Mitchell College Sports Roundup

The Mitchell College men's lacrosse team won a match against the Mount Saint Mary College on Wednesday. The softball team lost two games in a doubleheader, while the baseball team ground its way to a tie. The following information was provided by David Longolucco, sports information director at Mitchell College:

Baseball: Mitchell 3, Johnson & Wales 3

A 12-inning non-conference battle between the Mitchell College and Johnson & Wales University baseball teams finished as a 3-3 tie on Wednesday, as the game was called due to darkness.

Both teams had chances to win in extra innings. After leaving the bases loaded in the ninth, the Mariners (8-3-1 overall) stranded a runner at second in the 10th and left three runners on base in the 12th . The Wildcats (7-9-1 overall) put two runners in scoring position in the top of the 12th but failed to bring them home.

Mitchell took an early lead on an RBI single by junior Gus Maclao (Miami, Fla./Pace) in the first inning. Johnson & Wales grabbed a 2-1 lead in the third when a single by Zach Boyes (West Warwick, R.I./West Warick) plated a pair of runs, but Maclao tied the game in the bottom of the frame with another RBI single.

The Mariners went ahead 3-2 on a solo homer by freshman Anthony Santiago (Newark, N.J./Bloomfield Tech) in the sixth, the first of his collegiate career. The Wildcats answered with a solo shot of their own in the eighth off the bat of Boyes, who finished 2-for-5 with three RBI in the game.

Each squad used five pitchers in the game. Johnson & Wales starter Alex MacKay (Sanford, Maine/Sanford) lasted 4.0 innings and allowed two runs on six hits while striking out three. Mitchell freshman Travis Gembecki (Putnam Valley, N.Y./Putnam Valley) pitched 5.0 innings of relief and allowed one run on two hits. The Mariners’ staff held the Wildcats to only six hits over the 12 innings.

Mitchell will next host Becker College for a conference doubleheader on Saturday, April 2 at noon. Johnson & Wales returns to action at Salve Regina University on Thursday, March 31 at 3:30 p.m.

Softball: Johnson & Wales 4, Mitchell 2; Johnson & Wales 8, Mitchell 0

Game 1

The Wildcats (6-9 overall) scored two runs in the second inning off a Mitchell fielding error and added another in the third on an RBI double by Taylor Cwalinski (Jackson, N.J./Jackson Liberty) to go up 3-0. After the Mariners (3-11 overall) cut the deficit to one in the bottom of the third thanks to a wild pitch and throwing error, Johnson & Wales tacked on a run in the fourth on an RBI single by Lauren Lomonaco (Southampton, N.J./Southampton) to cap the scoring.

Alyssa Babineau (Princeton, Mass./Monty Tech) did the job in the circle for the Wildcats, allowing two runs on five hits while striking out six. She improved to 4-3 overall on the season. Mitchell junior Marissa Thomas (New London, Conn./Saint Bernard) took the loss and allowed four runs (one earned) on eight hits.

Game 2

After committing four errors in the opener, the Mariners continued to give away outs on the defensive side in the second game. The Wildcats pounded out 11 hits and benefitted from four more Mitchell miscues.

Johnson & Wales scored one run in the first inning on a wild pitch and then plated three in the third on RBI singles by Heather Imperatore (Westerly, R.I./Westerly), Robyn Ziegler (Doylestown, Pa./Central Bucks East) and Amy Fish (Oxford, Mass./Oxford). The Wildcats also scored a pair of runs in both the fourth and fifth innings with Lomonaco and Ellis Kim (Glendale, Calif./Campbell Hall) each providing RBI singles.

Cwalinski got the starting nod and hurled a three-hit shutout to improve to 2-1 on the season. She struck out seven batters and issued only one walk. Freshman Tricia Tomaselli (Guilford, Conn./Guilford) allowed eight runs (four earned) on 11 hits for the Mariners.

Mitchell will next host a conference doubleheader against Wheelock College on Sunday, April 3 at noon. Johnson & Wales returns to action at home against Rhode Island College on Friday, April 1 at 3 p.m.

Men's Lacrosse: Mitchell 13, Mount Saint Mary 6

The Mitchell College men’s lacrosse team posted a 13-6 victory over Mount Saint Mary College on Wednesday afternoon.

Junior Adam Grillo (Waterford, Conn./Waterford) led the Mariners (4-1 overall) with a game-high five goals and added an assist. Mitchell trailed 6-3 late in the first half but scored the final 10 goals of the game to pull out the win. Nick Findlay (Elmont, N.Y./Sewanhaka) and Andrew Pullen (Farmingdale, N.Y./Farmingdale) each scored a pair of goals to lead the Knights (2-7 overall).

With the score knotted at 2-2 after the first 15 minutes of play, Mount Saint Mary scored four of the next five goals to take a three-goal lead with 7:14 to play in the half. Findlay scored twice on extra-man chances during the stretch.

Mitchell fought back and scored four times in the final five minutes of the half. Freshman Demetre Lyras (Rocky Point, N.Y./Rocky Point) and Grillo scored 22 seconds apart to cut the deficit to 6-5, and freshman Shane Sullivan (Quaker Hill, Conn./Waterford) tied the game just under two minutes later. Grillo then gave the Mariners a 7-6 lead heading into intermission with his fourth goal of the half.

Grillo opened the second-half scoring with his team-leading 16th goal of the season. Lyras added a shorthanded goal in the fourth quarter to finish with three on the day while freshman Erik Vasquez (Oceanside, Calif./El Camino) and Sullivan each netted a pair.

Mitchell’s defense took care of the Knights in the second half, holding them scoreless on only 10 shots. The Mariners also forced 38 turnovers and held a 40-34 edge in ground balls for the game.

Mount Saint Mary goalie Shawn Cobstill (Oneonta, N.Y./Oneonta) finished with 13 saves against 50 shots. Mitchell freshman Peter Eshenfelder (Quaker Hill, Conn./Waterford) made five stops in goal against 24 shots.

Mitchell will next play at the College of Mount Saint Vincent on Tuesday, April 5 at 8 p.m. Mount Saint Mary returns to action at Farmingdale State College on Saturday, April 2 at 3 p.m.