Baseball Drops Snowbird Classic Opener

PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. -- Mitchell College opened play at the Snowbird Baseball Classic with a 7-5 loss to Wittenberg University on Tuesday night at Centennial Park.

The Mariners led 2-1 in the fourth inning thanks to a solo homer by Angel Galindez. The lead didn't last for long as the Tigers fired back with two runs in the bottom of the frame and three more in the fifth.

The two teams traded runs in the sixth inning, with Bo Yaworski supplying an RBI single for the Mariners. Mitchell then added two runs in the seventh thanks to an RBI single by John-John Jose coupled with a Wittenberg error. However, the Mariners left the bases loaded in the eighth, three of 13 base runners stranded in the game. In the ninth, Mitchell brought the tying run to the plate but couldn't make up the deficit.

Matt Falk had two of Mitchell's seven hits in the contest, but the Wittenberg pitching staff kept the Mariners off balance all night. The Tigers struck out 13 batters in the win, led by a strong effort from starter Nate Floyd (1-0 overall). The right-hander labored through the early going but limited Mitchell to only two runs over 5.0 innings.

Mitchell starter Camren Varney (1-1 overall) lasted 4.0 innings and yielded six runs on 10 hits while striking out six. Kenny Heon, Daniel Driscoll and Kevin Vining saw work out of the bullpen and helped keep the Mariners in the game, allowing only one run between them over the final 4.0 innings. 

Mitchell (2-3 overall) returns to action on Wednesday, March 9 against Swarthmore College and Ohio Wesleyan University.