Baseball Swept in Season-Opening Doubleheader Against No. 4 Kean
Game 1
Game 1
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Mitchell | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 9 | 2 |
|
#4 Kean | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | X | 9 | 12 | 2 |
Game 2
Game 2
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Mitchell | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 0 |
|
#4 Kean | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | X | 5 | 9 | 1 |
UNION, N.J. – The Mitchell College baseball team dropped its season-opening doubleheader to No. 4-ranked Kean University on Saturday at Jim Hynes Stadium, falling 9–4 in the opener before suffering a 5–3 setback in game two.
The Mariners (0–2, 0–0 GNAC) will return to New London, where they will prepare for their home opener against Rhode Island College on Saturday, February 28, with first pitch scheduled for 12:00 p.m.
Game 1 – Kean 9, Mitchell 4
Kean struck first on a solo home run by Dominic Masino in the opening inning off Mitchell starter senior Dom Yarson (Ewing, N.J.), but the Mariners answered in the second when senior Adam Vartanian (Cumberland, R.I.) delivered a sacrifice fly to center field to plate junior Will Estronza (New Britain, Conn.) and tie the game at 1–1.
The Cougars responded with three runs in the third before Mitchell cut the deficit to two in the fourth as freshman Alex Ramos (Middletown, Conn.) singled to left center to score junior Michael Ficocelli (North Providence, R.I.). Kean added a run in the fifth and broke the game open with three runs in the seventh before tacking on another run in the eighth to extend the lead to 9–2.
Ramos and sophomore Christopher Piscione (Cranston, R.I.) each recorded two hits to lead Mitchell's offense, while senior Kenneth Miller Jr. (New London, Conn.) belted his first home run of the season and senior Thai-ler Sestokas (Danbury, Conn.) added an RBI double.
Yarson took the loss, allowing four runs on five hits over 4.0 innings while striking out three in his Mitchell debut. Sophomore Braiden Alaimo (Enfield, Conn.) worked 1.2 innings in relief, and fellow sophomore Alex Confarotta (Attleboro, Mass.) tossed the final 2.0 innings.
Kean finished with 12 hits and was led by Masino, who homered and drove in two runs. Christian Pareja picked up his first win of the spring, tossing 5.0 innings of two-run ball.
Game 2 – Kean 5, Mitchell 3
Kean built an early lead with two runs in the first inning and added a run in the second and two more in the third to take a 5–0 advantage.
Mitchell broke through in the fourth inning when Alex Ramos doubled to right field to drive in senior Johnny Brucato (Cheshire, Conn.) and put the Mariners on the board. The Mariners closed the gap in the sixth, scoring twice on a two-run single by senior Nicholas Bracale (East Haven, Conn.) that plated Kenneth Miller Jr. and Christopher Piscione to cut the deficit to 5–3.
Mitchell threatened but could not push across another run, finishing with eight hits in the contest. Junior Jayden Sgro (Glastonbury, Conn.) led the offense with two hits, while Brucato, Piscione, Miller Jr., Ficocelli, Ramos, and Bracale each recorded a hit.
Junior Ethan Chavez (New London, Conn.) took the loss for the Mariners, allowing five runs on five hits over 2.2 innings. The Mitchell bullpen was strong in relief, as junior Patrick Mitchell (Garristown, Ireland) tossed 3.1 scoreless innings and senior Jacob Quiles (Wallkill, N.Y.) added 2.0 shutout innings, combining to hold Kean without a run over the final 5.1 innings.
Kean totaled nine hits and was led by Tyler Stone, who went 3-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored. Lucas White earned the win for the Cougars, working 6.0 innings and allowing just one earned run.
