Mitchell College Baseball Takes Two From Newbury

Recap, photo courtesy of Mitchell College

NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Mitchell College baseball team picked up 16-1 and 9-0 victories over Newbury College on Friday afternoon in New England Collegiate Conference action at Alumni Field.

In the first game of the day, three Mitchell pitchers combined to hold Newbury to just one hit. Starter Eddie Santiago didn't yield a hit in 4.0 scoreless innings of work, striking out seven to earn his first win of the season.

The theme continued into game two as Mitchell held the Nighthawks to three hits. Starter Jakari Pellegrini tossed 6.0 shutout innings and fanned five, improving to 3-0 on the season.

Mitchell (14-2 overall, 4-1 NECC) and Newbury (7-13 overall, 2-5 NECC) will finish the three-game series with a single nine-inning game on Saturday, March 31 at the New England Baseball Complex in Northborough, Mass. First pitch is slated for 1:30 p.m.

Game 1 – Mitchell 16, Newbury 1

The Mariners sent 15 batters to the plate in the first inning and put up nine runs on the scoreboard. All nine starters recorded a hit in the frame, highlighted by a three-run homer by Kyle Hartenstein.

Mitchell batted around again in the second, adding four more runs to extend the lead to 13-0. Garet Griffin and Steven Pagan each supplied two-run singles in the inning.

The extended time in the dugout didn't faze Santiago, who retired the first 11 batters he faced. After striking out the side in the first, he fanned two in the second and one in the third. A Mitchell error in the fourth gave Newbury its first base runner of the game, but Santiago overcame the miscue to escape the inning unscathed.

A two-run double by Griffin put the Mariners up 15-0 in the fifth. The final Mitchell run came in the sixth courtesy of an RBI double by Rolando Marcano.

Dylan DiFillipo broke up the no-hitter by leading off the sixth inning with a double off the right-field fence. He later scored the lone Newbury run on an infield grounder by David Center.

Game 2 – Mitchell 9, Newbury 0

Mitchell jumped on top early in the nightcap, scoring a pair of runs in the bottom of the first inning. Eric Marriott led off with a single and later scored on a base hit by James Rangel. The Mariners then loaded the bases with one out before a Newbury error allowed the second run to score.

An RBI single by Hartenstein made it 3-0 in the second, and Mitchell broke the game open with a six-run third inning. Jack Finnegan, Markus Melendez and Griffin all plated runs with singles, and Hartenstein added a ground-rule double to drive in another.

Javi Martinez had a single and a double to lead the Nighthawks. Starting pitcher Leo Frisello gave up three runs on five hits over 2.0 innings in the loss.