Baseball Takes Two From Becker

Baseball Takes Two From Becker

NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Mitchell College baseball team opened its weekend series against Becker College with 3-2 and 12-0 victories on Saturday afternoon in New England Collegiate Conference play at Alumni Field.

Mitchell pitching limited Becker to only four hits in the doubleheader. Jakari Pellegrini tossed a one-hit shutout to close out the day, striking out seven while walking only one. In the opener, starter Eddie Santiago fanned seven before turning the ball over to Brian Ricker for the final two outs.

Garet Griffin and James Rangel each homered on the day. Kyle Hartenstein recorded a hit in each game to extend his hitting streak to 20 games.

Mitchell (19-4 overall, 9-2 NECC) will travel to Becker (7-18 overall, 4-7 NECC) on Sunday, April 15 for the final game of the series. First pitch is slated for noon.

Game 1 – Mitchell 3, Becker 2

Santiago and Becker starter Tanyon Ventres were sharp early, keeping runs off the scoreboard over the first three innings. The Mariners finally broke through in the fourth when Griffin scored on an error, and Jeremy Santos followed with an RBI double to make it a 2-0 game.

Mitchell added a run in the fifth on a ground out by Rangel. Santiago took the 3-0 margin into the seventh and struck out the leadoff batter before surrendering a pair of walks and a single.

The Mariners turned to Ricker for the final two outs. He entered the game with the bases loaded and promptly got his first batter to pop up for the second out. Josiah Shepherd then gave the Hawks life with a base hit to left to score a pair of runs and trim the deficit to one. With two runners in scoring position, Ricker focused on the batter and got a tapper back to the mound to end the game.

Santiago improved to 2-2 on the season while Ricker earned his second save. Ventres (1-5 overall) took the loss and allowed three runs (one earned) on six hits while striking out four.

Game 2 – Mitchell 12, Becker 0

Pellegrini (4-0 overall) was the story of the nightcap as he was sharp throughout. He retired the first 10 batters he faced and the final 10. The only two baserunners he allowed—a walk to Shepherd and a hit by Ventres—both came in the fourth inning. Pellegrini escaped damage by getting a ground ball and a strikeout to end the threat.

Mitchell put up three runs in the second inning on a bases-loaded triple by Eric Marriott and never looked back. The Mariners added two runs in the third and two more in the fourth before breaking the game open with a five-run fifth. Griffin and Rangel hit back-to-back homers in the frame. Griffin's was a grand slam over the left-field fence, his second long ball of the season. Rangel sent his solo shot to right field for his first homer with the Mariners.

Becker starter Daniel Diaz yielded five runs on five hits in 2.1 innings. He dropped to 1-4 on the season.