Mitchell College Swings Past Baseball, 11-5

Box Score

HOLYOKE, Mass. – Elms College junior left fielder Donald Morse (Alfred, Maine) delivered a two-run single in the bottom of the ninth but Mitchell College's John Apostolo (Queens, N.Y.) was 5 for 5 with four RBI to help the Mariners secure an 11-5 victory over the Blazers in Sunday afternoon's New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) baseball game at MacKenzie Stadium in Holyoke, Mass.

With the loss, Elms falls to 9-15 overall, 2-7 in league play, while Mitchell improves to 15-5-1 on the season, 10-2 in NECC action.

Trailing 11-2 in the bottom of the ninth, Elms' senior catcher Carm Bonavita (Springfield, Mass.) was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning, advanced to third on a two-base error on a fielder's choice by freshman right fielder Alex King (Lebanon, Conn.) and then scored on a single by senior second baseman Brendan Cordeiro (Berkley, Mass.) to set the score at 11-3. Two batters later, Morse delivered his two-run single to pull Elms to within six at 11-5 but that's as close as it would get as Mitchell reliever Drew Rossi (Jessup, Pa.) fanned the next batter and forced a fly out to end the game.

Mitchell's starter Jon Blair (Waterford, Conn.) tossed seven innings highlighted by six strikeouts to earn the win and improve to 4-1 on the season.

Elms junior left-handed starter Andrew Bunger (Southington, Conn.) whiffed four batters in the losing effort and falls to 2-2 overall on the hill.

Mitchell took an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning when Anthony Santiago (Newark, N.J.) laced a one-out double and then scored on a ripped single to left field by Apostolo to give the Mariners the first run of the game. Bunger then tossed a strikeout and forced a groundout to end the inning.

Elms responded with a run in the bottom of the second inning when junior first baseman Reynaldo Rivera (San Juan, Puerto Rico) reached on an error to start the frame and then advanced to third when freshman designated hitter Anthony Pagano (Cranston, R.I.) and freshman third baseman Zachary Dreher (Naugatuck, Conn.) connected for back-to-back singles to load the bases. Bonavita then lifted a sacrifice fly to right field sending Rivera home with the game-tying run. Dreher then stole second but Blair issued a strikeout and induced an inning-ending fly out to keep the score knotted at 1-1.

The Mariners struck for three in the top of the third when Jeff Perillo (Newington, Conn.) and Santiago led off the stanza with consecutive base hits before Apostolo belted a bases-clearing triple to right center field to give Mitchell a 3-1 lead. An RBI groundout by Felix Colarte (North Bergen, N.J.) extended the lead to 4-1 before Elms was able to get out of the jam without further damage.

Mitchell tacked on three more in the top of the fourth when Osmer Collado (New York, N.Y.) singled, advanced to second on a walk to Angel Chacon (Queens, N.Y.) and then raced to third when Rossi advanced the runners on a sacrifice bunt. Santiago then delivered a two-run two-bagger, stole third and came full circle on a run-scoring single by Apostolo to give the Mariners a 7-1 lead.

Mitchell plated two more in the top of the sixth inning when Colarte was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded and Gus Maclao (Miami, Fla.) drove in a run on a fly out to shallow right field to lift the Mariners' lead to 9-1.

Elms put a run across in the bottom of the seventh inning when King led off with a single, moved to second when Brendan Cordeiro reached on an error and then moved to third on a wild pitch before a junior shortstop Nicolino Iavicoli (Hampden, Mass.) RBI single allowed King to score to cut the Blazers' deficit to 9-2.

Mitchell got the run back in the top of the eighth frame when Santiago was hit by a pitch with one out and then scored when Apostolo singled and then got caught in a rundown trying to advance to second to set the score at 10-2.

The Mariners added their final tally in the top of the ninth when Chacon hit an RBI single driving in Carlos Hughes (Trenton, N.J.) who walked to leadoff the frame.

Brendan Cordeiro, Morse, Dreher and sophomore center fielder Stephen Fisher (West Boylston, Mass.) each collected two hits in the losing effort for the Blazers, while freshman reliever Derek Leal (Charlton, Mass.) and sophomore reliever John Russell (Springfield, Mass.) tossed a scoreless inning each.

Apostolo led Mitchell's offense with five of the squad's 16 hits, while Santiago added three. He and Colarte each drove in a pair of runs to highlight the Mariners' attack.

Elms returns to NECC action on Monday, April 18 when it hosts Lesley University for a pair of seven inning games. First-pitch of game one is set for 4:00 p.m. at MacKenzie Stadium in Holyoke, Mass.