HENNIKER, N.H. – Second-seeded Mitchell College won the 2022 New England Collegiate Conference Baseball Championship on Sunday afternoon, defeating top-seeded New England College by final scores of 5-3 and 10-3 at Laurie Cox Memorial Park.
The Mariners entered the title round needing a pair of wins to claim the crown. In Sunday's first game, Mitchell jumped out to an early lead on a three-run homer by Lelo Martinez. Daniel Driscoll pitched into the ninth inning before Kenny Heon secured the final two outs to close out the victory.
In the winner-take-all game, Mitchell got a strong start from Ryan Solimine and pounded out 10 runs on 15 hits. Owen Robbins and Dougie DelaCruz each homered in the contest, and Martinez went 4-for-5 with two RBI.
Bo Yaworski, Solimine and Driscoll were named to the all-tournament team. Driscoll, who fanned eight while yielding three runs on nine hits, was named most valuable player of the tournament.
The Mariners (30-11 overall) picked up their eighth conference title—sixth under head coach Travis Beausoleil—and earned an automatic berth for the 2022 NCAA Championship. The NCAA selection show will air on Monday, May 16 at noon on NCAA.com.
NECC Championship Game 6 – Mitchell 5, New England College 3
Martinez got the Mariners off to a great start in the first inning with a three-run blast to left-center field. D. DelaCruz started things with a two-out double, and after Hunter Yaworski reached on a walk, Martinez drilled his second homer of the season.
Driscoll hit trouble in the third as NEC plated a run on three consecutive singles. Then, with runners at second and third with two outs, Driscoll was called for a balk that allowed another run to score. However, he got the next batter to ground out with the Mariners still in front 3-2.
Mitchell got a run back the very next inning on an RBI double by B. Yaworski. The 4-2 lead lasted until the eighth, when a solo homer by Connor Morin pulled the Pilgrims back within one.
Mitchell tacked on an insurance run in the ninth on a two-out RBI single by Robbins. In the home half, Driscoll struck out the first batter before giving up a single that ended his day. Heon took the ball in relief, and after hitting a batter to bring the winning run to the plate, he struck out the next NEC hitters to nail down his second save of the year.
NECC Championship Game 7 – Mitchell 10, New England College 3
Batting as the home team, Mitchell fell behind 1-0 in the top of the first but matched the run an inning later. Singles by Robbins and Robbie DelaCruz put runners at the corners with one out, and a groundout by Angel Galindez plated the tying run.
The Mariners pulled ahead for good with four runs in the fifth. A two-run single by Martinez was the first blow, and Robbins followed with a two-run homer to left to make it a 5-1 game.
The teams traded runs in the seventh, as another RBI single by Robbins made it 6-2. A solo homer by Michael Ciccotelli cut the lead to three in the eighth, but D. DelaCruz smacked a three-run homer in the home half to double the margin. Matt Falk tacked on an RBI single to put Mitchell up 10-3 heading into the ninth.
Solimine got through 7.0 innings before turning the game over to the bullpen. Tyler Daly secured two outs in the eighth, and Kevin Vining took over from there. The ball was in his hand in the ninth, and he struck out three batters to send the Mariners into a wild celebration.
Solimine (1-1 overall) struck out four and gave up two runs on three hits. The right-hander threw 108 pitches—73 for strikes—in his longest outing since March 2020.