Mitchell College Sports Roundup

The Mitchell College softball team twice shut out Wheelock College Sunday in a conference doubleheader. The baseball team was a run short against Becker College, and the sailing team took home a tropy from a regatta race. The following information was provided by David Longolucco, sports information director at Mitchell College:

Softball: Mitchell 8, Wheelock 0; Mitchell 10, Wheelock 0

The Mitchell College softball team opened conference play with 8-0 and 10-0 victories over Wheelock College on Sunday afternoon, both in five innings.

Mitchell improved to 5-11 overall and 2-0 in NECC play. Wheelock dropped to 2-4 overall and 0-2 in the league.

Game 1 – Mitchell 8, Wheelock 0 (5 innings)

Senior Jen Bordonaro (Winsted, Conn./Gilbert School) and freshman Chelsea Arpin (Killingly, Conn./Killingly) each had two hits and drove in a run as Mitchell scored runs in every inning but the third. Junior Marissa Thomas (New London, Conn./Saint Bernard) pitched a three-hitter and struck out four en route to her second shutout of the season.

Mitchell scored three runs in the first inning—all on wild pitches—to take the lead. The Mariners added four more runs in the second, scoring twice on wild pitches and getting RBI singles from Bordonaro and freshman Tricia Tomaselli (Gulford, Conn./Guilford). Mitchell’s final run came in the fourth inning on a double to center by Arpin that scored junior Stacey Suplicki (New London, Conn./Saint Bernard).

Jacky Hull (Braintree, Mass./Braintree) went 2-for-2 with a triple to lead the Wildcats at the plate. Nicole Zina (Bristol, R.I./Our Lady of Fatima) got the start inside the circle for Wheelock and allowed eight runs (five earned) on six hits over 4.0 innings. She also struck out two batters and walked four.

Game 2 – Mitchell 10, Wheelock 0 (5 innings)

Bordonaro stayed hot in the second game and collected two more hits and an RBI while sophomore Meghan Burke (Bronx, N.Y./Preston) went 3-for-3 with two doubles and four RBI. Tomaselli earned the win by throwing 5.0 innings and allowed two hits while striking out three. It also marked her first career shutout.

Burke’s double in the first inning plated two runs and junior Brittany Zaccaria (White Plains, N.Y./Maria Regina) added an RBI single to stake Mitchell to a 3-0 lead. The Mariners added four more runs in the second with junior Nikki Hoxie (Winsted, Conn./Gilbert School), Suplicki and Burke supplying RBI doubles. The final three runs came in the fourth inning on a sacrifice fly by Arpin and RBI singles by Burke and sophomore Tiffany Person (Waterbury, Conn./Crosby).

Sarah Negron (Northbridge, Mass./Northbridge) and Sara Buscemi (Arlington, Mass./Arlington) each provided base hits for Wheelock. Zina also pitched the nightcap and allowed 10 runs (nine earned) on 11 hits while striking out three.

Mitchell will next play a doubleheader at Newbury College on Monday, April 4 at 3 p.m. Wheelock returns to action at home against Suffolk University on Thursday, April 7 at 3 p.m.

Baseball: Becker 8, Mitchell 7

The Mitchell College baseball team dropped the rubber match of its weekend series with Becker College by a final score of 8-7 on Sunday afternoon.

Becker (12-6 overall, 5-4 NECC), which batted as the home team, snapped a 3-3 tie with a five-run fifth inning and held on for the victory. Manny Sanchez (Porterville, Calif./Monache) led the Hawks at the plate by going 3-for-4 with two doubles, and his RBI single in the fifth plated the first run of the rally.

Each side squandered scoring opportunities in the first inning. Mitchell loaded the bases with no outs, but Becker starter Jheremy Brown (Agawam, Mass./Agawam) worked out of the jam by getting consecutive ground balls to third and a strikeout to escape unscathed. Becker then had runners at the corners with one out in the bottom of the frame before the Mariners turned a double play to keep the game scoreless.

Becker scratched across a run in the second thanks to some timely hitting. Sanchez got things started with a two-out double down the left field line and scored on a single to center by Mike Marcello (West Haven, Conn./West Haven). The Hawks added another two-out run in the third when Cody Ewest (Warrentown, Ga./Thomson) dumped a double into right field that was nearly snared by a diving Felix Colarte (North Bergen, N.J./North Bergen).

The Mariners got on the scoreboard in the fourth inning when sophomore Osmer Collado (New York, N.Y./St. Agnes Boys) tripled to right-center and later scored on a wild pitch. Junior John Apostolo (Queens, N.Y./St. Mary’s) then delivered a two-run homer in the fifth to tie the game, sending his team-leading fifth long ball of the season over the right field fence.

Becker broke the game open in the home half of the fifth. Todd Tompkins (West Haven, Conn./West Haven) drew a two-out walk and stole second base to move into scoring position. Sanchez then poked a single to center to drive in the run and put the Hawks up 4-3. Becker took advantage of a lapse in Mitchell’s pitching, drawing three consecutive walks and scoring runs on a balk and passed ball, respectively. Austin Phillips (Thomson, Ga./Thomson) followed with a bases-loaded single to center to score the final two runs.

Mitchell answered back with four runs over the next three innings to cut the deficit to one. Collado led off the sixth with a double and later scored on a passed ball. Colarte accounted for two runs in the seventh, drilling an RBI single to center and later scoring on another passed ball. Senior Jeff Perillo (Newington, Conn./Newington) walked to lead off the eighth and ended up scoring on a throwing error to cut the margin to 8-7.

Becker closer Jeff Dilorenzo (Coventry, R.I./Coventry) came in to pitch the ninth and shut the door on the Mariners, retiring all three batters he faced to earn his second save of the season. Jason Silbor (Uxbridge, Mass./Uxbridge) picked up the win in relief to improve to 4-1 on the year. He threw 2.0 innings and allowed three runs on four hits.

Mitchell will next play a doubleheader at Daniel Webster College on Saturday, April 9 at noon. Becker returns to action at home against Lyndon State College on Tuesday, April 5 at 2 p.m.

Sailing

The Mitchell College sailing team finished in first place to capture the Tyrell Trophy on Sunday afternoon, an event hosted by the University of Connecticut at the UConn-Avery Point campus.

It marked the first time in recent memory that a Mitchell team has won a regatta. Racing in Lark sailboats, the Mariners defeated Tufts College, Providence College, Northeastern University, UConn, Wellesley College and Wesleyan University to take the two-year-old trophy from defending champion UConn.

The regatta was comprised of only one race due to very windy conditions. Sailing for Mitchell were sophomore Alex Hering and freshman Chelsea Abbenante. The duo sailed a controlled race and was among the few crews that did not capsize its boat. Of the seven teams that started the race, the Mariners were one of three teams to cross the finish line.

“I could not be prouder of the team,” said head coach Bill Furgueson. “They dominated the sailing of the race from start to finish and had to deal with some tough conditions. The wind was blowing 15-20 mph steady, with gusts of over 30 mph coming with great frequency.”

Freshmen Jared Fosse-Baker and Alexandra Bollella also represented the Mariners at the event but were unable to sail due to the blustery conditions.