NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Mitchell College baseball team defeated Johnson & Wales University 5-4 on Friday afternoon at Alumni Field to capture the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Baseball Championship during their inaugural season in the conference.
The Mariners entered Friday needing just one win against the Wildcats to become conference champions after taking the opening game in the best-of-three series by a final of 3-1 on Thursday.
After recording the final five outs on Thursday to pick up his fourth save of the season, senior Camren Varney (Manchester, N.H.) took to the mound for the Mariners and delivered a complete game for the win, allowing seven hits and four runs, while striking out nine. For his efforts, the hard throwing right handed pitcher was named Tournament MVP, after going 2-0 with a save, striking out 18 batters in 15 and two third innings.
Freshman leftfielder Chas Terni Jr. (Montville, Conn.) went 2-4 with two home runs, two RBI, and two runs scored, while senior Robbie DelaCruz added a two-run homer, and Angel Galindez (Carolina, PR) delivered the go ahead single in the top of the eighth inning, scoring Michael Gajda (New Britain, Conn.).
JWU opened the bottom of the first with back to back singles by Trevor Juan and Riley Hasson, but Varney registered back to back strikeouts, then got Xavier Botelho to fly out to centerfield to end the threat. Neither team got a runner past first base from then until the fourth, when Botelho walked and advanced to third on a single by Zachary Amero. Once again, Varney worked his way out of the jam, inducing a groundout to end the inning.
The Mariners struck first in the top of the fifth, when Terni Jr. took a 1-0 pitch from JWU's Aidan Vining and sent it flying over the fence in left-centerfield for his seventh home run of the season.
Owen Davis doubled for the Wildcats to begin the bottom of the sixth, and advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt by Botelho. JWU then tied the game on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Jack Obert, knotting the score at 1-1.
Michael Gajda opened the top of the eighth with an infield single and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Owen Robbins (East Lyme, Conn.). After Thai-ler Sestokas (Danbury, Conn.) struck out swinging, the Mariners plated the go-ahead run when Galindez singled to centerfield, scoring Gajda. Robbie DelaCruz followed with his third home run of the spring, a two-run shot to centerfield, and Terni Jr. added his second long ball of the day to lead off the ninth.
The Wildcats mounted a comeback in the bottom of the ninth, scoring three runs on an RBI double by Trevor Juan and a two-run single off the bat of Riley Hassan, but Varney punched out Owen Davis to finish the game, securing Mitchell a title in their first year as a member of the GNAC.
Juan had three hits, one RBI, and a run scored for JWU, while Hasson went 2-5 and drove in a pair of runs. Aidan Vining was charged with the loss after surrendering four runs in eight innings of work, giving up nine hits and striking out seven.
The Mariners (31-11), who eanred an automatchic berth into the NCAA Division III Baseball Tournament, will await their fate on Monday, with the selection show scheduled for 12:00 pm. The Wildcats conclude their season with an overall record of 27-13.
Joining Varney on the All-Tournament Team for Mitchell was senior Robbie DelaCruz, junior Chris Gibbs (New Britain, Conn.), and freshman Michael Ficocelli (North Providence, R.I.). DelaCruz batted .400 in six tournament games, collecting 10 hits, including two doubles, one triple, and a home run, and added eight RBI, eight runs scored, and four walks. Ficocelli also played in all six tournament games and led the Mariners with a .500 average (12-24) with five doubles, a homer, seven RBI, and eight runs scored. Gibbs made two starts and earned the win in both while pitching to a 2.40 ERA. The junior allowed just four runs in 15 innings, striking out 19.