Baseball Completes Sweep of Elms

NEW LONDON, Conn. – After winning the first game of the series on Thursday, the Mitchell College baseball team completed a three-game sweep of Elms College on Saturday afternoon with a pair of wins. The Mariners took the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader by a 4-3 final and rallied for a 5-2 win in the second game.

The victories extended Mitchell’s winning streak to seven games. The Mariners (8-5 overall, 3-0 NECC) got strong outings from their starting pitchers, as senior Jeremy Chapman and freshman Garrett Cornwell each turned in complete-game performances. Chapman (2-0 overall) started the first game and gave up three runs (one earned) on two hits and struck out eight batters over seven innings. Cornwell (3-0 overall) gave up two runs on three hits and punched out two in seven innings.

In the first game, Mitchell hit up Elms starter Zach LeBarron for three runs in the third inning to take a 3-0 lead. Junior Jeff Perillo and sophomore Ethan Graynor each had RBI doubles in the frame as the Mariners scratched across three runs on three hits.

Elms (4-12 overall, 0-3 NECC) got a run back in the fourth. Chapman issued back-to-back walks and then allowed a runner to reach third following a failed pickoff attempt. Brian Marrero plated the run with a sacrifice fly to left field to cut the deficit to 3-1.

The Blazers tied the game in the sixth on a two-run double by Hector Roche. With the go-ahead run at second base, Chapman settled down and retired the next two Elms batters to keep the game knotted at 3-3.

Mitchell responded with a run in its half of the sixth. Junior John McGarry hit a one-out single and then scored from first on a double by senior Andrew Langlais. Chapman made the one-run margin stand in the seventh, getting three consecutive outs to preserve his second win of the season.

LeBarron (1-2 overall) went six innings and allowed four runs on six hits while striking out nine.

In the second game, Mitchell took a 1-0 lead in the first inning thanks to a miscue by Elms in the field. The Mariners tacked on two more runs in the third, one of which came on a sacrifice fly to center by McGarry.

Cornwell, who gave up only two hits over the first three innings, hit trouble in the fourth. After issuing consecutive walks to Reynaldo Rivera and Roche, Cornwell gave up a double to Marrero that scored a run. Albert Betances then drove in another run with a ground out to second that pulled Elms to within a run at 3-2.

Mitchell added an insurance run in the fifth on an RBI single by Langlais and another in the sixth to go up 5-2. Cornwell didn’t need the extra support, working the final two innings without allowing a hit to wrap up his third win of the season.

Mike Bieber got the starting nod for the Blazers in game two and gave up four runs (two earned) on seven hits over 4.2 innings. Dan Ingraham came in to throw 1.1 innings of relief and gave up one hit and an unearned run while striking out two.

Mitchell’s starting pitching proved to be the difference in the series, holding the Elms lineup to a .141 batting average over the three games. Including a nine-inning gem from Langlais on Thursday, the Mariners didn’t have to go to their bullpen once in the series.

Mitchell will next play at Albertus Magnus College on Wednesday, April 7 at 4 p.m.