Mansfield — A shaky first inning staggered Mitchell College in its NCAA Division III New England Regional opener on Wednesday.

It was Tufts ace Speros Varinos who delivered the knock-out blow.

Sixth-seeded Mitchell stumbled to an 8-1 defeat and fell into the losers' bracket. The Mariners will face No. 7 Eastern Connecticut at 1:15 Thursday at the Eastern Baseball Stadium. The Warriors lost to No. 2 SUNY Oswego 3-2 on Wednesday.

Varinos, the New England Small College Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Year, silenced a normally potent Mitchell lineup, striking out a career-high 14 and allowing one run in 8.2 innings. He gave up only two hits until the ninth and five overall.

The Mariners (27-10) left two runners on base in the first and then allowed five runs in the bottom of the inning. They never recovered.

"We took a punch in the chin and we didn't deliver a punch back," Mitchell coach Travis Beausoleil said. "If you ask a lot of people in New England, that's what we've done year in and year out. So tomorrow is going to be their opportunity to stand up and throw a punch."

Mitchell was coming off a 17-day layoff since winning the New England Collegiate Conference tournament title and it showed. The Mariners lacked their usual snap, crackle and pop. They scored their only run in the ninth when Chandler Whitney drew a bases-loaded walk.

Starting pitcher Al Jordan Johnson (7-1) of Groton lasted only 1.2 innings and allowed seven runs. He contributed to his demise by issuing three walks, hitting a batter and committing a throwing error.

The first six batters reached base for third-seeded Tufts (33-6) during the first-inning rally. Tommy O'Hara's RBI single opened the scoring. Johnson made a good play to back up home plate on a high throw home but threw wildly to third base to allow a second run to score. He walked Mike McLaughlin to force in another run. Stephan White and Tom Petry each added an RBI fielder's choice.

Tufts scored two more runs in the second on a fielding error and McLaughlin's single.

That was plenty of support for Varinos (7-1), who needed about 30 pitches to get through the first inning but settled down after that.

"At the end of the day, offensively, we didn't make any adjustments," Beausoleil said.

Varinos found his groove and began mowing down Mariners. He retired 12 straight batters — seven by strikeout — before Dan Frattaroli reached on a two-out error in the fifth. He relied primarily on his fastball, regularly hitting the corners and getting ahead in the count.

"I wanted to make them beat me with my best pitch, which is my fastball," Varinos said. "I just wanted to attack and go right after them. ... I knew they had a few good bats and knew to be careful around those guys." 

The Mariners refused to use the long layoff as an excuse.

"It was a little setback for us," said Mitchell junior Tristan Hurley, who had two hits. "But we were really pumped up before the game to get going. Then we got out there and the nerves kicked in. Then they started scoring."

Reliever Eddie Santiago of New London was one of the few bright spots for the Mariners. He pitched an impressive 5.2 innings, giving up seven hits and one run while striking out eight and walking two.

"Eddie did a great job," Beausoleil said. "He really kept us in the game and really deserved the opportunity to win it."

It will be a quick turnaround for the Mariners, who won't have to wait long for a shot to wipe away the sour taste in their mouth.

"We're down, but we're not out," Hurley said. "We're looking to come out with more energy and more focus (Thursday). We're not going to go down easy. ... I have a lot of faith and confidence in my team."

g.keefe@theday.com