NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Mitchell College baseball team came away with a pair of shutout victories over Lesley University on Saturday afternoon by final scores of 19-0 and 11-0 in New England Collegiate Conference play at Alumni Field.
The Mariners (17-10 overall, 12-2 NECC) allowed only seven hits over a combined 14.0 innings and never let a runner advance past second base. Freshmen starters Al Jordan Johnson (Lancaster, Calif./Fitch) and Tyler Shamas (Westbrook, Conn./Westbrook) each tossed 6.0 innings of shutout ball to earn victories.
Mitchell and Lesley (11-13 overall, 5-8 NECC) will conclude their weekend series with a nine-inning affair on Sunday, April 21 at noon. The game will be played at Daniel Webster College.
Game 1 – Mitchell 19, Lesley 0
Mitchell put up five runs in the first inning and never looked back. Lesley starter Ray Cohen (Coventry, Conn./Coventry) should have escaped the inning unscathed, but an error in the outfield extended the frame and allowed the first two runs to score. Doyle then followed with an RBI single, and Arroyo added a two-run homer to left to make it 5-0.
The Mariners added four more runs in the fourth on a two-run single by junior Kenneth Olszewski (Canterbury, Conn./Griswold), an RBI single by sophomore Rafael Garcia (New Britain, Conn./New Britain) and an RBI double by Doyle. Mitchell tacked on a run in the fifth on another RBI single by Garcia and then sent 13 batters to the plate in a nine-run sixth inning to seal the win.
Johnson struck out three and walked one while yielding five hits. He improved to 4-3 on the season and 4-1 in NECC play.
Cohen (3-2 overall) lasted 3.2 innings and gave up nine runs (four earned) on seven hits while striking out one and walking five. Robert Parson (Commack, N.Y./Commack) and Tyler Plourd (Canton, Conn./Canton) each had two hits to lead the Lynx offensively.
Game 2 – Mitchell 11, Lesley 0
Mitchell got RBI singles from sophomores Gavin LaLima (Waterford, Conn./Waterford) and Evan Peck (Shelton, Conn./Shelton) as part of a four-run second inning. The Mariners added three more runs in the third behind an RBI single by Doyle and a two-run homer to right-center by Crespo to go up 7-0.
Shamas took a no-hitter into the fifth inning before surrendering a lead-off single to Aqib Shah (Watertown, Mass./Watertown). Casey Blanchard (Bernardston, Mass./Pioneer Valley) followed with a one-out single to give the Lynx their best scoring chance of the contest, but Shamas got the next batter to ground into a double play to end the inning.
Shamas allowed only two hits and struck out three without issuing a walk. He improved to 7-1 on the season and 5-0 in NECC play.
Lesley starter John Gosnell (Toronto, Canada/York School) gave up 10 runs (six earned) on 10 hits and struck out one in 4.0 innings of work. He dropped to 2-3 on the year.