Baseball Drops Regular Season Finale to Becker
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Becker | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 11 | 1 |
|
Mitchell | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 3 |
NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Becker College baseball team kept its postseason hopes alive with a 6-2 win over Mitchell College on Sunday afternoon in the final New England Collegiate Conference game of the season for each squad.
Becker broke the game open with a five-run seventh inning and got a quality start on the mound from Tyler Wagar on short rest. The Hawks (15-19 overall, 9-9 NECC) pulled into a tie for third place in the NECC standings but must await the result of Monday's game between Lesley University and Daniel Webster College to learn their fate. A win by Lesley would result in a three-way tie for the final two NECC Championship berths.
After pitching the Hawks to a win at Southern Vermont College on Thursday, Wagar gave his team eight scoreless innings before being touched up for two runs in the ninth. He stayed in the game to finish out the gem, allowing only five hits while striking out eight to improve to 4-5 on the season.
Becker put a runner on base in each of the first three innings but ran into outs in each frame. Mitchell starter Axel De Jesus picked off a runner at first base in the first inning, and Peter McTernan made an over-the-shoulder grab in shallow left in the second before firing to over to first to double up the runner. In the third, Trevor Read led off with a single through the left side but was later thrown out while attempting a steal of second.
The Mariners didn't fare much better at the plate in the opening innings against Wagar. Despite putting runners in scoring position in both the first and third innings, Mitchell came up empty both times as Wagar pitched out of trouble.
The Hawks put a runner in scoring position in the fourth when Matthew Consigli reached on a fielder's choice and moved up a base with a steal. T.J. Sempkowski brought him home with a two-out double that one-hopped the fence in center for the game's first run.
A two-out double by Rafael Garcia gave Mitchell a chance in the fourth, but Wagar got the next batter to line out to right to end the threat.
The Hawks sent 11 batters to the plate in the seventh and came away with five runs. Niko Bedell hammered the first pitch of the frame over the left field fence for his second home run of the series and team-leading eighth of the season. The Hawks then put up four more runs in the inning as Read and Consigli each contributed RBI singles while the other two runs scored on a combination of wild pitches and errors.
Singles by Evan Peck and McTernan in the home half of the seventh gave the Mariners two runners in scoring position, but Wagar got a ground ball to end the inning without allowing a run.
A two-run homer by Garcia in the ninth prevented the Mariners from being shut out for the first time all season. With Peck on second base thanks to an error, Garcia blasted his first long ball of the season over the left field fence.
De Jesus (3-3 overall) lasted 6.0 innings and allowed five runs (four earned) on eight hits and struck out five. The Mariners used four relief pitchers in the contest to close out the game.
Mitchell coach Travis Beausoleil shuffled the regular lineup and gave nine of his 12 seniors the starting nod on Senior Day. Prior to the game the Mariners honored the entire senior class, which included Peck, Garcia, McTernan, Gavin LaLima, Kenneth Olszewski, Ryan Goodwin, Kevin Toro, Drew Doyle, Blaze Iannetti, Nate Narducci, Sal Pezzolesi and Troy Stango.
Mitchell completed the regular season with a 28-4 record and went 16-2 in NECC play, setting program records for both overall and conference victories. The Mariners have earned the top seed and the right to host the 2015 NECC Baseball Championship on May 8-10 at Alumni Field. The complete bracket will be released by the NECC following the completion of all regular season games.
