Baseball Surges Into Spring Break With Rout of Westfield St.
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Westfield St. | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 6 |
|
Mitchell | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | X | 16 | 14 | 1 |
NEW LONDON, Conn. - The Mitchell College baseball team picked up their second victory of the young season on Tuesday afternoon, withstanding strong winds and cold temperatures to blow past Westfield State University 16-2 in non-conference action.
The Mariners pounded out 14 hits against the Owls, as Matt Falk (Enfield, Conn.) continued his scorching start to the season by collecting a pair of base knocks, including a triple, while driving in a team-best five runs which gives the senior catcher 10 RBI through the first two games this spring. Dougie DelaCruz (Uncasville, Conn.) and Owen Robbins (East Lyme, Conn.) collected three hits apiece for the Mariners, who broke the game open with 10 runs in the bottom of the first inning.
Falk got the party started, smacking a bases clearing triple to right center with no outs in his first at bat. Robbins then drove in Falk two batters later, before Robbie DelaCruz (Uncasville, Conn.) plated three more Mariners with his own bases clearing triple to right field. DelaCruz then came around to score on a sacrifice fly by Thai-ler Sestokas (Danbury, Conn.), before the big inning was capped by two more runs; one on an error by the Westfield catcher and another on an RBI single to center field by Lelo Martinez (New London, Conn.).
Mitchell would go on to score two more runs in the second, the fifth, and the seventh, providing more than enough support for the five different pitchers who saw work on the mound.
Chris Gibbs (New Britian, Conn.) got the start for the Mariners and allowed five hits and two earned runs across three innings. Eddie Kaftan (Old Lyme, Conn.) came on in relief for his first action of the season and earned the win, tossing three shutout innings, giving up just one hit and one walk. Tyler Daly (Wallingford, Conn.), Kenny Heon (Uncasville, Conn.), and Alex Sheehan (Killingworth, Conn.) combined for three additional scoreless innings out of the bullpen.
Sophomore Ryan Robidoux took the loss for the Owls, allowing eight runs, seven of them earned, on five hits while not recording an out. Joe Fischer came on in relief of Robidoux and allowed four runs in one in two third innings. Colton Vassuer was next in line for Westfield and was able to steady the ship, throwing two and one third innings of scoreless ball. Dominic novio and Michael Hall also saw work for the Owls, combining for four innings and three earned runs.
Westfield managed just six hits all game and helped the Mariners on numerous occasions by committing six errors. Ethan Day had a pair of hits in the loss, while Kyle Darby and Trey Faulkner drove in the lone runs for the Owls.
Mitchell (2-0 overall) will next head to Florida for its annual spring break trip. The Mariners open the nine-game swing with a tilt against Kean University on Thursday, March 9 at 2:00 p.m. Westfield State (0-1 overall) will face North Park University on Friday, March 10 in Millington, Tenn.
