Baseball Erupts for 28 Runs Against NEC, Advances to NECC Championship
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
New England Col. | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 1 |
|
Mitchell | 0 | 0 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 7 | X | 28 | 17 | 2 |
NEW LONDON, Conn. – The top-seeded Mitchell College baseball team punched their ticket the New England Collegiate Conference title game on Saturday afternoon, blowing past third-seeded New England College 28-2 on at Alumni Field.
The Mariners pounded out 17 hits and scored seven or more runs in three different innings, as senior Ryan Solimine (Danbury, Conn.) held the Pilgrim bats in check, scattering six hits and two runs (one earned) across eight innings of work, walking one and striking out eight.
After two scoreless frames, NEC jumped out to a 1-0 advantage on a Brady Philibott sacrifice fly in the top of the third. The lead was short lived, however, as the Mariners erupted for eight runs in the bottom half of the frame, highlighted by a three run home run to left center off the bat of junior Owen Robbins (East Lyme, Conn.).
Robbins followed that up with a three-run triple the following inning and proceeded to come around to score on a wild pitch. Dougie DelaCruz (Uncasville, Conn.) added a two-run double the next inning, before Mitchell scored seven in the sixth and seven more in the eighth, plowing through seven NEC pitchers in the process.
Robbins finished 4-6 with seven RBI and four runs scored. DelaCruz was 3-4 with a double, four RBI, and three runs scored, while Angel Galindez (Carolina, PR), Matt Falk (Enfield, Conn.), and Justin Adorno (New Britain, Conn.) each had multi-hit games. Falk finished with four RBI, a triple, and three runs scored, while Thai-ler Sestokas (Danbury, Conn.) and Robbie DelaCruz (Uncasville, Conn.) also drove in two runs apiece.
Luca Giallongo was 3-4 with two runs scored for the Pilgrims, and Tim Krol was the losing pitcher, surrendering eight runs over three innings of work.
The Mariners (30-8 overall) will look to bring home their ninth NECC title when they face off against Eastern Nazarene College on Sunday, May 7, at 11:00 am. The second-seeded Lions (26-13 overall) earned a spot in the championship game by defeated New England College 8-1 on Saturday.