Seahawks end Mariners' win streak

NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Mitchell College baseball team saw its seven-game winning streak come to an end in an 8-3 loss to Salve Regina University on Wednesday afternoon at Alumni Field.

The Seahawks (10-8-1 overall) never trailed on the day and put up eight runs on 12 hits. John Militano (Miller Place, N.Y./Nashoba Regional) led the way with a 3-for-4 day at the plate and knocked in one run. Ryan Kelly (Waldwick, N.J./Bergen Catholic) tripled and drove in two runs while Colton Eremian (Boca Raton, Fla./Boca Raton) finished with a pair of hits.

Salve Regina got on the scoreboard with a lone run in the second. Zack Smith (New Canaan, Conn./New Canaan) led off with a bunt single down the third base line and later scored from second on a single through the left side by Hunter Sleeper (Arlington, Mass./Arlington).

A successful hit-and-run gave the Seahawks runners at the corners with no outs in the third. Smith brought in a run with a ground out to second, but Mitchell starter Bryton Ferris (Manchester, Conn./Manchester) worked out of the frame and stranded a runner at third.

Mitchell loaded the bases with no outs in the home half of the third but couldn't cash in. Salve Regina starter Jimmy Fitzgerald (Canton, Mass./Canton) got a shallow fly ball to left and a ground-ball double play to escape with the 2-0 lead intact. He then stranded a runner on third base in the fourth by getting a strikeout to end the frame.

An RBI single by Tristan Dacey (Wyckoff, N.J./Don Bosco Prep) plated the first of three Salve Regina runs in the fifth. The final two runs came courtesy of some Mitchell miscues—a throwing error on a pickoff attempt and a wild pitch—as the Seahawks extended the lead to 5-0.

Mitchell got two runs back in the sixth as Kyle Hartenstein (Meriden, Conn./Maloney) set the table with a double down the left field line to put two runners in scoring position with no outs. A ground out by Tyler Pina (Plainville, Conn./Plainville) scored the first Mitchell run of the day while a single through the left side by Francis Prettitore (Bayville, N.Y./Locust Valley) plated the other.

Trailing 5-2, the Mariners squandered a big chance to get back into the game in the seventh. Mitchell loaded the bases with two outs but left them packed when a hard ground ball up the middle was snagged by reliever Sean Healy (Wakefield, R.I./South Kingstown), who went to first for the final out of the inning.

The Seahawks tacked on three runs in the eighth to go up 8-2. Kelly had a hand in all three runs, driving in two with a triple to the right field corner and later scoring on a single through the right side by Militano. With his triple, Kelly passes Justin Collett on the school's all-time leader list (15 career triples).

Fitzgerald picked up his first win of the season, allowing two runs on five hits in 5.2 innings. He also fanned seven batters on the afternoon and didn't issue a walk. Ferris dropped to 2-1 on the season, allowing five runs (four earned) on six hits through 4.1 innings.

Mitchell (18-4 overall) will next host Becker College for a nine inning game on Thursday, April 14 at 4 p.m. Salve Regina returns to action at home against Amherst College on Saturday, April 16 at 1 p.m.