Politelli's slam, Nelson's pitching help Seahawks thump Mitchell, 13-6

NEWPORT, R.I. - Sophomore Nick Politelli (Warwick, R.I.) launched a grand slam home run in the bottom of the fifth inning to cap an eight-run outburst and propel the Salve Regina University baseball team to a 13-6 win over Mitchell College in non-conference action Wednesday afternoon at Reynolds Field.

Freshman Nicholas Raj (Pawtucket, R.I.) went 2-for-5 and drove in three runs for the Seahawks, who won for the sixth time in the last nine games and improved to 19-16 on the season. Junior Paul Martinez (New London, Conn.) drove in three runs on a bases-clearing triple in the ninth for the Mariners (11-10).

With the game tied at three entering the bottom of the fifth, Gaj drove in seniors Tom Glynn (Woodbridge, Conn.) and Riley Diaz (Miami, Fla.) with a single to give the Seahawks a 5-3 lead. Two batters later, senior Dave Miller (Shelton, Conn.) plated the sixth SRU with a sac fly to left, and a single by junior Pat Quinn (Middletown, N.J.) made it a 7-3 contest. Later in the frame, Politelli's first round tripper of the year off sophomore Jason Dezotell (Millbury, Mass.) cleared the left field wall and made it 11-3. Salve Regina tacked on a pair of runs in the eight to cap the scoring on its side.

"The fun part of playing a non-conference game is that you can get guys in that haven't played very much," said Seahawks head coach Steve Cirella. "It gives them a chance to show what they can do. I'm happy with the win. One more win will give us 20 wins, and that'll make it a great season."

The Seahawks put up a '3' spot in the first inning to grab an early lead. Glynn drove in the first run of the game with a single through the left side, followed two batters later by a double off the bat of junior Jason Sluberski (Verona, N.J.) that brought home the second SRU run. Gaj then laced a triple that brought home Glynn and made it 3-0. The Mariners got one back in the third on an RBI single by senior Andrew Langlais (Ledyard, Conn.) that made it 3-1, and RBI hits from juniors Jeff Perillo (Newington, Conn.) and John McGarry (Waterford, Conn.) evened the score at three.

Politelli finished the afternoon with three hits and two runs scored while Glynn, Diaz, Gaj, and Quinn each pounded out two hits. Martinez, Perillo, Langlais, and freshman Justin Szela (Woodstock, Conn.) each recorded two hits for the Mariners.

Freshman Nick Dettorre (Wakefield, Mass.) picked up his first collegiate win for the Seahawks, allowing seven hits and three runs (one earned) while striking out four in five innings of work. Sophomore Michael Muise (Pawtucket, R.I.) tossed three scoreless innings, and senior Jay Nelson (Scottsdale, Ariz.) picked up the final three outs in his first collegiate pitching appearance. Junior Cody Faddis (Muskogee, Okla.) took the loss, allowing seven hits and eight earned runs in 3.0 innings of work. He walked two and struck out two.

The Seahawks return to action on Friday when they in-state rival host Johnson & Wales at 3:30 p.m. Mitchell plays a doubleheader at Becker this Saturday.