NEW LONDON, Conn. – No. 3 Saint Joseph's College (34-12) dropped game one of the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Championship Series on Thursday afternoon, falling to top-seeded Mitchell College (28-12), 8-7, in 10 innings at Alumni Field.
The Monks built multiple leads and repeatedly threatened offensively, but Mitchell erased a 7-6 deficit with a run in the ninth before walking it off in the 10th.
PLAYOFF IMPLICATIONS:
With the loss, Saint Joseph's now needs to win twice tomorrow to capture the GNAC Championship and the conference's automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament. Game two of the best-of-three series is scheduled for 11:00 AM on Friday, with the if-necessary game to follow.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Mitchell struck first with two runs in the opening inning on RBI singles from Michael Ficocelli and Christopher Piscione, but the Monks answered in the second when sophomore Nic Frink (Scarborough, Maine) reached on an error and later scored on a Jared Wilhelm (Tolland, Conn.) RBI groundout.
After the Mariners added another run in the bottom of the second, Saint Joseph's surged ahead with a four-run third inning. Sophomore Jake Carlisle (Portsmouth, N.H.) reached on an error before Frink delivered an RBI double to left. Wilhelm and senior Michael Richards (Melrose, Mass.) followed with bases-loaded walks, and sophomore Connor Finn (Kingston, Mass.) capped the rally with a two-run single through the right side to put the Monks ahead, 5-3.
Mitchell chipped away with a run in the third and regained the lead in the fourth on a two-run single from Piscione, but Saint Joseph's answered again in the fifth. Carlisle singled and Frink walked before Richards produced an RBI fielder's choice and Finn lined an RBI single to left-center, giving the Monks a 7-6 advantage.
The Monks had several opportunities to extend the lead but could not break through. Saint Joseph's stranded runners in scoring position in the sixth and eighth innings, and a baserunning mistake short-circuited a promising ninth-inning rally.
Mitchell finally broke through in the bottom of the ninth. Johnny Brucato doubled home the tying run with two outs to force extra innings, and after Saint Joseph's stranded a runner at second in the top of the 10th, Nicholas Bracale tripled to open the bottom half before Adam Vartanian lined the walk-off single through the right side.
Saint Joseph's totaled 10 hits and drew four walks in the loss but stranded nine runners and went scoreless over the final five innings against the Mitchell bullpen.
ON THE MOUND:
Saint Joseph's:
- William Dionne (So., Somerset, Mass.) – 3.0 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 3 BB, 3 K
- Henry Paquette (So., Biddeford, Maine) – 4.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 2 K
- Paul Donnelly (So., Middleton, Mass.) – 1.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
- Nic Frink (L, 4-1) – 0.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
Mitchell:
- Thai-ler Sestokas – 4.0 IP, 5 H, 7 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 4 K
- Ethan Chavez – 5.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K
- Jacob Quiles (W, 5-1) – 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
IN THE BOX:
Saint Joseph's:
- Vinny O'Leary – 2-for-5
- Jake Carlisle – 2-for-5, 2 R, 2B
- Nic Frink – 1-for-4, 3 R, RBI, 2B, BB
- Michael Richards – 2-for-4, 2 RBI, BB
- Connor Finn – 2-for-4, 3 RBI
- Nick Villano – 1-for-4, 2B
Mitchell:
- Nicholas Bracale – 3-for-5, 2 R, RBI, 3B
- Christopher Piscione – 3-for-4, 3 RBI
- Michael Ficocelli – 2-for-4, RBI, BB
- Johnny Brucato – 2-for-3, 2 R, RBI, 2 BB, 2B
- Jayden Sgro – 2-for-4, R, 2B
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:
Mitchell holds a 6-3 edge in the all-time series against Saint Joseph's and has now produced three-consecutive walk-off victories over the Monks. The Mariners swept the Royal Blue with 3-2 and 1-0 walk-off victories in New London earlier this season.
