After a busy 12-game road trip to Fort Myers, Fla., the Colby men’s baseball team returned home to Coombs Field this weekend to play its home opener in a series against Trinity College. The spring break trip was largely positive—the Mules came back north with a 7-5 record and some impressive wins on their résumé.

The week opened up with an interesting pair of scores in a Saturday double-header against Gettysburg College. The Bullets came out rolling in the first game with the offense firing on all cylinders in a 19-9 defeat of Colby. The following game, however, was a pitchers’ duel as Brady Hesslein ’13 pitched seven scoreless innings en route to a 2-0 victory.

Next up was a game against the Lawrence College Vikings that saw the Mules fall in a close contest, 9-7. Colby followed that up with a 12-9 win against the State University of New York at New Paltz Hawks. A Tuesday double-header against the Oneonta State Red Dragons was split, with Colby winning the morning game 4-2, but losing the nightcap 5-2. Two followed to Western Connecticut State and The College of Wooster.

The Mules returned to their winning ways in two more games against Western Connecticut, winning both games of the Friday double-header against the Colonials. Colby packed an offensive wallop in that series, averaging nine runs in the three games. The Mules continued to pour on the offense the next day in two games against Plymouth State University, scoring 12 and 17 runs to finish out the week in Florida and push their record to two games over .500 for the season.

The standout offensive performer of the week was third baseman Mike Mastrocola ’12, who earned national recognition with a spot on the d3baseball.com National Team of the Week. Mastrocola hit .488/.551/.774 (batting average, on-base percentage, slugging average) to go along with a home run, two triples and four doubles.

The return trip to Maine sapped the Mules’ offensive power, as Colby managed only 13 runs in a three-game sweep at the hands of the Trinity Bantams. Hesslein, Connor Sullivan ’12 and Mark Nelson ’13 combined to allow seven runs in seven innings, including a double and a home run by Trinity’s Michael Rueger. Colby outfielder Jason Buco ’15 also homered, his first collegiate round-tripper. Buco would hit a home run the following game as well, but again, the offense fell short for the Mules in a 10-4 defeat. Starting pitcher Nate Sugarbaker ’13 took the loss, falling to 2-1 on the season.

The third game of the series saw another Colby loss in a tight back-and-forth 6-4 contest, with Dakota Rabbitt ’14 and Abhi Chandel ’12 combining for the loss.

The series marked the first games in the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC), where Colby limps to an 0-3 record and a spot in the basement of the Eastern division standings. The Mules’ next contest is this Friday, April 6 at 4 p.m. at Saint Joseph’s College.