Mitchell earns first playoff bid with NECC title
| The NCAA playoff berth is the first for
Mitchell. Mitchell sports information |
Top-seeded Mitchell scored two runs in the eighth inning to take
a 3-2 lead and held on to defeat fourth-seeded Southern Vermont by
the same margin in the title game of the 2011 NECC Championship on
Wednesday afternoon.
Mitchell (23-9-1 overall) receives the conference's automatic bid
to the NCAA Regional Championship. The NCAA berth is the first for
the baseball program, which is led by first-year head coach Scott
Kingston. The Mariners will be one of eight teams competing at the
regional tournament on May 18-22 in Harwich, Mass.
In a season where offense fueled the majority of Mitchell's wins,
it was pitching and timely hitting that carried the day for the
Mariners. Three pitchers combined to scatter seven hits over the
nine-inning affair, with John Apostolo earning the win in a 4.0
inning relief stint. Drew Rossi closed out the game to earn his
fourth save of the season.
Southern Vermont (18-22 overall) had chances to take an early lead
but squandered bases-loaded opportunities in each of the first
three innings. Mitchell starter Paul Martinez wiggled out of
trouble in each frame to escape damage. The Mountaineers had the
sacks packed with only one out in both the first and third innings
but came away empty.
Mitchell also had a hard time capitalizing early off SVC starter
Connor Murray. The Mariners were caught stealing on a missed
hit-and-run play in the third, and a base-running snafu in the
fourth cost them a potential run. Apostolo lined out to left and
the Mitchell runner on second was doubled up while getting back to
the bag. Felix Colarte then delivered a single that would have
plated the runner, but it instead went for naught.
The Mariners finally broke through in the sixth inning for the
game's first run. Jeff Perillo got on base with a one-out single
and moved into scoring position when Murray was called for a balk.
Mitchell took advantage of the miscue as Apostolo singled to center
to drive in Perillo from second base.
The Mountaineers, batting as the home team, answered right back in
the bottom of the sixth. Keith Diotte led off with a single and
moved into scoring position on a sacrifice by Dave Northup. After
Dave Gage reached base by getting hit by a pitch, Southern Vermont
plated a pair of runs on back-to-back singles by Pat Warrington and
Corey Armstrong to take the lead.
Mitchell trailed 2-1 heading into the eighth when SVC made a
pitching change and handed the ball to Tim Johnson. The Mariners
wasted little time getting to the new pitcher, as Perillo led off
with a double and moved up a base when the relay from the outfield
was overthrown. Anthony Santiago then followed with a single to
left to tie the game.
Johnson walked the next batter and was replaced by Joel DeFedele.
A wild pitch moved Santiago to third, and he later scored with the
go-ahead run on a ground out by Colarte.
The Mariners called upon Rossi to get the final six outs. Southern
Vermont had the tying run only 90 feet away in each of the final
two innings, but Rossi clamped down both times to record outs. He
got the game's final batter to strike out looking to seal the win
for the Mariners.
The win cemented a storybook comeback for Mitchell, which faced an
uphill battle after losing the opening game of the
double-elimination tournament. However, the Mariners responded with
four straight victories to claim their second conference crown in
as many seasons.
The Mountaineers wasted a solid performance from Murray, who
didn't factor in the decision. He threw 7.0 innings and allowed one
run on five hits while striking out four and walking three.
Johnson, who faced only three batters, took the loss.
Apostolo was named the tournament's most valuable player. He
batted .286 with three home runs and a double and drove in a
tournament-high seven runs. He also pitched in four of Mitchell's
five games and allowed six runs on 10 hits in 15.0 innings while
striking out 18.
Apostolo was joined on the All-Tournament Team by Perillo and
Colarte while Southern Vermont was represented by Murray, Dave
Northup and Adam Northup. Rounding out the team were Cody Ewest
(Becker ), Tom Natoli (Becker ), Korey LeLievre (Daniel Webster )
and Kory Kiro (Daniel Webster ).
