Pitching Staff Shines as Baseball Tops Castleton

NEW LONDON, Conn. – Mitchell College picked up a pair of wins over Castleton University on Thursday afternoon, posting final scores of 9-4 and 3-1 in non-conference baseball action at Alumni Field.

The Mariners, who improved to 13-0 at home and 4-0 against the Little East Conference, got solid pitching in both games. Starters Jakari Pellegrini and Drew Daley allowed a combined three earned runs on the day while the Mitchell bullpen—led by Bryce Bedard—yielded just one hit over 5.2 scoreless innings.

Mitchell (19-6 overall) will next play at Becker College on Sunday, April 14 at noon. Castleton (11-13 overall) returns to action at UMass Dartmouth on Friday, April 12 at noon.

Game 1 – Mitchell 9, Castleton 4

Castleton put up the game's first run thanks to an RBI single by Mitchell Caron in the first inning that scored Deagan Poland. Mitchell responded with four runs in the home half to take the lead over for good. Steve Cochrane tied the game with a sacrifice fly to left, and Dougie DelaCruz drove in the go-ahead run with a double to center. Three batters later, Sam Majewski tacked on a two-run double to make it a 4-1 game.

The Mariners added three runs in the second on a two-run double by Cochrane and an RBI single by Steven Pagan. The Spartans cut into the 7-1 deficit in the third, pushing across three runs courtesy of a two-run double by Jaxon Millet and a ground out by Brody Fillion.

A sacrifice fly by Eric Marriott gave Mitchell a run back in the home half of the third to extend the lead to 8-4. Michael Santiago plated the final run in the fifth with a single down the left-field line.

Despite a couple of rocky innings early, Pellegrini got stronger as the game went on. He retired the final eight batters he faced before turning the ball over to the bullpen for the final six outs. He improved to 4-1 on the season and surrendered four runs (two earned) on six hits while striking out seven.

Justin Lukas and Brian Ricker each tossed an inning of relief and didn't allow a hit.

Castleton starter Parker Brown gave up eight runs (six earned) on six hits over 3.0 innings and struck out two while walking three. He fell to 0-1 on the year.

Game 2 – Mitchell 3, Castleton 1

The Mariners struck first in the nightcap as Cochrane belted a two-out triple to deep right-center and scored on a bad relay throw from the outfield. The Spartans answered back in the second, putting a runner on with two outs when Pat Mumford beat out a ground ball up the middle. He was then running on the pitch when Poland doubled down the left-field line to knot the score at 1-1.

Mitchell broke the stalemate in the third when, with two on and two out, a pair of wild pitches allowed Marriott and DelaCruz to cross the plate.

Daley picked up the first out of the fourth inning before handing the game over to Bedard, who retired the first nine Castleton batters he faced. He allowed just one hit and fanned four over 3.2 innings of relief, earning the win to improve to 2-2 on the year.

Castleton starter Charlie Stapleford pitched well in defeat, allowing three runs on four hits while striking out and walking four. He dropped to 1-2 overall.