Baseball Drops GNAC Championship Series Opener to Wildcats

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The second-seeded Mitchell College baseball team dropped the opening game of the best-of-three Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Championship Series on Thursday afternoon, falling 7-4 to top-seeded Johnson & Wales University at the Scotts Miracle-Gro Athletic Complex.

Aidan Vining tossed a complete game for the Wildcats, improving his record to 9-0 on the season, allowing three earned runs while striking out 10.

Sophomore Chase Donahue (Shirley, Mass.) led the offensive attack for the Mariners, finishing 3-4 with one RBI and one run scored. Senior Michael Gajda (New Britain, Conn.) added a pair of doubles, while driving in one run and scoring once.

After the two squads traded scoreless frames across the opening three innings, the Wildcats jumped ahead in the bottom of the fourth, as Ryan Ducey laced a leadoff triple off Mitchell's Eddie Kaftan (Old Lyme, Conn.) and came around to score on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Trevor Juan.

The Mariners answered in the top of the fifth, using back-to-back leadoff singles and a wild pitch to set up a situation with runners on second and third and no outs. Freshman Ryan Dennis (Enfield, Conn.) than laid down a sacrifice bunt, scoring Chase Donahue, but that was all Mitchell could push across in the frame against Vining.

JWU wasted no time in punching back, plating four runs in the bottom of the inning to take a 5-1 lead on a two-run double by Yedan Diaz and run scoring singles from Ryan Ducey and Trevor Juan.

Back to back singles by junior Kenneth Miller Jr. (New London, Conn.) and sophomore Michael Ficocelli (North Providence, R.I.) led off the top of the sixth, setting Mitchell up with runners on the corners and nobody away. Gajda followed with a double down the left field line to push one run across, before Donahue singled to the shortstop one batter later to score Ficocelli. Gajda then scored to cap the three-run inning, advancing home on a throwing error by the JWU catcher.

Trevor Juan ripped an RBI single to left-center off Mitchell reliever Jadon Canelli (Northford, Conn.) in the bottom of the seventh to add an insurance run and push JWU ahead, 6-4, before Ryan Ducey singled to drive in the Wildcat's seventh run in the eighth.

Senior Eddie Kafton took the loss, surrendering five runs (four earned) across five and one third innings of work. Canelli and sophomore Ethan Chavez (New London, Conn.) each allowed one run over the five two and two third innings of the game.

Ryan Ducey had four hits in five at bats for the Wildcats, including a double and a triple, driving in three and scoring twice, while Trevor Juan was 2-4 with a pair of RBI.

The Mariners (25-17) will look to starve off elimination when the two teams return to play on Saturday, May 9, in Providence. The Wildcats (27-13) will enter the day needing just one win to take the Championship Series and earn an automatic berth into the NCAA Baseball Tournament.