WALTHAM, Mass. – Pat Heber pitched eight shutout innings, and
Jimmy Mitchell's fourth-inning home run gave the No. 8 Bentley baseball team the momentum it needed for a 7-2 win over No. 17 Molloy in the first game of the NCAA East Super Regional Thursday afternoon.
The two teams meet again Friday, May 22, at 2 p.m. for the second game of the best-of-three series. The advancing team goes on to Cary, North Carolina for the NCAA DII World Series, which consists of eight teams.
Heber improved his season record to 10-0 while striking out six batters. He is tied with teammate
Sam Belliveau for Bentley's single-season record for wins.
The Falcons had a narrow 1-0 lead through three innings, but the bats got going in the fourth inning.
Jake Maydak hit a one-out single in the fourth, and Tommy Goodnan promptly followed by clubbing a double. Mitchell was next to up to the plate. He worked a 3-1 count before crushing a home run over the center field fence. It was Mitchell's sixth home run of the season, and his second of the postseason.
Brendan Sencaj belted a solo home run in the fifth inning, marking his 16
th home run of the season, and his second of the postseason.
Nick Pappas and
Tommy Bolton both contributed RBI singles in the win. Pappas finished the game 3-for-5 at the plate, while Mitchell went 3-for-4 with three runs.
Mitchell was the catalyst for Bentley's first run of the game. He led off the third inning with a single, and Bolton's sacrifice bunt moved Mitchell into scoring position.
Jared Berardino and
Stan DeMartinis III drew walks to load the bases with two outs. During Sencaj's at bat, a pitch sailed high to the backstop. Mitchell sprinted down to the third base line and scored without a throw.
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