Baseball Picks Up Big Win at Western New England

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – The Mitchell College baseball team came away with an 11-1 victory over Western New England University on Friday afternoon in non-conference action at Trelease Park.

Western New England entered the game ranked fifth in New England in the latest NEIBA Poll, one spot ahead of the Mariners. The Golden Bears were also receiving votes in the NCBWA/D3baseball.com national poll.

Mitchell was led by Kyle Hartenstein and Garet Griffin, who both went 4-for-6 at the plate with two RBI while scoring a combined five runs. Left-hander Eddie Santiago earned the win (3-2 overall) and struck out five batters, allowing just one run on two hits over 6.0 innings on the mound.

Markus Melendez gave Mitchell a 1-0 lead with an RBI single to right field in the top of the fourth inning. The Golden Bears answered in the bottom half of the frame, tying the game on an RBI single by Joe Cassella.

Mitchell pulled ahead for good with two runs in the top of the fifth, as Griffin recorded an RBI single to left field and Jack Finnegan added a sacrifice fly later in the frame. After extending their advantage to 4-1 in the sixth, the Mariners plated four runs in the eighth and three more in the ninth to cap the scoring.

Right-hander Kevin Besko got the start for the Golden Bears and struck out four batters while allowing one run on two hits with five walks over 4.0 innings.

Mitchell (21-5 overall) will next plat at Saint Joseph's College (ME) on Saturday, April 21 at 2 p.m.