Baseball Splits at Dean

Baseball Splits at Dean

FRANKLIN, Mass. -- The Mitchell College baseball team split a pair of one-run games with conference newcomer Dean College on Saturday, bouncing back from a 4-3 loss in the opener to win 3-2 in the nightcap on Saturday afternoon at Longley Field.

Kyle Hartenstein, who last week became Mitchell's all-time hits leader, reached another milestone with his 200th career hit. He becomes just the fourth active Division III player in the country to eclipse the mark.

The rubber game of the weekend series takes place Sunday in New London at noon.

Game 1 - Dean 4, Mitchell 3

Playing for the first time in a week, Mitchell couldn't solve the pitching combination of Jose Quiroz and Alex Belanger. The duo limited the Mariners to only four hits in the contest. 

Dean got on the board first when Travis Dinsdale led off the bottom of the first with a double and then came around to score on a Landon Fish groundout. After Mitchell scored on a squeeze play by Markus Melendez to even the score in the second, the Bulldogs answered with two in the third on run-scoring singles from Dinsdale and Matt Callahan. The Mariners wasted very little time getting back on the board as they evened the score when Garet Griffin and James Rangel both registered RBI singles in the third.

Dean pulled back in front for good in the bottom of the third after infield singles from Jeff Sharnick and Dakari Cox set up the game-winning run on a sacrifice fly from Ben Chajet.

After stranding a pair of runners in the fourth, Mitchell tried to tie the game in the sixth on a shallow fly ball to left. Jeremy Santos tagged up from third on the play but was thrown out at the plate to end the inning. Hartenstein then led off the seventh with a single to center and moved into scoring position on a sacrifice. However, Belanger retired the next two batters to keep the Bulldogs in front and earn his first collegiate save.

Mitchell starter Eddie Santiago (1-2) struck out seven and walked two in 6.0 innings of work. He allowed four runs on eight hits.

Game 2 - Mitchell 3, Dean 2

A pitching duel highlighted the nightcap as Jakari Pellegrini and Dean's Gaten Davis kept the game scoreless through four innings. The Bulldogs finally broke through in the fifth when Cox led off with a double and then scampered home on an infield hit by Vincent Buonaiuto.

Mitchell evened the score in the sixth when Griffin walked and then scored on a double by Santos. The score remained knotted at 1-1 until the seventh when the Mariners pushed across two runs with two outs. Jack Finnegan, who led off the frame with an infield single, raced home on a wild pitch, and then Griffin pushed across an insurance run with a single to left.

Griffin's run ended up looming large after Brian Hadden scored an unearned run in the bottom of the seventh, but reliever Bryce Bedard was able to get the final two outs and escape with the win.

Pellegrini gave up one run on five hits and struck out four in 5.1 innings of work. Bedard (4-0) yielded one run on one hit and fanned two in 1.2 innings.