May 08, 2015
NEW LONDON,Conn.- Mitchell College defeated Becker College 4-0 in the opening game of the New England Collegiate Conference Baseball Tournament.
Starting pitcher Al Jordan Johnson (Groton, Conn./Fitch) allowed only two hits in a complete game shutout as top-seeded Mitchell advanced with a 4-0 victory over fourth-seeded Becker College. Neftali Arroyo (New Haven, Conn./Wilbur Cross) homered for the Mariners (29-4 overall) while Tyler Pina (Plainville, Conn./Plainville) and Evan Peck (Shelton, Conn./Shelton) each knocked in runs.
Johnson was locked in from the start and struck out the side in the first inning. He finished the game with a career-high 13 strikeouts and faced only four batters over the minimum, allowing a pair of hits while walking two.
Mitchell went up 2-0 in the second inning as Peck led off with a double and was on third base when Arroyo launched a two-out, two-run homer over the left field fence. Arroyo's blast, his team-leading fifth of the season, came on a full count.
Johnson allowed only one hit and struck out seven the first time through the Becker order. The Hawks put their first and only runner in scoring position with one out in the fourth, but Johnson got a strikeout and fly ball to escape unscathed.
The Mariners added a run in the home half of the fourth as an error and failed pick-off attempt put the leadoff batter on second base. After Mitchell sacrificed the runner over to third, Pina brought him home with a sacrifice fly to center field. In the fifth, a two-out RBI single by Peck plated Kenneth Olszewski (Canterbury, Conn./Griswold) from second base and extended the lead to 4-0.
Johnson took care of the rest for the Mariners en route to his first shutout of the season. He struck out a batter in every inning but the seventh and fanned the final batter of the game to improve to 9-0 on the season.
Samuel Stratton (Paxton, Mass./Wachusett) and T.J. Sempkowski (Oceanport, N.J./Shore) each singled on the day for Becker. Starting pitcher Tyler Wagar (Uxbridge, Mass./Uxbridge) went 8.0 innings and surrendered four runs (three earned) on seven hits and struck out four.
