Hit parade powers Mitchell College into NECC final
New London — The Mariner merry-go-around kept spinning and spinning on Saturday.
The joy ride didn't stop until the Mitchell College baseball team bashed its way into the New England Collegiate Conference championship round for the third straight season.
Twenty-four hits later, top-seeded and two-time defending tournament champion Mitchell routed No. 3 Southern Vermont, 21-7, in the winners' bracket final at Alumni Field. The Mariners (26-9) will Southern Vermont, a 12-2 winner over Elms College in the losers' bracket final, at 9 a.m. Sunday.
It was a season-high for runs for Mitchell, which has piled up 38 hits in two tournament wins.
"It was a very fun game," said junior Tyler Pina, who belted his second home run of the season. "Very exciting. The energy was there all day. We came out swinging and we didn't look back. ... We're capable of anything as an offense."
Pina and junior Francis Prettitore powered the outburst, finishing with five hits apiece as well as accounting for three and five RBI, respectively. Junior Chandler Whitney added four hits and three RBI.
"If we hit like that and make our adjustments, anybody who does that is going to be tough to beat," coach Travis Beausoleil said.
The opportunistic Mariners took advantage of eight errors to score 10 unearned runs.
Mitchell actually trailed 5-3 heading into the fifth inning. Starter Al Jordan Johnson wasn't sharp early on.
A seven-run fifth inning turned the game in Mitchell's favor. The Mariners sent 12 batters to the plate. Pina and Prettitore each delivered two hits, but it was freshman Steven Pagan's dribbler that fueled the big inning.
With runners on second and third after a double steal with one out, Southern Vermont pitcher Joshua Hay fielded Pagan's weak ground ball near the mound and attempted to throw out a sliding Prettitore at home plate. The ball skipped away, also allowing Whitney to race home and Pagan to go all the way to third.
When the dust settled, Mitchell led 6-5.
"Pagan, on a 65-foot ball, got to third base and we scored three runs," Beausoleil said. "You go every day and still see something new on a baseball field. I can't explain it."
Markus Melenedez's RBI single, a run-scoring error and Jack Finnegan's run-scoring single extended the rally. Prettitore's RBI single increased the lead to 10-5.
The Mariners poured it on from there, scoring 11 runs in the final four innings.
"These guys compete, they grind and they battle," Beausoleil said. "We've gone down and they don't give up. We're tough to beat in a nine inning game. We're pretty offensive if we're making adjustments and locked in."
A Fitch High School graduate, Johnson appreciated the run support. He battled his way into the seventh inning before departing with nobody out, allowing eight hits and six runs (four earned) while walking three and fanning seven. He also gave up his first collegiate home run.
"Needed it today," said Johnson of the offense. "Unfortunately, I didn't come out with my best stuff. I wasn't trusting my arm and didn't really have my curveball. But I battled as much as I could. My teammates picked me up tremendously. ... It shows we have a lot of heart.
Johnson made a sparkling defensive play to limit the damage in the sixth with Mitchell up 11-5.
After umpires ruled that Niko D'Agnese's long drive was a ground rule double and not a home run, Johnson lunged forward to catch Luigi Magliocca's line drive bunt and turned it into an inning-ending double play.
It was that kind of day for the Mariners, who will attempt to earn their third straight NCAA Division III tournament bid on Sunday.
The Mariners know from experience that it won't be easy to clinch the title after emerging from the losers' bracket the last two years to become champion. The last time they entered the final tournament day undefeated, they lost to Daniel Webster in 2013.
"Nothing is going to be handed to us," Pina said. "We've got to come out strong and play well, just like we did today."
Senior Clayton Shaw (0-0, 3.62) will start. A loss would mean a deciding game will be played Sunday afternoon, weather permitting.
'We're going to put everything we have into that nine innings," Beausoleil said.
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