Baseball Splits at Dean
FRANKLIN, Mass. -- The Mitchell College baseball team split a New England Collegiate Conference doubleheader at Dean College on Saturday afternoon, falling by an 8-6 final in the opener before rebounding for a 6-2 win in the nightcap.
The loss snapped a 10-game win streak for the Mariners, who quickly shook it off and bounced back behind a strong pitching performance by Roland Thivierge. The sophomore right-hander improved to 6-0 by striking out a season-high nine batters in a complete-game effort, allowing only two runs on seven hits.
Mitchell (15-6 overall, 3-1 NECC) will next host Southern Vermont College on Sunday, April 7 at 1 p.m.
Game 1 - Dean 8, Mitchell 6
The Bulldogs scored eight unanswered runs over the first three innings to jump out to a commanding lead. The Mariners finally woke up in the fifth, sending 11 batters to the plate and pushing across six runs to make it a game. Sam Majewski provided a two-run single in the frame while Steve Cochrane and Justin Johnson added RBI singles.
Dean reliever Alex Belanger got the final out in the fifth and then retired the next six batters he faced to secure the win for starter Jason Bottone.
Mitchell starter Jakari Pellegrini lasted 1.1 innings and surrendered five runs on six hits. John-John Jose closed out the game with 3.2 innings of shutout relief and struck out six.
Majewski, Cochrane and Eric Marriott each finished with two hits apiece to lead the offense.
Game 2 - Mitchell 6, Dean 2
The Mariners never trailed after plating a pair of runs in the third inning, highlighted by an RBI double by Dougie DelaCruz. After Dean scratched across a run in the home half to cut the margin in half, Mitchell scored two more in the fifth to go up 4-1. Once again it was DelaCruz who supplied an RBI single to left.
The Bulldogs pulled within 4-2 in the sixth, but Mitchell responded with its final two runs in the seventh to build the lead. Steven Pagan knocked in the first run with a double to right-center, and Peter Abate drove in the second on a fielder's choice to make it 6-2. Thivierge then set down the side in order in the bottom of the seventh, finishing the game strong with a strikeout.
The Mariners made the most of their six hits in the game, three of which came off the bat of DelaCruz. Pagan also finished with a pair of hits.