No. 29 Golden Bears Fall to Mitchell in Non-Conference Action, 11-1

Mariners pull away late with seven runs over final two innings

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (April 20, 2018) – The No. 29 ranked Western New England University baseball team suffered an 11-1 setback to Mitchell College on Friday afternoon in non-conference action at Trelease Park. 

Top Performers
• Junior outfielder Joe Cassella (Wallingford, Conn.) accounted for half of Western New England's hits and drove in the Golden Bears' lone run, as he went 2-for-2 at the plate with one RBI.
• Junior Erik Lacaire (Worcester, Mass.) singled and scored a run, while senior Steve Rivela (Hudson, Mass.) recorded a pinch-hit single.

• Mitchell was led by senior captains Kyle Hartenstein (Meriden, Conn.) and Garet Griffin (Moosup, Conn.), who both went 4-for-6 at the plate with two RBI while scoring a combined five runs.  
• Senior left-hander Eddie Santiago (New London, Conn.) earned the win (3-2) for the Mariners after striking out five batters and allowing just one run on two hits over six innings on the mound.

Game Review
Junior catcher Markus Melendez (Storrs, Conn.) gave Mitchell a 1-0 lead with an RBI single to right field in the top of the fourth inning.

The Golden Bears answered in the bottom half of the frame, however, as Lacaire led off with an infield single, before stealing second, advancing to third on a fly out by senior Jared Rosenblatt (Avon, Conn.), and scoring on a single by Cassella.

Mitchell pulled ahead for good (3-1) with two runs in the top of the fifth, as Griffin recorded an RBI single to left field and senior Jack Finnegan (Old Saybrook, Conn.) added a sacrifice fly later in the frame.

After extending their advantage to 4-1 in the sixth, the Mariners plated four runs in the eighth and three in the ninth to cap the scoring in the contest.

Notes
• Freshman right-hander Kevin Besko (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) got the start for the Golden Bears and struck out four batters while allowing one run on two hits with five walks over four innings.
• Cassella has recorded multiple hits in ten of 28 games this season.

Up Next
Both teams will be back in action tomorrow, as Western New England (20-8) hosts Curry for a Senior Day doubleheader and Mitchell (21-5) travels to Saint Joseph's (Maine).