NEW LONDON, Conn. — The Southern Vermont College baseball team dropped its first two New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) games against Mitchell College Saturday afternoon, falling 15-2 and then 13-6 at the Mariners' Alumni Field.
The two teams next head to Vermont to finish the home-and-away series on the Mountaineers' diamond, first pitch on Sunday slated for 12 p.m. Prior to the action, Southern Vermont will celebrate Senior Day as the team will recognize and honor its six departing Mountaineers.
SVC moves to 11-15 on the year and 4-8 in Conference play with Saturday's pair.
GAME 1: Mitchell 15, Southern Vermont 2
The hosts jumped out to a 3-0 lead and put up four more in the second, three in the third, and another five in their final two trips to bat while only allowing SVC to score twice in the third for the win in game one.
Southern Vermont senior first baseman Cody LaBadia (Howes Cave, N.Y.) went 2-3 while freshmen Niko D'Agnese (Mahopec, N.Y.) and Eric Fields (Lakewood, Calif.) were both 1-3 with a run scored, D'Agnese's single extending his hit streak to six games. Senior shortstop Chris Nicastro Jr. (Kenilworth, N.J.) added a 1-3 showing while knocking in a run.
Mountaineer sophomore Dylan Angelo (Ft. Johnson, N.Y.) suffered the loss (0-4) with the start on the hill.
Mitchell put up seven runs through the first two frames before SVC got on the scoreboard. Fields led-off the third inning with a single to center, and he then stole second to get into scoring position with no outs. D'Agnese moved the runner up one base with another single to center, moving to second himself on a subsequent ground out. Nicastro then singled over to second for the lead runner to cross the dish, and D'Agnese scored on a following sacrifice fly to right. That's all the offense Southern Vermont could manufacture, however, as the Mariners continued to score while shutting out SVC for the remainder of the opener.
GAME 2: Mitchell 13, Southern Vermont 6
MC took another quick lead in game two with a pair of runs in the first, but the Mountaineers were able to tack up two of their own in the following half inning to tie things up. SVC went on top with a lone run in the third, only to see Mitchell respond with a four-spot in the home half of the inning to regain the upper hand. The Mariners then chalked up five in the fourth for an 11-3 lead before SVC cut into it with two in the sixth. Again, MC was able to answer as the hosts scored twice in the bottom of the sixth to extend the separation. Southern Vermont got one back in the seventh, but that would be it as Mitchell closed out the win to secure the series victory.
Nicastro added his second 1-3 showing at the plate with a run scored while junior second baseman RJ Pingitore (Amsterdam, N.Y.) was 1-3 with an RBI and a run scored. Fields went 1-3 with a run scored, and sophomore catcher Anthony Mercuri (Ridge, N.Y.) was 1-2 with a run scored and another batted in.
Mountaineer junior Avery Ford (Fairfield, Conn.) was strapped with his first loss of the season (3-1) after going three innings with the start.
After Mitchell put up two in the first, SVC came back with a pair in the top of the second to even the contest. Two MC fielding errors allowed LaBadia to cross home before a D'Agnese ground out to short brought Fields in from third. The Mountaineers then went ahead in the next frame when Pingitore sent a sacrifice fly deep enough to center field for Nicastro to tag up and score.
The bottom of the frame saw MC put up four runs, going back in front with a 6-3 advantage. A three-run Mitchell homer in the fourth helped extend the hosts' lead before SVC grabbed a pair in the sixth. LaBadia led-off with a double to right center, and he would then score on a Mercuri single. With runners at the corners, Southern Vermont pulled off the double steal to make it an 11-5 ballgame.
Mitchell would score two runs in the bottom of the sixth for a comfortable cushion before SVC scratched across a single run in the seventh on a grounder to short for the 13-6 final.