NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Mitchell College baseball team capped a series sweep of Becker College on Saturday afternoon with a 10-6 win in New England Collegiate Conference action at Alumni Field.
The Mariners trailed 3-0 in the early going but tied the game in the sixth and scored seven runs over the final three innings to complete the comeback. Freshman Jon Padilla drove in three runs on the day to lead Mitchell (10-7 overall, 6-0 NECC), which batted as the visiting team.
Mitchell starter Mike Tandy overcame a rough start to earn the win and improved to 3-2 on the season. He logged 7.2 innings of work and allowed six runs (two earned) on 10 hits while striking out two.
Becker (0-15 overall, 0-6 NECC) got off to a quick start with a two-run first inning. Todd Tompkins led off the frame with a triple and scored on a sacrifice fly to right by Mike Marcello. Tom Natoli then followed with a double and later scored on a ball put into play by Taylor Kapulka.
The Hawks added a run in the third to make it 3-0 when Kapulka plated Natoli once again with a single up the middle. Kapulka then tried to score on a single to left by starting pitcher Nick Lemay but was thrown out at the plate to end the inning.
Mitchell scratched across its first run in the fourth on a bases-loaded walk by Padilla but couldn't get more, as Lemay got out of the jam with a strikeout to end the threat. However, the Mariners tied the game with two runs in the sixth, the last of which came on a steal of home by sophomore Rafael Garcia. With runners at the corners, Lemay threw over to check the runner at first. Garcia broke for home on the throw and slid in safely to beat the ensuing throw from first base.
The Mariners scored four runs in the seventh to take their first lead of the day, knocking Lemay from the game in the process. Sophomore Evan Peck delivered a two-run single in the rally and later scored a run by jarring the ball out of the catcher's glove in a collision at the plate.
Becker responded with a run in the seventh on an RBI single by Tompkins to make it 7-4. The Hawks then got two more runs back in the eighth that included an RBI double to right-center by Chris Flanders. With the tying run on second base, Mitchell turned the ball over to reliever Josh Zurita, and he got out of the mess with the lead in hand by striking out the final batter of the inning.
The Mariners added three insurance runs in the top of the ninth but wouldn't need them. Becker brought the tying run to the plate with two outs in the home half of the ninth, but Zurita got out of the jam to record his third save of the season.
Lemay (0-3 overall) threw 6.0 innings and allowed four runs (three earned) on six hits while striking out four.
Mitchell will next play at Coast Guard on Wednesday, April 3 at 3:45 p.m. Becker returns to action on Monday, April 1 at Salve Regina at 4 p.m.