Endicott Beats Wheaton, 8-5, Behind a Big Fourth Inning
April 2, 2004
(Norton, MA) On a cold, gray day in Norton, MA, Endicott scored in only two frames but it was enough to outlast the Lyons of Wheaton College. Two freshman pitchers, Mike Daggett and Jason Newham, pitched well and combined for the win and save respectively.
Endicott got on the board early in the top of first. With one out Dave Babiarz reached on a fielding error at shortstop. Mike Lucas promptly doubled him to third. Greg Allain followed with a sharp single past the first baseman to score both runners.
Wheaton answered with three of its own in the bottom half, but only one was earned. Lead off hitter Keith Cooper doubled in the left center gap. Dave Babiarz threw a routine grounder away to make it 3-1 with a runner on second. After a fly out, Daggett walked two to load the bases. However, he helped stop a big inning by picking off a runner at first with Allain coming in from behind to make the tag. In his first action since injuring his heel, Steve Vidmosko bobbled a chance at second base allowing two more to score.
Wheaton got one more in the bottom of the second from a single, stolen base, sac bunt and ground out. That made the score 4-2. From there, Daggett settled in nicely and pitched scoreless ball through the six complete innings.
In the top of the fourth, Endicott erupted for its biggest inning of the year so far: six runs. Allain led off with a single and went to second on a wild pitch. With one out Pat Vincent singled him to third. Steve Vidmosko got an RBI single up the middle and Mark Vaughan walked to load the bases. Dustin Aiguier sacrificed in Vincent and reached on an error by the pitcher. Brendan Tiani followed with an RBI ground ball out, Babiarz walked and then Lucas singled in two. Batting for the second time in the inning, Allain walked. Matt Bishop, also batting for the second time in the inning, singled in the sixth run but Lucas was cut down on a bang-bang play at the plate for the third out.
From there the pitchers took over. Enidicott only had three hits the rest of the way. Jason Newham took over for Daggett to start the seventh. He picked the save by working three strong innings. He allowed one run in the seventh, but did not allow a threat in eighth or ninth.
Coach Hiser commented, "This was a big win for our team. We gave up home field to get the game in; played in tough weather conditions; had two freshmen pitchers have strong outings; and got key base hits with men on base. The team should be proud of its effort today."
The win improves Endicott to 7-9 and drops Wheaton to 6-9-1. Tomorrow's (Saturday) game at Curry (Milton, MA) is still on, but has been pushed back to a 1:00 pm start time.