looking.
Mitchell will wrap up play at the Armstrong Invitational against Elmira College on Sunday, February 26 at 10 a.m. (note: game time was originally 11 a.m. but has been moved up one hour)
