Baseball Splits in Florida Against Coe

AUBURNDALE, Fla. – Playing in their first doubleheader of the season, the Mitchell College baseball team split their two games on Tuesday against Coe College (IA) in the RussMatt Invitational, falling in the opener 13-12 before taking the second game 3-1.

The opening game was a high scoring affair, which saw the Mariners late comeback fall just short. Trailing 13-8 entering the bottom of the seventh inning, senior Matt Falk (Enfield, Conn.) belted a one out grand slam to trim the deficit to just one run, however Mitchell was unable to complete the comeback, suffering just their second loss of the season. In the second game of the twin bill, the Mariners rode the arm of freshman Alex Sheehan (Killingworth, Conn.), who earned his first win of the season by tossing a complete game seven inning shutout, allowing only six hits while striking out eight.

The Mariners (6-2 overall) will be back in action on Wednesday with another doubleheader in the RussMatt Invitational, this time against the University of Minnesota Morris, with first pitch in the opener scheduled for 2:45 pm.

Game 1 – Coe College 13, Mitchell 12

The Mariners jumped out to an early two run lead after Coe starter Nolan Schroeder hit two batters with the bases loaded in the bottom of the first inning. The Kohawk's answered by plating two of their own in the top of the second, before Mitchell continued their scoring by pushing three more runs across in the bottom half of the inning.

A seven run third inning gave Coe a 9-5 edge, but as has been the case with the Mariners all season long, they battled back, scoring one run in the bottom of the third on a passed ball and two more in the fourth on another passed ball and an RBI groundout by Adam Vartanian (Cumberland, R.I.). The Kohawk's added three insurance runs in the fifth and one more in the top of the seventh, which proved crucial, as the grand slam from Falk, his second homer of the season, the Mariners came up just short.

Camren Varney (Manchester, N.H.) took the loss for Mitchell, surrendering nine runs, although just two of them earned, across two and two third innings of work. Angel Galindez (Carolina, PR) and Falk led the Mariners at the plate, each registering two hits on the day, while Falk drove in four runs and Lelo Martinez (New London, Conn.) added two RBI.

Game 2 – Mitchell 3, Coe College 1

The Mariners drew first blood in the second game of the doubleheader, going ahead by one run when sophomore Bo Yaworski (Brooklyn, Conn.) blasted his first home run of the season.

Sheehan, a freshman, delivered the best performance of his colleigate career, holding the Kohawks scoreless through the first five innings. Coe's Reid Raush knotted the score with an RBI double in the bottom of the sixth, but the Mariners quickly pushed back ahead, using a double off the bat of Dougie DelaCruz (Uncasville, Conn.) to take a 3-1 advantage. Sheehan came back out for the bottom of the seventh and finished what he started, striking out two of three batters in the final frame to seal the victory.

DelaCruz finished 2-4 with a pair of doubles and two RBI, while Owen Robbins (East Lyme, Conn.) also collected a pair of hits in the win.