Kaftan in Control as Baseball Rolls Past Chargers
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Colby-Sawyer | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 0 |
|
Mitchell | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 12 | 13 | 1 |
NEW LONDON, Conn. – Senior right handed pitcher Eddie Kaftan (Old Lyme, Conn.) allowed just one earned run across seven innings of work on Tuesday afternoon, helping guide the Mitchell College baseball team to their season-high fifth consecutive victory, 12-2, over Colby-Sawyer College in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) game at Alumni Field, which was shortened to eight innings.
Kaftan did not surrender a hit until the top of the fifth inning and gave up just one walk, retiring eight batters by way of the strikeout en route to his third win of the spring.
For the third straight game the Mitchell lineup registered double-digit hits, as the Mariners remain unbeaten in conference play with a 2-0 record.
Sophomore Chas Terni Jr. (Montville, Conn.) had a three hit game with three RBI and a run scored. Freshman Ryan Dennis (Enfield, Conn.) continued to set the tone at the top of the lineup, finishing 1-3 with a double, a walk, two RBI, and three runs scored. Additionally, freshman Braiden Alaimo (Enfield, Conn.) drove in a career-high two runs in the win.
The Mariners didn't waste any time in taking an early lead, as Dennis led off the top of the first inning with a walk and came around score two batters later on an RBI double to right field off the bat of junior Kenneth Miller Jr. (New London, Conn.). Following two and a half scoreless frames, the Mariners added a pair of runs in the bottom of the fourth on a two-run single through the right side by Chas Terni Jr.
Colby-Sawyer countered in the fifth, when Cooper O'Brien led off the inning while a solo homer to right field. Sean Roeger followed with a single up the middle, before stealing second to get in scoring position with nobody out. Kaftan was able to escape the jam, however, ending the threat with a pair of strikeouts and a ground out to first base.
With the Mariners still carrying a 3-1 advantage, the Chargers got one back in the top of the seventh after Cooper O'Brien reached base on a Mitchell error, before coming around to score on an RBI single by Noah Staffier. The bottom of the seventh then saw the Mariners break the game open, as they erupted for seven runs, with junior Adam Vartanian (Cumberland, R.I.) and Ryan Dennis each lacing RBI doubles, while Alaimo and Terni Jr. both hit run scoring singles.
Mitchell then tacked on a pair of runs in the bottom of the eighth, resulting in the game being called due to the 10-run rule.
Cooper O'Brien went 1-4 with a homer, one RBI, and two runs scored for the Chargers, while Noah Staffier picked up one hit, drove in a run, and walked once.
Zach Rogers was charged with the loss after allowing six runs in six innings, dropping his record to 1-4 on the record.
The Mariners (8-12, 2-0 GNAC) will look to make it six wins in a row when they travel for a non-conference game at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on Thursday, March 27, with first pitch scheduled for 3:30 pm. The Chargers (4-11, 0-1 GNAC) play next on Wednesday, March 26, with a doubleheader on the road at Gordon College.
