Baseball Downed by Mitchell, Tops Lesley in NECC Tournament Action

HENNIKER, N.H.- The No. 3 seed Eastern Nazarene College baseball team dropped a 6-3 decision to second-seeded Mitchell before defeating Lesley 7-4 on day one of the New England Collegiate Conference Tournament Friday.

The Lions progress to 21-18-1 on the season with the results. The Mariners, ranked No. 6 in the latest NCAA Regional Rankings, improve to 27-10 overall with the win. The Lynx finish the 2022 campaign with a 14-25-1 overall record.

Tyler Bean (Wellington, Fla.) racked up three hits, three RBIs, three stolen bases, and four runs scored on the day. Steven Pesce (Harrison, N.Y.) posted two hits and three RBIs. Shane McNamara (Londonderry, N.H.) collected two hits, two RBIs, and one run scored. Juan Jacobo Lopez (San Diego, Calif.) and Jaime Roldan (Boston, Mass.) both landed three base knocks on the afternoon.

Eastern Nazarene began the NECC Tournament with a 6-3 loss to Mitchell.

Mitchell manufactured one run in the bottom of the second inning to grab a 1-0 edge. Lelo Martinez tagged up and scored as Owen Robbins lifted a sacrifice fly to centerfield.

Eastern Nazarene responded with a pair of runs in the third to capture a 2-1 lead. Brandon Guerrero  (Boston, Mass.) scampered home from third base on a wild pitch. Pesce scorched a single down the right field line to drive in Bean.

The Lions chalked up a run in the fifth to widen the margin to 3-1. Jacobo Lopez crossed the dish as Frank Landeiro (Orlando, Fla.) reached on an error.

The Mariners answered with one run in the home half of the fifth to cut the deficit to 3-2. Dougie DeLaCruz roped a two-out double to right field to drive in Justin Adorno.

Mitchell generated two runs in the sixth inning to jump ahead 4-3 and added a pair of runs in the seventh to extend their lead to 6-3.

Jon Tessier (Coronado, Calif.) pitched seven innings and finished with two strikeouts. Dale Beneway (Wappingers Falls, N.Y.) hurled one scoreless inning of relief and recorded one strikeout.

Eastern Nazarene wrapped up the day with a 7-4 win over fourth-seeded Lesley in an elimination showdown.

The Lions tallied one run in the bottom of the first to seize a 1-0 lead. McNamara lifted a sacrifice fly to plate Bean.

The Lynx notched four runs in the second to grab a 4-1 advantage. Ian Spillane singled to centerfield to knock in James Brandon. Colby Jacobs and Spillane both scored on an infield hit by Ian Dempsey. Dempsey crossed the dish as he stole home with two outs.

Eastern Nazarene scored twice in the bottom of the second inning to narrow the gap to 4-3. Bean belted his fourth home run of the year, a two-run blast to drive in Ethaniel Almendarez (Lynn, Mass.).

The Lions plated a pair of runs in the fourth to reclaim a one-run edge, 5-4. Pesce laced a two-out double to plate Ruddy Vidal (Barahona, Dominican Republic) and Bean.

Eastern Nazarene tacked on a run in the home half of the sixth to stretch its lead to 6-4. Bean scorched a single to left field to score Cam Barry (Manchester, Conn.).

The Lions pushed their lead to 7-4 with a run in the seventh as McNamara clobbered a solo homer.

Morgan Weast (Cincinnati, Ohio) threw his third complete game of the spring and fanned eight batters.

Up next, Eastern Nazarene will battle the loser of Saturday's NECC Tournament winners' bracket clash between Mitchell and New England College in an elimination game May 7.