Gulls rally, sweep double-header
March 16, 2008
Box Score Game One - Box Score Game Two
ORLANDO, Fla. - Junior third baseman Brian Andersen (Grafton, Mass.) slapped a walk off single to right field in the bottom of the ninth to score Aaron Santos (Cambridge, Mass.), as the Gulls erased a 6-0 deficit to defeat Albright College, 7-6, in their season opener on Sunday afternoon in Orlando, Florida.
Albright got on the board first as the Lions Tim Conner (West Chester, Pa.) cranked a solo shot off Erik Fields (Swampscott, Mass.) in the bottom of the second, putting AC ahead, 1-0. Fields kept his cool as he mowed-down Jeff Kulp (Kintersville, Pa.) and then got Shane Stein (New Ringgold, Pa.) to pop out to end the inning.
Following three consecutive frames of scoreless baseball, Albright broke through in a big way in the top half of the sixth. Chad Mackey (Boyertown, Pa.) quickly put himself in scoring position as he double to left, eventually advancing to third on a fielder's choice. Jeff Kulp singled to left, plating Mackey to give the Lions a 2-0 lead. Following another Albright single, a mound visit saw Fields replaced by Matt Sharon (Wallingford, Vt.). Sharon surrendered three-straight singles as Albright was able to score five runs in the inning.
Needing a rally, the Gulls found their groove in the bottom of the sixth as the Blue and Green responded with a breakout inning of their own. Aaron Santos connected on a double to left center, advancing John Skutnick (Pittsfield, Mass.) to third. Senior catcher Dan Gomez (East Longmeadow, Mass.) dug in to lace a two-RBI triple to right center, clearing the bases and pulling the Gulls back within four. Gomez, standing comfortably at third, was issued a free-pass to the plate as he scored on an Albright balk. Back-to-back singles by Brian Andersen and freshman Luis Uribe (Boston, Mass.) proved valuable as a sac fly from Todd Strong (Topsham, Maine) and a double from Tom Warner (Contoocook, N.H.) knotted the game at six-all.
A 6-6 game in the bottom of the ninth, Aaron Santos led the frame off with a walk. The speedy Santos made his patience at the plate pay-off on the base path, as he robbed second to get into scoring position. Dan Gomez advanced Santos over to third as he ground out to the pitcher, putting the Gulls' centerfielder on the corner with just one out. Brian Andersen completed the comeback attempt as he slapped a walk-off single to right field, scoring Santos and a win for Endicott.
Dan Gomez paced the Gulls at the plate as he went 3-for-5 with two RBI. Aaron Santos was also steady in his opener, going 1-for-3 with two walks and two runs scored. Freshman Luis Uribe hit 2-for-4 and scored a run in the Endicott victory. Dave Weinreich (Milford, Conn.) earned the win, as he tossed two innings of one hit, no run relief for the Gulls.
The Gulls completed the double-header sweep by taking game two by a less dramatic 12-3 score. The Gulls scored 10 runs in the sixth and capitalized on seven Albright errors. Endicott, now 2-0 on the young season, returns to action on Monday morning as they meet Edgewood at 9:30 a.m.