NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Mitchell College baseball team came away with a win and a tie in non-conference play against Eastern Nazarene College on Wednesday afternoon at Alumni Field.
The Mariners took the first game by a 9-2 final, and the second game was called in the seventh inning due to darkness with the score tied at 4-4. Junior Kenneth Olszewski went 3-for-6 with a double and three RBI in the doubleheader to lead Mitchell (18-11-1 overall) while sophomore Evan Peck also added three hits. Pat Yee and Justin Wagner each finished with three hits for Eastern Nazarene (12-23-1 overall) while David Manning added his first home run of the season.
Mitchell resumes conference play this weekend with a three-game series at Southern Vermont College, beginning with a doubleheader on Saturday, April 27 at noon. Eastern Nazarene will wrap up the regular season with a road game at Rivier College on Thursday, April 25 at 7:05 p.m.
Game 1 – Mitchell 9, Eastern Nazarene 2
Mitchell scored two runs in the bottom of the first inning to jump out to a quick lead. Freshman Eddie Lorah led off with a single and later scored from second base on a single to right field by junior Marc Dorsi. After stealing both second and third base, Dorsi scored on a ground out by Olszewski to give the Mariners a 2-0 lead.
The Lions cut the deficit in half with a run in the third. Jeremy Wagner led off with a double to right-center and Yee followed with a bunt single. Wagner made an aggressive turn at third on the bunt, and when the throw went to first he made a dash for the plate and beat the ensuing throw home.
Eastern Nazarene tied the game in the fourth on an RBI double to left-center by Yee that plated Kurt Picarelli. Mitchell responded with two runs in the home half of the frame to go back in front, scoring both runs on a double down the right field line by sophomore Drew Doyle.
The Mariners broke the game open with a five-run sixth inning. Sophomore Rafael Garcia and freshmen Neftali Arroyo and Nova Crespo each had RBI singles in the rally while Lorah added a sacrifice fly.
Freshman Josh Zurita pitched 6.0 strong innings and gave up two runs on five hits while striking out three. He improved to 2-1 overall on the season. Bradley Hampton took the loss for the Lions, yielding nine runs on 11 hits over 5.1 innings.
Game 2 – Eastern Nazarene 4, Mitchell 4 (game called in seventh inning)
Mitchell took an early lead once again as Olszewski lined a two-run single to right-center in the first inning. He then went from first to third on a single by Peck and scored when the throw from the outfield missed the cutoff man, giving the Mariners a 3-0 advantage.
ENC got a pair of runs back in the third. Justin Wagner and Jeremy Wagner each singled to start the inning, and both later scored when an errant infield throw went out of play. The Mariners then pushed the lead to 4-2 in the fourth on ground out by sophomore Gavin LaLima that scored Arroyo from third.
The Lions tied the game in the sixth on Manning's two-run blast over the right field fence. ENC then put the go-ahead run on base before Mitchell turned to reliever Jeff Dowling to get out of the jam. Dowling picked up the final two outs of the inning to keep the score tied at 4-4.
Mitchell loaded the bases with two outs in the sixth, but ENC starter Brandon Wells got a fly ball to center to end the threat. The Lions came to bat in the seventh and had runners at the corners with two outs when the game was called due to darkness.
Wells settled down after a rough first inning and got stronger as the game went on. He gave up four runs (two earned) on five hits and struck out three in 6.0 innings. Mitchell starter Kevin Carbon tossed 3.0 innings and surrendered two runs (none earned) on two hits before turning the ball over to Will Warner. Warner allowed two runs on four hits over 2.1 innings while Dowling didn't allow a hit in 1.1 innings of work.
Prior to the game the Mariners honored both Carbon and Warner in a special senior day ceremony. Warner is in his first season with the team following a three-year career at Southern Vermont while Carbon is a four-year letterwinner.