Baseball Opens Spring Season with Split
Game 1
Game 1
| Final (9) | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Fisher | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 13 | 5 |
|
Mitchell | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 6 | 4 |
Game 2
Game 2
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Fisher | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 |
|
Mitchell | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 8 | 0 |
NEW LONDON, Conn. – Mitchell College opened the 2021 baseball season with a doubleheader split against Fisher College on Sunday afternoon, dropping the first game 12-11 before bouncing back to win 5-0 in the nightcap.
The teams played a total of 14 innings on the day, although not as originally scheduled. The first game took nine innings to decide a winner while the second was called after five due to darkness.
The Falcons came out on top in the opener, a back-and-forth affair that spanned 3:30 hours. Fisher scored the go-ahead run in the ninth on an error, and reliever Christian Dow set the Mariners down in order to nail down his second save of the year.
Starter Jakari Pellegrini kept the Falcons off the scoreboard in the second game, allowing three hits over 5.0 scoreless innings while striking out five. Lelo Martinez went 3-for-3 with an RBI and Robbie DelaCruz drove in a pair of runs to lead Mitchell at the plate.
Mitchell (1-1 overall) will next host Rhode Island College on Sunday, March 7 at 1 p.m. Fisher (5-1 overall) returns to action at home against Worcester State University on Saturday, March 6 at 11 a.m.
Game 1 – Fisher 12, Mitchell 11 (9 innings)
The Mariners, playing a home game for the first time in 21 months, finally got a chance to christen their new turf field. Starting pitcher Roland Thivierge got things started off right with a strike on the first pitch.
Mitchell looked to be in control early, scoring three runs in the first and another in the second to go up 4-0. Cochrane plated the first two runs with a single through the right side, and Anthony Stigler capped the scoring with an RBI double to left.
Fisher responded with seven straight runs—including six in the fourth—to take the lead. Ivanuel Hernandez delivered a key pinch-hit double that knocked in two and gave the Falcons a 7-4 advantage.
Mitchell was quiet until the sixth but fought back for four runs, all of which came with two outs. Stigler singled to right to make it a 7-5 game, setting the stage for a dramatic three-run homer by Dougie DelaCruz to give the Mariners the lead. His laser shot over the left-field fence was the first home run at the new facility and gave the home team an 8-7 lead.
Fisher was down to its final two outs in the seventh before rallying to push across three runs. A double by Elijah Perez tied the game, and Mitchell Lundholm later followed with a two-run double to put the Falcons back in front.
The Mariners scored three in the bottom of the seventh to pull even once again. Stigler's RBI single knotted the game at 11-11, although Fisher reliever Andres Meletiche escaped a bases-loaded jam to extend the game.
After Mitchell left a runner in scoring position in the eighth, Fisher pushed across a run in the ninth. Lundholm singled and then stole second base, moved to third on a fly ball to center and scored on an error.
Game 2 – Mitchell 5, Fisher 0 (5 innings)
Pellegrini set the tone early, striking out two batters in the first inning while retiring the side in order. The Mariners then staked him to a 1-0 lead in the second when a ground out by Robbie DelaCruz plated Martinez.
Mitchell made it 2-0 in the third when Devyn McCarty scored on a wild pitch, and Robbie DelaCruz and Jeremy Sagun each added RBI singles in the fourth to build the margin to 4-0. Martinez knocked in the final run with a single to center in the fifth.
Dow got the starting nod for the Falcons and allowed four runs (two earned) on seven hits over 4.0 innings.
