AUBURNDALE, Florida (March 14, 2022) – The Mitchell College baseball team was one of many teams receiving votes toward the pre-season Collegiate Baseball Division III poll and the Mariners looked worthy of the attention in their doubleheader against Rutgers-Camden here Monday.
 
Mitchell overcame a three-run deficit to win the opener, 5-4, and then exploded for a 14-5 victory in the nightcap. The Mariners raised their record to 7-4, while dropping the Scarlet Raptors to 5-6.
 
The Scarlet Raptors have a day off on Tuesday and return to action at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, facing Plattsburgh State in Davenport, Florida.
   
The Mariners scored two runs apiece in the fourth and fifth innings to overcome a 4-1 deficit and edge the Scarlet Raptors in the opening game. Trailing by three runs, Mitchell cut the gap to 4-3 on a two-run home run in the fourth inning by junior catcher Matt Falk. In the fifth inning, two hits, a hit batsman and a sacrifice fly provided the tying and eventual winning runs. Senior center fielder Hunter Yaworski doubled home the tying run and junior third baseman Lelo Martinez provided the tie-breaking tally with a sacrifice fly.
 
The game started well for the Raptors, who scored two runs in the first inning on a bunt single by junior third baseman Connor Van Dine and a two-run home run by junior first baseman Jack Murphy.
 
Yaworski had an RBI single in the bottom of the first, but Rutgers-Camden countered with two runs in the top of the second. With one out, sophomore center fielder Auggie Uzdanovics singled, freshman right fielder Frankie Romond walked and junior second baseman Danny Vazquez reached on an error. Van Dine singled home one run and senior shortstop Jesse Gerdes plated the second run when he was hit by a pitch.
 
Sophomore pitcher Nick Diaz (0-1) worked 4.1 innings, allowing nine hits and five earned runs, while striking out four. Senior Ethan Pritchett hurled 1.2 scoreless innings in relief, allowing one hit and fanning three.
 
Freshman Chris Gibbs (2-0) notched the win, working 5.1 innings of five-hit ball. He allowed four runs (three earned) and two walks, while striking out three. Senior Sam Majewski, the last of three Mitchell pitchers, earned the save with one scoreless inning, allowing one walk and no hits.
 
Van Dine went 2-for-2 with one run and one RBI for Rutgers-Camden. Yaworski and sophomore shortstop Angel Galindez both went 2-for-3 for Mitchell.
   
Yaworski continued his big day for Mitchell, going 2-for-3 with a home run, three runs scored and five RBIs to lead a 10-hit Mariner attack. His two-run home run capped a four-run third inning that saw two errors lead to four unearned runs off Raptor starter Murphy.
 
Rutgers-Camden got one run back in the bottom of the frame on an RBI single by Vazquez, but Mitchell broke the game open with six runs in the fifth and four more in the sixth. Rutgers-Camden got its final four runs in the bottom of the fifth, with three coming on Romond's first collegiate home run.
 
Rutgers-Camden collected seven hits in the game, with a pair of freshmen – third baseman Andrew Brown and center fielder Chris Bonafiglia – both going 2-for-3.