Mitchell, Daniel Webster Deemed Co-Champs

NASHUA, N.H. – After splitting games on the final day of play at the 2010 NECC Baseball Championship, both Mitchell College and Daniel Webster College were deemed co-champions by virtue of each team finishing with one loss.

The Mariners (17-13 overall) topped the Eagles 8-6 in the morning to advance to the afternoon's title game. Daniel Webster (21-16 overall) went on to play in the loser's bracket, defeating Becker College to earn a rematch with Mitchell in the finals. The Eagles then triumphed 12-1 in the title round to hand the Mariners their first loss of the double-elimination tournament.

Under normal circumstances, Mitchell and Daniel Webster would have played one more game to determine an outright champion. However, with Saturday's rain canceling all games, the schedule did not allow for the final contest. As a result the teams shared the conference crown.

The teams also shared co-most valuable player awards as part of the all-tournament team (see below for the complete list). Daniel Webster's Nick Michaud and Mitchell's Andrew Langlais took the honors. Michaud was a one-man wrecking crew over the three-game stretch Sunday, going a remarkable 7-for-10 at the plate with two doubles, knocking in 11 and scoring three times. Langlais meanwhile, hit .400 over Mitchell's three games with two RBI and two runs scored. He was also 1-0 on the mound with a 4.20 ERA and seven strikeouts against one walk.

Game 1 – Mitchell 8, Daniel Webster 6

Mitchell's win over Daniel Webster was a team effort, with seven players driving in runs and eight of nine batters picking up hits. Freshman Connor Rochefort finished with three hits while junior Paul Martinez, sophomore Ethan Graynor and senior Jared Bishop each had two.

Langlais took the ball for the Mariners and threw 6.1 innings before turning over an 8-3 lead to junior Cody Faddis. Faddis closed out the final 2.2 innings and gave up three runs on five hits to secure the victory.

After falling behind 1-0 after two, Mitchell scored twice in the third inning to take a lead it would never relinquish. Graynor tied the game with an RBI single before Langlais drew a bases-loaded walk to plate the go-ahead run. The Mariners increased their lead with a three-run fourth inning, getting RBI singles from both Rochefort and junior Jeff Perillo to pad the lead to 5-1.

The teams traded runs in the fifth, with Szela providing an RBI single for the Mariners that scored Langlais from second. Langlais started the frame with a walk and moved to second on a base knock by Bishop. Mitchell then added a pair of runs in the sixth to go up 8-3. Junior John McGarry delivered an RBI double and later scored on a single to right by Bishop.

Langlais gave up 11 hits but only three runs before leaving the game in the seventh with runners on first and second with one out. Faddis picked the team up by getting consecutive fly ball outs to end the frame and preserve the five-run lead.

Daniel Webster struck for three runs on four hits in the eighth to get back into the game. Trailing 8-6 heading into the bottom of the ninth, the Eagles got the tying run to the plate before Faddis retired the final two batters on fly balls to end the game.

Game 2 – Daniel Webster 12, Mitchell 1

The Eagles, playing their third straight game of the day, came out swinging in the rematch. Daniel Webster pounded out 12 runs on 15 hits and got help from three Mitchell errors. Michaud led the attack with a 3-for-3 effort at the plate and drove in four runs.

Mitchell's only run came on an RBI single by Bishop in the fourth inning, cutting Daniel Webster's lead to 2-1. The Eagles added a run in their half of the fourth and then broke the game open with a six-run fifth inning. Five of the six runs were unearned as Mitchell committed three errors in the frame.

Daniel Webster added three runs in the eighth to put the game out of reach. Freshman starter Garrett Cornwell took the loss for the Mariners, allowing four runs on eight hits in 4.0 innings of work. He ended the season with an overall record of 4-3.

All Tournament Team
Rich Lizotte, Daniel Webster
Chuck Manning, Daniel Webster
Paul Martinez, Mitchell
Jeff Perillo, Mitchell
Keith Kandel, Becker
Austin Phillips, Becker
Dave Gage, Southern Vermont
Corey Armstrong, Southern Vermont

Most Valuable Players
Andrew Langlais, Mitchell
Nick Michaud, Daniel Webster