Yaworski Delivers Big Hit to Push Baseball Past Anna Maria

NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Mitchell College baseball team picked up a 6-5 non-conference victory over Anna Maria College at home on Wednesday afternoon. Trailing 5-4 in the bottom of the eighth inning, sophomore Bo Yaworski (Brooklyn, Conn.) laced a go ahead two-run single into left field, giving the Mariners a lead which they would not relinquish.

The AMCATS (10-11 overall) got on the board first when James Powers hit a first inning solo home run to right field off Mitchell starter Alex Sheehan (Killingworth, Conn.). The Mariners responded with three runs in the bottom half of the inning; the first on a passed ball, the second on an RBI groundout by Lelo Martinez (New London, Conn.), and the third on an RBI single by Owen Robbins (East Lyme, Conn.).

The lead was short lived however, as Anna Maria plated three runs of their own in the top of third, chasing Sheehan from the ballgame. The Mariners then tied the score at 4-4 on an RBI single off the bat of Dougie DelaCruz (Uncasville, Conn.) in the bottom of the fourth inning.

Senior Tyler Daly (Wallingford, Conn.) came on in relief on Sheehan and tossed three scoreless frames before Hunter Dunithan singled home Jeremy Rosenberg in the top of the seventh, giving the AMCATS the edge, 5-4.

After holding the visitors scoreless in the top of the eight, the Mariners late rally began when junior Justin Adorno (New Britain, Conn.) laced a one out single to left field. Pinch hitter Thai-ler Sestokas (Danbury, Conn.) proceeded to draw a walk, before both baserunners advanced on a double steal. This brought Yaworski to the plate with two outs and the sophomore delivered, ripping a ball into left center to bring home the eventual game winning run.

Daly was once again incredibly effective out of the bullpen, throwing five innings of one run ball, walking just one and striking out four. Senior Kenny Heon (Montville, Conn.) relieved Daly with two outs in the top of the eigth and went on to pick up his first win of the season, working one and a third scoreless innings, picking up a pair of strikeouts along the way.

Yaworski, DelaCruz, and Angel Galindez (Carolina, PR) had two hits apiece for the Mariners, while Yaworski led the team with two RBI.

Conor Francesconi was charged with the loss for Anna Maria, surrendering the critical go-ahead single after working three and two third innings of shutout ball up until that point. Jeremy Rosenberg paced the AMCATS with three hits, while Christian Villa went 2-3 with two RBI.

The Mariners (17-4) will jump right back into action with another non-conference game on Thursday, April 6, when they travel for a game against Clark University.