LONDON, Conn. – Lesley University and Mitchell College advanced to the title round of the 2018 New England Collegiate Conference Championship on Saturday afternoon at Alumni Field.

 

The Mariners slugged their way to 15-6 victory over Lesley to advance out of the winner’s bracket. The Lynx quickly regrouped to pick up a 16-4 win over fourth-seeded Becker College to come out of the loser’s bracket. Earlier in the day, Becker topped third-seeded Elms College, 7-6, in an elimination game.

 

In a rematch of last year’s title game, Mitchell (29-8 overall) and Lesley (27-10 overall) will play for the conference crown on Sunday, May 6 at 11 a.m. The Mariners can claim their sixth title with a single win; a victory by the Lynx would force a winner-take-all final game at 3 p.m.

  

Game 4: Mitchell 15, Lesley 6

 

Box Score: http://www.mitchellathletics. com/sports/bsb/tournament/ boxscores/20180506_w8hf.xml

 

Mitchell jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the second inning. After putting two runners on and moving them both into scoring position via a bunt, the Mariners scored runs on an infield single by Jeremy Santos (New London, Conn./New London) and a ground out by Eric Marriott (Niagara Falls, Canada/A.N. Myer).

 

In the third, the Mariners capitalized on three Lesley errors to break the game open with seven runs. Peter Abate (Wallingford, Conn./Sheehan) had an RBI single in the frame, and Garet Griffin (Moosup, Conn./Plainfield) capped the rally with a two-run, stand-up triple that hit off the right-center field fence and made it 9-0.

 

Lesley got a chunk back in the fourth. Steven DePalma (Albertson, N.Y./Mineola) led off with a solo homer over the left-center fence, his third round-tripper of the season. One out later, Ryan Pumphret (Shrewsbury, Mass./Shrewsbury) laced a double to the left-center gap and eventually scored on a single by Jacob Cervantes (Oxnard, Calif./Ventura). Pinch hitter Matt Bavaro (Sayville, N.Y./Sayville) plated the final two runs with a base hit to right as the Lynx cut the deficit to 9-4.

 

James Rangel (North Bergen, N.Y./North Bergen), Steven Pagan (Oceanside, Calif./Guajome Park Academy) and Santos all homered to fuel a five-run Mitchell sixth. The blasts for both Santos and Pagan were the first of their collegiate careers, while Rangel recorded his third round-tripper of the season.

 

Lesley starter Tom Muratore (Mamaroneck, N.Y./Mamaroneck) was dealt his first loss of the season (9-1 overall). He yielded nine runs (four earned) on five hits over 2.2 innings.

 

Game 5: Lesley 16, Becker 4

 

Box Score: http://www.mitchellathletics. com/sports/bsb/tournament/ boxscores/20180505_r8mo.xml

 

Three errors led to a pair of Lesley runs in the first inning. The Hawks got the runs back in the second when Plank tied the game with a two-run home run to left.

 

Becker had a chance to take the lead in the fifth when, with a runner on first, Negron doubled into the right-center gap. However, the Lesley relay was in time to cut the runner down at the plate and keep the score locked at 2-2.

 

Lesley pulled ahead in the sixth on an RBI double by J.P. Agiorgousis (Hanscom AFB, Mass./Bedford) that scored Justin Clark (Chino Hills, Calif. / Chino Hills), who led off the frame with a single. The Lynx then padded the margin with a three-run seventh, highlighted by an RBI double by Pumphret.

 

Becker cut the deficit in half with a pair of runs in the home half of the seventh. Plank scored on a wild pitch before Shepherd grounded out to force in another run to make it 6-4.

 

Lesley slammed the door with a pair of homers in the eighth and extended the lead to 10-4. Agiorgousis led off with a solo jack while Will Rhone (North Haven, Conn./Hamden Hall) added a two-run shot, each recording their third long ball of the season. The Lynx then put up six more runs in the ninth to end any doubt.

 

Nicholas Ferragine (Randolph, N.J./Randolph) went 4-for-5 with three doubles, three runs scored and an RBI to lead the Lynx at the plate. A total of seven Lesley players finished the game with multiple hits.

 

Nick DeGrenier (Marshfield, Mass./Marshfield) pitched 5.0 innings and allowed two runs on five hits in the victory (4-2 overall). Iacovelli got the start for the Hawks and lasted 7.0 innings, surrendering six runs (four earned) on eight hits while striking out five.