Baseball Clinches Top Seed in GNAC Tournament with Senior Day Sweep of Elms
Game 1
Game 1
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Elms | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 1 |
|
Mitchell | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | X | 6 | 9 | 1 |
Game 2
Game 2
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Elms | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 13 | 3 |
|
Mitchell | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 8 | X | 15 | 20 | 1 |
NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Mitchell College baseball team secured the top overall seed in the upcoming Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) baseball tournament with a doubleheader sweep of Elms College on Saturday afternoon an Alumni Field.
The Mariners, who imporved to 14-1 in conference play, downed the Blazers 6-2 in the opener, before erupting for 20 hits and 15 runs in the second game, picking up a 15-8 win.
Prior to the game, Mitchell recognized and celebrated their nine senior-student athletes; Owen Robbins (East Lyme, Conn.), Camren Varney (Manchester, N.H.), Angel Galindez (Carolina, PR), Jack Hayes (New Milford, Conn.), Justin Adorno (New Britain, Conn.), Cole Lalli (Coventry, Conn.), Michael Gajda (New Britain, Conn.), Robbie DelaCruz (Uncasville, Conn.), and Maxwell Pomponi (Norwalk, Conn.).
The Mariners (27-9, 14-1 GNAC) will wrap up their regular season on Sunday, April 28th, with a GNAC game at Johnson & Wales University.
Game 1 – Mitchell 6, Elms 2
Both teams traded scoreless frames across the first five innings of play during the opener, before the Mariners jumped ahead by two in the bottom of the sixth when freshman Chas Terni Jr. (Montville, Conn.) laced an RBI double and Jack Hayes hit a sacrifice fly to centerfield.
The Blazers answered with two runs in the top of the eighth inning on a two-run home run off the bat of Tyler Galenski, but the Mariners plated four runs in the bottom half of the frame to pull ahead for good, highlighted by a go-ahead triple by Hayes.
Angel Galindez and Jack Hayes had two hits apiece for Mitchell, while Hayes and sophomore Adam Vartanian (Cumberland, R.I.) tripled, and Robbie DelaCruz added a double. Hayes finished the game 2-3 with two RBI and a run scored.
Junior Chris Gibbs (New Britain, Conn.) earned his conference-leading seventh win of the spring, tossing eight innings of two run ball, scattering nine hits and stirking out five.
Game 2 – Mitchell 15, Elms 8
The Mariners carried a 5-0 lead into the sixth inning during game two, but the Blazers scored two in the sixth and five in the seventh to jump on top 7-5. Mitchell scored two runs to tie the game in the bottom of the seventh, before breaking the game open with eight runs in the eighth inning.
Michael Gajda fell a single shy of the cycle, going 3-5 with four RBI and two runs scored. Robbie DelaCruz and Cole Lalli each had three hits for the Mariners, while Terni Jr. and Hayes each drove in three runs. Hayes added a double and Terni Jr. a triple, while Owen Robbins recorded two RBI.
Camren Varney got the start and pitched five and two third innings of two run ball for Mitchell, while freshman Joshua Scamman (Rochester, N.H.) picked up the win with one and one third innings of scoreless ball out of the bullpen.
