Baseball Blanks Albertus Magnus in Twin Bill

NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Mitchell College baseball team posted a pair of shutouts against Albertus Magnus College on Wednesday afternoon, winning by final scores of 20-0 and 5-0 in non-conference action at Alumni Field.

Ryan Solimine turned in a complete-game effort in the opener and got plenty of run support behind 13 Mitchell hits. Four Mitchell pitchers combined for the shutout in the nightcap, and Steve Cochrane went 3-for-4 with a pair of homers and four RBI to fuel the offense.

Mitchell (11-5 overall) will next host Newbury College on Sunday, March 31 at noon. Albertus Magnus (7-7 overall) returns to action at Suffolk University on Saturday, March 30 at 1 p.m.

Game 1 – Mitchell 20, Albertus Magnus 0 (5 innings)

The Mariners, who plated runs every time up at bat, jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first behind RBI singles by Dougie DelaCruz and Peter Abate. Mitchell then broke the game open with a nine-run second inning that was highlighted by a three-run homer by Sam Majewski, the first of his collegiate career.

After the Mariners added two runs in the third, Steven Pagan led off the fourth with his first home run of the season. Mitchell added four more runs in the frame to pump the lead to 20-0.

Solimine, who yielded only three hits and didn't allow a runner past first base, breezed through the final inning to collect his third win of the season. He fanned six batters without issuing a walk and faced only two batters over the minimum.

Brandon Fowler made the start for the Falcons and dropped to 2-1 on the season. He gave up four runs (three earned) on three hits over 1.0 inning of work.

Game 2 – Mitchell 5, Albertus Magnus 0

A solo homer by Cochrane put a run on the board for the Mariners in the first. It stayed a one-run game until the third when Eric Marriott drove in a run with a ground ball. Two batters later, Cochrane crushed a three-run shot to make it a 5-0 game. The homer was his team-leading fifth of the season, and marked his second multi-homer game in a week.

The Falcons put runners on base in all but one inning but failed to take advantage. With the tying run at third base in the third, Mitchell starter Drew Daley got a strikeout to keep the lead intact. It was a similar situation in the fifth when Bryce Bedard stranded a runner at third via a strikeout to end the frame.

Daley, Bedard, Brian Ricker and Justin Lukas combined for the shutout and allowed only four hits. Bedard picked up the win and improved to 1-2 on the season.

Alan Stinson took the loss for the Falcons, surrendering five runs on three hits over 5.0 innings.