NEW LONDON, Conn. – Sophomore Adam Vartanian (Cumberland, R.I.) came through with a walk-off single into left field on Wednesday evening, pushing the Mitchell College baseball team past Keene State College 8-7 in non-conference action at Alumni Field.
The Mariners entered the bottom of the ninth trailing 7-6, and after the game tying run scored on a Keene State error, Vartanian stepped to the plate with runners on the corners and delivered, sending the Mariners to their fourth consecutive win.
Vartanian finished the game 4-4 with a pair of RBI and a run scored. Senior Cole Lalli (Coventry, Conn.) collected three hits for the third time in the past four games, while fellow senior Owen Robbins (East Lyme, Conn.) went 2-2 with two doubles and two RBI, and sophomore Thai-ler Sestokas (Danbury, Conn.) had two hits and scored three runs.
After a Mitchell error allowed Evan Cali to reach base to leadoff the game, the Owls jumped ahead 1-0 when the sophomore advanced to third on a groundout and came around to score on a double steal situation.
The Mariners wasted no time in countering, pushing one run across when Cole Lalli laced an RBI double down the left field line to score fellow senior Angel Galindez (Carolina, PR), who led off the bottom of the first with a double down the left field line. Mitchell then took the lead when the next batter, freshman Chas Terni Jr. (Montville, Conn.), singled into right field to score Lalli.
Mitchell added another run in the bottom of the second to make it a 3-1 game when Thai-ler Sestokas walked and came around to score on an error. Keene State then answered with a run in the top of the third when Otis Follet drove home Jonathan Chatfield with an RBI single up the middle.
Cali and Chatfield gave the Owls their first lead of the day in the top of the fourth, each driving in a run on a sacrifice fly, but Mitchell's Owen Robbins tied the game with a two-out RBI double to right field in the bottom half of the inning.
The back and forth affair continued in the top of the fifth when the Owls scored one run on a bases loaded walk. Junior Nicholas Strojny (Woonsocket, R.I.) then entered the game out of the bullpen and got Keene's Brendan Eaton to ground out to third base, ending the threat.
Again it was Robbins coming through in the clutch for the Mariners, drawing the score even in the top of the sixth with a two-out RBI double up the middle. The seventh inning came and went with neither team scoring, but Mitchell took a 6-5 lead in the bottom of the eighth on sacrifice fly off the bat of sophomore Savier Paige (Wethersfield, Conn.). The Owls refused to go quietly, however, and regained the lead with two runs in the top of the ninth, setting the stage for Mitchell's walk-off ending.
Sophomore Jacob Quiles (Wallkill, N.Y.) pitched the final two and one third innings for the Mariners, allowing two runs (none earned) to improve his record to 5-2 on the spring.
Daniel Cantafi entered the game in the bottom of the ninth for Keene and surrendered the go-ahead run after recording two outs.
Otis Follet, Shea Zina, and Hamilton Barnes had two hits apiece for Keene, while Evan Cali went 1-4 with three RBI and one run scored.
The Mariners (21-8, 9-0 GNAC) will return to Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) action with a doubleheader on the road at Johnson & Wales University on Saturday, April 20th. The Owls (13-16, 4-4 LEC) jump back into action with a conference doubleheader against the University of Southern Maine on Saturday, April 20th.