Baseball Rallies Past UMass Boston for First Win
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Mitchell | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 15 | 1 |
|
Mass.-Boston | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 9 | 1 |
BOSTON, Mass. – The Mitchell College baseball team erased a four-run deficit with a pair of big innings late to defeat UMass Boston, 8–7, on Thursday afternoon at Monan Park in a non-conference showdown.
Mitchell collected 15 hits in the contest and used a four-run sixth inning followed by two more runs in the seventh to turn a 6–2 deficit into an 8–6 advantage.
The Mariners jumped on the board in the second inning when senior Nicholas Bracale (East Haven, Conn.) singled to left to score freshman Alex Ramos (Middletown, Conn.), and senior Johnny Brucato (Cheshire, Conn.) followed with a bunt single that plated junior Michael Ficocelli (North Providence, R.I.) to give Mitchell an early 2–0 lead.
UMass Boston responded with two runs in the second and added single runs in the third and fifth along with two in the fourth to take a 6–2 lead through five innings.
Mitchell began its comeback in the sixth. Bracale delivered an RBI double to left field, and sophomore Christopher Piscione (Cranston, R.I.) later worked a bases-loaded walk to force in another run. Senior Kenneth Miller Jr. (New London, Conn.) then came through with a two-run single to center, tying the game at 6–6.
The Mariners kept the momentum in the seventh inning as junior Jayden Sgro (Glastonbury, Conn.) doubled to left field to drive in Bracale and give Mitchell the lead. Brucato followed with an RBI single to right to extend the advantage to 8–6.
Senior Jacob Quiles (Wallkill, N.Y.) earned the win in relief, tossing 4.0 innings and allowing just one run on one hit while striking out four.
Brucato led the Mariners with three hits, finishing 3-for-5 with two RBI and a run scored. Kenneth Miller Jr. also collected three hits, while Bracale went 2-for-3 with two RBI and scored a pair of runs.
UMass Boston finished with nine hits and was led by Justin Gouveia and Nick Farnacci, who each drove in two runs.
The Mariners (1–2, 0–0 GNAC) will now turn their attention to their spring break trip. The team opens play against Ferrum College on March 9 before beginning a five-game swing in South Carolina the following day.
