YORK, Pa. – Mitchell College had no answer for nationally-ranked Salisbury University in the opening game of the 2015 NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional, falling 11-1 on Wednesday morning at Santander Stadium.
The fourth-seeded Sea Gulls (30-4-1 overall), ranked No. 5 in the country in the latest ABCA and D3baseball.com Polls, rode an eight-inning effort from starting pitcher Brett Collacchi to power past the fifth-seeded Mariners (32-6 overall). Collacchi struck out 10 batters and allowed only one unearned run on the day to improve to 6-2 on the season.
Salisbury jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first inning and never looked back. The Mariners didn't help their own cause by committing two errors in the frame, allowing a total of seven batters to step to the plate.
Mitchell's first hit of the game came in the second inning as Evan Peck singled up the middle. After the Sea Gulls turned a double play to clear the bases, Neftali Arroyo tripled into the right-center gap but was left stranded on third.
Mitchell's lone run came in the third as Ryan Goodwin and Peter McTernan got things started with back-to-back singles. Two outs later, Kenneth Olszewski hit a hard ground ball to first base that was booted, allowing Goodwin to score from third to make it 6-1.
In the home half of the third, Mitchell reliever Eddie Santiago escaped a base-loaded, no-out jam by getting a foul out, strikeout and pop up to keep the deficit at five. McTernan made a great defensive play on the final out, ranging into left field to make an over-the-shoulder catch to keep runs off the board.
The Mariners had a run taken away in the fourth as Goodwin put a fly ball into right-center with Kyle Hartenstein on second base. Salisbury right fielder Tyler Hrycak made a diving catch in the gap to save the run. He then added a RBI single in the bottom of the frame as Salisbury extended the lead to 8-1.
Not to be outdone in right field, Arroyo showed off his arm to make a great play in the fifth. After an error put a Salisbury runner at first base, the next batter lifted a fly ball that nearly reached the warning track. Arroyo drifted back to make the catch and then fired to first to double off the runner.
In the sixth, Olszewski singled to right field for his 57th hit of the year, the most ever by a Mitchell player in a single season. The Mariners could have added to the score column if it weren't for another defensive gem by Hrycak, who robbed Rafael Garcia of extra-bases with a diving snag down the right field line. The Sea Gulls then opened the lead up to double digits with three runs in the home half of the sixth to quiet any thoughts of a potential comeback.
Mitchell finished with five hits and committed five errors in the contest. Starting pitcher Tyler Shamas left the game in the second inning as the Mariners went to their bullpen early. Santiago went 4.0 innings while Evan McClain and Johnny Cabrera contributed 2.0 and 1.0 innings of work, respectively.
Salisbury is making its 21st appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The Sea Gulls advanced to the College World Series in 2014 after winning the Mideast Regional.
Mitchell returns to action on Thursday, May 14 against the loser of today's second game between top-seeded Kean University and eighth-seeded Penn State Berks. First pitch is slated for 10:00 a.m.