Box Score NEW LONDON, Conn. – Senior Alex Murdoch's three-run double highlighted a six run seventh inning as host Coast Guard beat Mitchell 8-2 in a non-conference game between the two New London schools.
Murdoch, the only senior on the Coast Guard team, playing in the final home game of his career, had a pair of hits while junior Will Stephens had the first four hit game of his career as he went 4 for 4 with a double to give him 99 career hits. It was the Bears first win over Mitchell since 2013.
Stephens would be the first Coast Guard player since 2012 to get 100 hits during his junior season if he gets one in the final game of the season on Wednesday. Both Nolan Gallagher and Tyler Babkiewich got their 100th hits as juniors during the 2012 season.
Junior Luke Thompson had three hits, his seventh game this season with three or more hits, while
sophomore Alex Cordes added a pair of hits for Coast Guard which improved to 10-18 on the season.
Freshman Lukas Caskey (2-1) started for Coast Guard and pitched five shutout innings allowing just four hits while walking two and striking out one to get the win.
Junior Bryan Delp allowed a pair of unearned runs on three hits over the next three innings before sophomore Ben Webster pitched a scoreless ninth.
Jeff Nicolosi pitched four scoreless innings as the Mitchell starter, one of eight pitchers for the Mariners (21-7). Connor Dulin (0-1) allowed a run in the fifth on three hits and took the loss.
Eric Marriott had two of Mitchell's six hits.
Stephens got the Bears on the board with an RBI single in the fifth for a 1-0 lead.
In the six run seventh, Thompson drove in the first run with and infield RBI single before Murdoch's bases clearing double to center pushed the lead to 5-0.
The Bears scored their sixth run on error before freshman Dylan Roberts RBI single gave the Bears a 7-0 lead in the seventh.
Mitchell scored both of its runs in the eighth on a sacrifice fly by James Rangel and an RBI single by Steven Pagan before the Bears closed the scoring with an unearned run in the eighth.
Coast Guard will close out the season on Wednesday at Emerson in a game that was suspended earlier in the season with the Bears leading 10-0 in the middle of the first inning.
