Baseball Takes Two From Nichols
Game 1
Game 1
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Nichols | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 1 |
|
Mitchell | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | X | 6 | 4 | 0 |
Game 2
Game 2
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Nichols | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 9 | 2 |
|
Mitchell | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 0 | X | 8 | 8 | 3 |
NEW LONDON, Conn. – Mitchell College took the first two games of its weekend baseball series with Nichols College, winning by final scores of 6-3 and 8-6 on Saturday afternoon.
Roland Thivierge earned his first win of the season in the opener, allowing three runs on seven hits while striking out four over 5.1 innings. Jakari Pellegrini hit a solo homer and later plated an insurance run with a sacrifice fly to lead the offense.
In the second game, John-John Jose supplied a two-run single in the fifth inning to snap a 6-6 deadlock. Kenny Heon tossed 3.1 innings of relief to grab his first career win while Bryce Bedard contributed a one-out save to close out the game.
Mitchell (4-1 overall) and Nichols (0-2 overall) will wrap up the series with a nine-inning game on Sunday, March 14 at noon.
Game 1 – Mitchell 6, Nichols 3
Both starting pitchers ran into trouble in the first inning. Nichols put two runners on with no outs before Thivierge recovered, retiring the next three batters to escape unscathed. The Mariners then loaded the bases with no outs in the home half, and after Steve Cochrane plated a run with a ground out, Lelo Martinez sliced a double down the right-field line to make it 3-0.
The Bison got a run back in the third on an RBI double by Kyle Bouchard and added another in the fifth on a single to center by Jack Arrend. However, Thivierge escaped further damage and escaped the fifth with the 3-2 lead intact.
Pellegrini led off the bottom of the fifth with a homer to center, his first of the season. The Mariners needed the extra breathing room as Brennan Hyde hammered a home run in the sixth to make it a 4-3 game.
Mitchell added a pair of insurance runs in the sixth as Anthony Laureano drew a bases-loaded walk and Pellegrini tacked on a sacrifice fly.
Mitchell reliever Sam Majewski threw 1.2 shutout innings to record his first career save. He struck out two batters without issuing a walk.
Nichols starter Jack Dicenso took the loss, allowing four runs on two hits over 4.1 innings. He also struck out five and walked two.
Game 2 – Mitchell 8, Nichols 6
Nichols took the early lead in the nightcap, hitting up Pellegrini for three runs in the opening frame. David Caron led off with a double and later scored on a double by Bouchard. Will Kleinhenz then plated a pair of runs with a triple to right-center to stake the Bison to a 3-0 lead.
The Mariners grinded out three runs in the third inning to tie the game. Mitchell drew four walks to stoke the rally, the final of which forced in a run to make it 3-1. Matt Falk followed with a single to right field to bring in the game-tying runs.
Johnny Knox put the Bison in front again in the fourth with an RBI triple to right-center. He later scored on a throwing error to give Nichols a 5-3 advantage.
Mitchell tied the game back up with two runs in the home half of the fourth. Cochrane singled through the right side to knock in the first run while Anthony Stigler followed suit to tie the game at 5-5.
After a wild pitch gave Nichols a one-run lead in the fifth, the Mariners answered back with three runs in the bottom of the frame. Dougie DelaCruz singled through the left side to tie the score at 6-6, setting the stage for Jose's two-run single up the middle.
Heon, who allowed one run on two hits, recorded the first two outs of the seventh before running into trouble. After the Bison put the tying run on base, Mitchell went to the bullpen for Bedard. He got the next batter to tap one back to the mound and went to first for the final out.
