Endicott Smashes Engineers for 18-7 Victory

Craig Kaufman, Sports Information

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Endicott College scored a pair of runs in the first inning and went on to unleash an 18-run, 17-hit attack as it outscored MIT, 18-7, in non-conference baseball action on Monday afternoon at Briggs Field. Sophomore center fielder Tad Gold (Martha's Vineyard, Mass.) went 4-for-4 and drove in five runs, including a three-run homer, to lead the Gulls. A pair of first inning singles put runners on the corners with one away for Endicott (12-13) to start the game. Gold brought home the first run with a sac fly to right before senior Colin Sitarz (West Hartford, Conn.) followed with an RBI single. After scoring an unearned run in the third, Endicott scored three more times in the fourth, with the big blow a two-out, two-run home run by senior Danny Mello (Peabody, Mass.).

 MIT (11-13) got on the board on an RBI single from senior Bryan Macomber (Los Altos, Calif.) in the bottom half of the fourth. Endicott added another run in the fifth to make it 7-1 before the Engineers fought their way back into the game with a three-run sixth.

Junior James McKinney (Wakefield, R.I.) and sophomore Creed Mangrum (Sandy, Utah) led off the inning with base hits that started the rally. Junior Ricardo Perez (Vienna, Va.) brought both runners home with a double to center and eventually came around to score on a wild pitch to pull the Engineers to within three at 7-4.

Endicott answered with four in the top of the seventh, highlighted by a bases loaded single to right off the bat of freshman Harry Oringer (Dartmouth, Mass.) that scored a pair.

MIT came back with three more in the bottom half of the inning, getting its own bases loaded single as sophomore Sean Karson (Winter Park, Fla.) delivered a pair of runs. Freshman Phil Reiser (Alpharetta, Ga.) later drew a bases loaded walk that made it 11-7.

 Endicott was not done scoring runs, however, and the Gulls put the game away with two more in the eighth and then five in the ninth. Three of those final inning runs came on Gold's left field shot.

Gull sophomore Connor McLaughlin (Clinton, Mass.) held the Engineers in check over the final 2.1 innings, allowing three hits. Senior Mike Nich (Orange, Conn.) started for the Gulls and went 5.1 innings, allowing four runs on seven hits to pick up the win.

Freshman K.J. Parent (Knoxville, Tenn.) was the starter and loser for MIT, allowing seven runs, six earned, on eight hits in five innings of work.  

 Karson was 2-for-2 with a pair of RBIs for the Engineers.

Endicott will play next on Saturday, April 14 when it hosts Gordon College for a CCC doubleheader starting at Noon. Endicott is 5-3 in conference play.

MIT will return to NEWMAC conference play in its next game as it travels to Clark University for a 3:30 p.m. game on Friday, April 13.