Baseball Upends #5 Salve Regina
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
#5 Salve Regina | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 2 |
|
Mitchell | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | X | 4 | 5 | 0 |
NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Mitchell College baseball team held off a late rally by #5 Salve Regina University on Thursday afternoon, taking down the nationally ranked Seahawks, 4-3, in a non-conference showdown at Alumni Field.
Junior Kenneth Miller Jr. (New London, Conn.) had a team-high two hits and scored a run for the Mariners, while junior Nicholas Bracale (East Haven, Conn.) hit a solo home run in the bottom of the fourth, which proved to be the game winning run.
Senior Eddie Kaftan (Old Lyme, Conn.) picked up his second win of the spring after dealing five innings of two-run ball, scattering just three hits and a walk, while striking out four. Fellow senior Chris Gibbs (New Britain, Conn.) came out of the bullpen and tossed a scoreless top of the ninth to earn his first save of the season.
The Seahawks wasted no time jumping out to an early lead, scoring the game's first run on an RBI chopper down the right field line in the top of the first. The Mariners then jumped ahead in the bottom of the second, plating a pair of runs on a Salve error and an RBI groundout off the bat of junior Adam Vartanian (Cumberland, R.I.).
After Mitchell added a run on a perfectly executed double-steal the following inning to go up 3-1, Salve got one back in the top of the fourth on a Tyler Petrosino sacrifice fly. The Mariners answered in the bottom of the frame, as Bracale belted his first home run of the season, a pivotal solo shot over the centerfield fence to increase their lead to 4-2. Salve was quick to cut that deficit in half, plating a run in the sixth on a run-scoring single off the bat of Shane Williams.
Following Kaftan's exit in the sixth inning, sophomore Ethan Chavez (New London, Conn.) and senior Jadon Canelli (Northford, Conn.) combined to pitch two and two third innings of one run ball, but the Seahawks almost mounted a dramatic comeback.
Facing Canelli in the bottom of the eighth, Salve worked the bases loaded with two outs. Canelli was then lifted for sophomore Chase Donahue (Shirley, Mass.), who proceeded to punch out pinch hitter Andrew Salbinski, ending the threat. Gibbs then came out of the bullpen and secured the win, giving the Mariners their second consecutive victory.
Shane Williams went 2-4 with one RBI for the Seahawks, while James Keating shouldered the loss, surrendering four runs (two earned) across the opening four innings.
The Mariners (5-12, 0-0 GNAC) will look to keep the momentum building as they return to the diamond on the road for a non-conference game against Clark University on Friday, March 21, with first pitch scheduled for 3:30 pm. The Seahawks (9-3, 0-0 NEWMAC) hosts Husson University in a non-league doubleheader on Saturday, March 22.
