NEW LONDON, Conn. – Freshman Chas Terni Jr. (Montville, Conn.) belted a go-ahead two run home run in the fifth inning to give the Mitchell College baseball team a lead in which they would not relinquish, as the Mariners topped Brandeis University 7-2 in their home opener on Saturday afternoon at Alumni Field.
Terni Jr. would finish the day 3-5 with a single, double, and homer, to go along with three RBI and a pair of runs scored. Senior Robbie DelaCruz (Uncasville, Conn.) added two RBI for the Mariners, while junior Chris Gibbs (New Britain, Conn.) picked up his second victory of the season after allowing just one earned run across five innings of work, striking out two. Senior Camren Varney (Manchester, N.H.) came on in relief and worked four no-hit innings, walking just two and striking out five.
The Judges opened the scoring in the top of the first on an RBI double by Brian King, and it would remain a 1-0 game until the bottom of the fourth when Cole Lalli (Coventry, Conn.) lined a single to left-center to drive home Terni Jr., who had doubled to lead off the inning.
Lalli then came around to score to give Mitchell the 2-1 lead when DelaCruz grounded out to third two batters later. King then drove in his second run in the top of the fifth to tie the score, Terni Jr. belted his first home run of the season in the bottom half of the inning to put the Mariners on top for good. The Mariners tacked on one more run in the sixth, seventh, and eighth, collecting the first home win in the head coaching career of Shawn Gilblair.
King led Brandeis at the plate, finishing 2-4 with two RBI. Cooper Gavin got the start on the mound for the Judges and surrendered two runs across three and two third innings of work. Andrew Tringe was credited with the loss after allowing two runs in one and a third innings of relief.
The Mariners (3-1, 0-0 GNAC) will play one more game before heading to Florida for spring break, hosting Coast Guard Academy for a non-conference game on Wednesday, Marc 6th, at 3:00 pm. The Judges (0-2, 0-0 UAA) return to the diamond on Tuesday, March 5th, when they travel to Hartford, Connecticut, for a showdown with Trinity College.