NEW LONDON, Conn. – Lesley University finished with 18 hits in an 11-4 victory at Mitchell College on Sunday afternoon in New England Collegiate Conference baseball action at Alumni Field.
The win—coupled with a Becker College loss to Newbury College—helped the Lynx (18-17 overall, 10-8 NECC) clinch a berth in the upcoming NECC Baseball Championship. Lesley will be the fourth seed in the double-elimination tournament, which will be hosted by top-seeded Mitchell on April 29 to May 1.
J.P. Agiorgousis (Hanscom, Mass.) led the Lesley offense with a 5-for-6 day at the plate that included a double, home run and three RBI. Daniel O'Donnell (Clark, N.J.) and Vincent Taliercio (Valley Stream, N.Y.) also went deep in the contest for the Lynx while Mike Slaby (Foxboro, Mass.) finished with three hits. Lesley's three home runs is a single-game program record.
Lesley put up two runs on three hits in the opening frame. Agiorgousis and Slaby set the table with back-to-back singles and Jacob Cervantes (Oxnard, Calif.) followed with a two-out double past the third base bag, driving in one run while the second scored due to a fielding error.
Mitchell got a run back in the home half of the first as a ground-rule double by Kyle Hartenstein (Meriden, Conn.) put two runners in scoring position with no outs. Jack Finnegan (Old Saybrook, Conn.) plated a run with a ground out to second, but Lesley starter Tom Muratore (Mamaroneck, N.Y.) retired the next two batters to keep the Lynx in front.
Muratore pitched around a lead-off double in the second and stranded a pair of runners in scoring position in the frame. The Lynx then bumped the lead to 3-1 in the third as Agiorgousis led off with a single, went from first to third on a passed ball and scored on a ground out by Ryan Pumphret (Shrewsbury, Mass.).
Taliercio, Agiorgousis and O'Donnell all left the yard in the fourth inning as the Lynx put up eight runs on seven hits. Lesley sent a total of 12 batters to the plate in the frame, and Taliercio started the scoring with a solo homer to left. Agiorgousis and O'Donnell later followed with three-run shots over the left field fence to make it an 11-1 game.
The Mariners picked up a run in the fifth on a sac fly by Hartenstein and another in the sixth on an RBI single by Chandler Whitney (Beaverton, Ore.). Mitchell's final run came in the seventh on a solo homer by Finnegan, his second in as many days.
Muratore (5-3 overall) went 7.0 innings and allowed four runs on seven hits and struck out six. Muratore's second strikeout in the second inning was the 100th of his career; the program's all-time leader now has 104 in his two seasons.
Nick DeGrenier (Marshfield, Mass.) and Nick Iadevaio (Mineola, N.Y.) each threw a scoreless inning of relief to close out the win.
Lesley will return to action at Gordon College for a non-conference affair on Wednesday at 3:30p. Mitchell will next play Coast Guard Academy on Tuesday 4:00p.
Release courtesy Mitchell College Sports Information