Baseball Falls to Mitchell College, 7-6 and 3-1

HOLYOKE, Mass. – The Elms College baseball team suffered a double header loss to Mitchell College by scores of 7-6 and 3-1 during Saturday afternoon's New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) action at MacKenzie Stadium in Holyoke, Mass.

With the losses, Elms moves to 8-13 overall, 4-5 in NECC action, while Mitchell improves to 15-11-1 on the season, 9-6 in league play.

Game One: Mitchell 7, Elms 6

In game one, Mitchell struck for two in the top of the first inning on the strength of an RBI single off the bat of Evan Peck (Shelton, Conn.) and a run-scoring groundout by Rafael Garcia (New Britain, Conn.) to give the Mariners a 2-0 lead.

In the top of the second, Marc Dorsi (West Haven, Conn.) laced a two-run double down the left field line, and then scored when Peck reached on an error to give Mitchell at 5-0 lead.

The Mariners added another tally in the top of the fourth when Kenneth Olszewski (Canterbury, Conn.) connected for a sacrifice fly to set the score at 6-0.

Elms answered in the bottom of the fourth when senior catcher Zach Dreher (Naugatuck, Conn.) singled, advanced to second on a walk to senior designated hitter Sam Farnsworth (Westfield, Mass.) and then advanced to third on a wild pitch. A free pass issued to junior third baseman Geoff Frost (Ludlow, Mass.) loaded the bases before freshman first baseman Jordan Zima (Berlin, Conn.) earned a walk to drive in the Blazers' first run of the game. A two-run single by senior right fielder Alex King (Lebanon, Conn.) cut Elms' deficit in half (6-3) before Mitchell's starting pitcher Al Jordan Johnson (Lancaster, Calif.) got out of the jam with a double play and a strikeout.

The Blazers continued to chip away in the bottom of the fifth frame when junior center fielder Brady Forrest (Hampden, Mass.) reached on an error to start the inning and advanced to second, before scoring following the Mariners' second miscue of the stanza. Frost then delivered an RBI single and two runs came home to knot the game at 6-6.

After a scoreless sixth inning, Neftali Arroyo (New Haven, Conn.) walked, Nova Crespo (New London, Conn.) hit a single through the left side, Will Charkowski (Cold Spring, N.Y.) sacrificed both runners into scoring position and Blaze Iannetti (Middlesex, N.J.) notched an RBI groundout to give Mitchell a 7-6 lead.

Mike Tandy (Montrose, N.Y.), who entered in relief in the fifth frame, used a crucial double play with one out in the bottom of the seventh to preserve the win for the Mariners.

Dreher, who was 3 for 4 and King, who was 2 for 3 in the game, both recorded the 100^th hit of their respective careers in the losing effort for the Blazers.

Elms' junior reliever Sean Sinnott (Granby, Conn.) who pitched the final two frames for senior starter Curtis LeBeau (Auburn, Mass.), suffered the loss.

Crespo was 3 for 4 for Mitchell, while Dorsi had two hits in the winning effort.

Game Two: Mitchell 3, Elms 1

Game two saw Mitchell's starting pitcher Tyler Shamas (Westbrook, Conn.) and Elm's starting pitcher Andrew Sadowski (Northampton, Mass.) combined to pitch three scoreless innings of baseball before the Mariners pushed across three in the top of the fourth inning.

Crespo reached on an infield error and advanced to second on a walk to Arroyo before Charkowsky singled him in with the first run of the game. A two-out walk to Iannetti loaded the bases for Gavin LaLima (Waterford, Conn.) who ripped a two-run single to right field before Sadowski forced an inning-ending groundout to keep the score set at 3-0 in favor of Mitchell.

Shamas held Elms scoreless through the fifth and sixth innings, while Sadowski pitched a scoreless fifth and sophomore reliever Brian Langdon (Beacons Falls, Conn.) tossed a shutout sixth and seventh frames.

The Blazers threatened in the bottom of the seventh when King reached on a one-out error, raced to second on a wild pitch and then scored on an RBI groundout off the bat of sophomore second baseman Aedin Wadja (Lebanon, Conn.) to set the score at 3-1. Shamas was able to end the game on a foul out to the first baseman to pick up his sixth win of the season.

Forrest had two of the Blazers' three hits in the game, while Sadowski, who also limited the Mariners to three hits, suffered the loss on the hill for Elms.

Elms returns to NECC double header action on Monday, April 21 when it hosts Becker College at 4:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. at MacKenzie Stadium.