
Kaftan Dominates and Ficocelli Homers, as Baseball Tops Lasell
NEW LONDON, Conn. – Sophomore Michael Ficocelli (North Providence, R.I.) belted a two-run home run and senior Eddie Kaftan (Old Lyme, Conn.) tossed seven innings of one run ball, as the Mitchell College baseball team snapped Lasell University's six-game winning streak, downing the Lasers, 5-1, on Tuesday afternoon in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) showdown at Alumni Field.
Kaftan was in complete control, scattering seven hits and a pair of walks, striking out 10, as the righty improved to 4-2 on the season. Freshman Ryan Dennis (Enfield, Conn.) recorded two of Mitchell's five hits and scored a pair of runs, while Ficocelli went 1-4 with a home run and two RBI in the win.
The Mariners wasted no time in pulling ahead, as Ficocelli jumped all over Lasell starter Adam Marsh in the top of the first, belting his fourth home run of the season, a two-run opposite field blast over the right field fence. The hit was number 100 in Ficocelli's Mitchell career, having reached the milestone in just 72 games.
Lasell punched back with a two-out rally in the top of the second, using a walk and back-to-back singles to right field to plate their first run of the game, with CJ Mills picking up the RBI. The bottom half of the inning saw the Mariners answer with three runs of their own, as junior Adam Vartanian (Cumberland, R.I.) scored fellow junior Kenneth Miller Jr. (New London, Conn.) on a sacrifice bunt. Two batters later a throwing error by Lasell allowed two more runs to come home, giving Mitchell a 5-1 advantage, one which would hold for the rest of the game.
Adam Marsh shouldered the loss for the Lasers, surrendering five runs (three earned) in seven innings of work. CJ Mills and Scott Lyon had two hits apiece for Lasell.
The Mariners (12-13, 5-1 GNAC) jump right back into action at home on Wednesday, April 2, with a non-conference game against Wesleyan University at 3:30 pm. The Lasers (13-7, 3-1 GNAC) play a non-league game in their next contest at Fisher College on Thursday, April 3.