BENNINGTON, Vt. — A five-run first inning helped the visiting Mitchell College Mariners take a 17-3 New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) baseball win over Southern Vermont College Sunday afternoon at Bill Epstein Field.
The rubber match served as SVC's Senior Day with the hosts recognizing and honoring their six departing team members prior to the first pitch; Roland Hernandez (Pico Rivera, Calif.), Cody LaBadia (Howes Cave, N.Y.), Dustyn Marfyak (Torrington, Conn.), Chris Nicastro Jr. (Kenilworth, N.J.), Sal Sciara (Massapequa, N.Y.), and AJ Watt (Sharon, Conn.) were all celebrated before the action and each saw time in the field, being replaced one-by-one mid-inning for a standing ovation from the Mountaineer fans late in the game.
The Mariners move to 25-3 overall and 14-1 in NECC play with the series sweep while SVC drops to 11-16 on the season, 4-9 against the league.
Southern Vermont is next in action on Tuesday as the Mountaineers will play and bat as the home team against Mount Saint Mary College at Shuttleworth Park in Amsterdam, N.Y., first pitch slated for 7 p.m. Mitchell's next game is also against non-conference competition, visiting the Coast Guard Academy on Wednesday for a 3 p.m. start at Dodd Stadium.
MC put up five runs in the first and another two in the top of the third before SVC got on the scoreboard with a lone run in the bottom of the frame. A six-run Mariner fifth put the visitors ahead comfortably, and they would only allow one Mountaineer run in both the sixth and eight innings to walk out with the win.
Nicastro and Hernandez were both 2-4 at the plate for Southern Vermont while stealing a base apiece, and LaBadia also added a 2-4 showing to go with a pair of RBIs. Junior second baseman RJ Pingitore (Amsterdam, N.Y.) went 2-3 with two runs scored, and Sciara was 1-4 with a run scored in the effort.
Four Mariners tallied a pair of hits in the win with sophomore designated hitter Tyler Pina (Plainville, Conn.) registering a 2-3 performance with the stick, knocking in four runs and scoring one more. Senior first baseman Evan Peck (Shelton, Conn.) was 2-4 with a walk, three RBIs and two runs scored while senior third baseman Rafael Garcia (New Britain, Conn.) was 1-3 with two walks, two runs batted in and three runs scored.
Peck and Garcia tallied back-to-back two-run hits in the first for Mitchell to go on top 5-0 early on, and the Mariners would increase their lead in the top of the third when Pina lined a two-run single up the middle.
A Sciara base hit in the home half of the third saw him advance two bases on an infield throwing error, and a fielder's choice to third brought the senior captain home to score the first SVC run of the day. MC then put up six more in the fifth, the first two crossing the dish on another run-scoring single off of Pina's bat. Peck capped the frame's scoring with a single to the gap in right center, putting his team ahead by a 13-1 tally.
The Mariners tacked up two in the sixth when senior Nate Narducci (Deep River, Conn.) tagged a two-run pinch hit homer to right for just his second hit of the season. LaBadia batted in Pingitore with a single to left in the bottom of the box, but MC crossed the dish two more times in the eighth to expand its upper hand. LaBadia again knocked in Pingitore in the bottom of the eighth, but it would not be enough as Mitchell starting sophomore righty Axel De Jesus (Stratford, Conn.) finished his complete-game victory (3-2) for the sweep. SVC sophomore right-hander Joshua Hay (S. Glens Falls, N.Y.) suffered the loss (0-2) after going five innings with the start, striking out six Mariner batters in his time on the hill.