NEW LONDON, Conn. – Junior Chris Gibbs (New Britain, Conn.) tossed eight innings of three-run ball on Friday, helping guide the top-seed Mitchell College baseball team to a 15-6 victory over eighth-seeded Saint Joseph's College (ME) in the opening game of Pod A play in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Baseball Tournament at Alumni Field.
The Mariners (28-10) advance into the winner's bracket of the tournament, and will return to action on Saturday, May 4th, when they face #4 Colby-Sawyer College at 12:00 pm. The Monks (13-24) will look to fight off elimination when they play #5 Anna Maria College on Saturday morning, with first pitch scheduled for 8:30 am.
Gibbs, a right handed pitcher, scattered 11 hits, walked nobody, and recorded a season-high nine strikeouts, en route to his conference-leading eighth win of the season.
Cole Lalli (Coventry, Conn.), Jack Hayes (New Milford, Conn.), and Michael Ficocelli (North Providence, R.I.) collected three hits apiece for the Mariners, with Hayes driving in three runs. Lalli doubled and Hayes tripled, while freshman Chas Terni Jr. (Montville, Conn.) belted a three run homer, and senior Angel Galindez (Carolina, PR) added a pair of RBI.
After Gibbs retired the Monks in order in the top of the first, the Mariners jumped ahead in the bottom half of the inning when Robbie DelaCruz (Uncasville, Conn.) walked, Cole Lalli singled, and Chas Terni Jr. drove them both in with a home run over the left field fence, his sixth of the season.
The Mariners added a pair of runs in the in the third when Lalli led off the frame with a double to right field. Michael Ficocelli then singled to score Lalli, before Jack Hayes laced a triple past the Monk's diving centerfielder, giving Mitchell a 5-0 advantage.
The Monks finally got on the board against Gibbs in the top of the fifth inning when sophomore Jared Wilhelm drove home senior Matt Thibault with a sacrifice fly to centerfield, and junior Michael Wearne followed that up with an RBI single that bounced over the head of the Mitchell third baseman and chopped into left field.
Following three scoreless frames, the Mariners tacked on three more runs in the seventh and erupted for seven runs in the eighth to break the game wide open.
Dylan Brander went finished with three hits, including a double, with two RBI and a run scored for SCJ. Padraig Mac Seain was charged with the loss after allowing five runs in six innings of work.