THE BASICS:
- Records: MIT (16-21-1); U.S. Coast Guard Academy (18-15)
- Score: MIT 16, U.S. Coast Guard Academy 1
- Location: New London, Conn. (Nitchman Field)
- The Lead: In the first round of the NEWMAC Tournament, MIT used another great start from junior Graham Cartwright (La Jolla, Calif.) and home runs from three different players to cruise to a 16-1 win over the U.S. Coast Guard Academy on Thursday afternoon.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- In the bottom of the first, the Bears got a leadoff walk from Nate Nam as he eventually came home on a John Carroll RBI single to left field and the 1-0 edge. MIT immediately answered with three runs in the top of the second as the visitors had four hits that included a two-RBI double to right from sophomore Teddy Schoenfeld (Boulder, Colo.).
- Cartwright set the Bears down in order in three innings and the game remained at 3-1 in favor of the Engineers until the top of the fifth when first-year Malachi Soqui (Castaic, Calif.) launched a two-run homer to right to key a three-run inning and the 6-1 edge. First-year Reed Tubbs (Pflugerville, Texas) led off the seventh with his first home run of the season to left center, followed by a nine-run ninth behind eight hits and two Coast Guard errors.
- Sophomore Michael Finch (Brentwood, Tenn.) started the scoring in the ninth as his two-RBI single to right scored Cartwright and junior Kyle Sonandres (Torrance, Calif.) for the 9-1 lead. The offense continued to hit through the rest inning, capped by a three-run homer to left from Sonandres for the 16-1 final.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Cartwright is now 6-2 on the season as he has now won five straight decisions and lowered his ERA to 3.71 for the season. Over 7.1 innings, he scattered just four hits with one run allowed and four strikeouts. First-year Brian Rapanan (Gurnee, Ill.) threw 0.2 innings of hitless relief, by followed by a perfect ninth from sophomore Karl Meyer (Indianapolis, Ind.).
- For Coast Guard, Cody Fidler took the loss as he allowed 11 hits and six runs in 4.1 innings of work. John Thigpen then came on for the Bears, going 3.2 inning with five hits, five runs and three strikeouts.
- Offensively, Sonandres paced the MIT attack with a 4-for-5 game with three RBI and three runs scored. Schoenfeld was 2-for-6 with three RBI in the leadoff spot as he has now reached base safely in 37 of 38 games this season. Overall, eight Engineers finished with two or more hits, including 10 total hits from the top four in the lineup as MIT outhit Coast Guard 21-4 on the day. Carroll was the top hitter for the Bears as he finished the season with a 2-for-4 outing.
UP NEXT:
- MIT advances into the double-elimination portion of the tournament now and will travel to top-seeded Wheaton for a 3:30 p.m. start at Sidell Stadium in Norton, Mass.
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