Gulls split with Chargers, open playoffs with Wentworth
April 26, 2008
Game One Box Score - Game Two Box Score
NEW LONDON, N.H. - Endicott College took one of two from Colby-Sawyer College in a The Commonwealth Coast Conference double-header on Saturday afternoon in New London, New Hampshire. The split guarantees the Gulls a spot in the TCCC playoffs, as the Blue and Green will head to Wentworth on Tuesday afternoon for the opening round of the conference tournament.
Reigning TCCC Player of the Week Chris Gaeta (Lynn, Mass.) hit two home runs, a solo shot in the bottom of the first inning of game one and a two-run shot in the bottom of the sixth in game two, helping the Colby-Sawyer Chargers earn a split with the Gulls.
The visitors got on the board first, notching a run as Aaron Santos (Cambridge, Mass.) led off the game with a single, stole second and scored on an Andrew Betts (Bristol, Conn.) single.
The Chargers answered back in the home half of the first, posting two runs as Gaeta hit a solo home run over the left-centerfield wall and Kris Ramsay (Gardiner, Maine) scored on a Chris Hartery (Billerica, Mass.) double, giving the Chargers the 2-1 advantage.
Endicott added a run in the top of the third as Brian Andersen's (Grafton, Mass.) single to centerfield drove in Betts, knotting the game at two runs apiece.
In the top of the fifth, the Gulls plated two more runs as Mike Barbati (Melrose, Mass.) singled to center, driving in Luis Uribe (Boston, Mass.) and Dan Gomez (East Longmeadow, Mass.) giving Endicott the 4-2 advantage.
In the sixth, the visitors extended their lead to 6-2 thanks to a two RBI triple from Betts that scored what proved to be the go-ahead runs for the Gulls.
In the bottom of the sixth, Shane Hoagboon (Mayfield, N.Y.) drove in two Colby-Sawyer runs, cutting the deficit to only two, 6-4 after six.
Endicott's Colin McGinn (Tolland, Conn) came on in the seventh and shut the door on the Chargers, stranding runners on the corners to pick up his first save of the season, securing the 6-4 victory.
Endicott's Nick Kelley (Malden, Mass.) picked up the win for the Gulls, his second of the season. At the plate for the visitors, Betts tallied three of the team's six hits, including a triple, and drove in three runs. Santos drew two walks, and scored two runs on the day, adding a pair of stolen bases.
For Colby-Sawyer, Gaeta went 1-for-4 with a home run, his fourth of the season, and Hoagboon was 2-for-3 with two RBI. Senior Justin Sakovitz (Stoneham, Mass.) took the loss for the Chargers, giving up six runs on five hits, striking out four.
In the second game, the Chargers struck in the bottom of the first, plating two runs as Hartery hit a two-run home run to left field that gave Colby-Sawyer the early advantage, 2-0.
Endicott tied the game in the second, scoring two runs of Colby-Sawyer starter Kris Ramsay, as Anderson and Tyler Connelly (Grafton, Mass.) scored for the visitors.
Ramsay helped his cause in the bottom of the third, tripling to center field, and scoring Matt Corvo (Stratton Mt., Vt.) and later scoring on a wild pitch, plating the game-winning run and giving the Chargers the 4-2 advantage after three.
The Chargers added two runs in both the fourth and sixth innings, including Gaeta's second home run of the day in the sixth, while Ramsay allowed just one more run on the mound, as he picked up his third win of the season, throwing a complete game, six-hit gem, striking out four. He also went 2-for-2 from the plate in game two, with an RBI and two runs scored.
Michael Drinkwater (Hamilton, Mass.) took the loss for the visitors, his second of the season, going just 2.1 innings, allowing four runs on four hits and struck out two.
Colby-Sawyer (14-20, 10-12 TCCC) is scheduled to play Worcester State tomorrow, April 27 in their final regular-season game at Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass. at 12 p.m.
The Chargers will play in the opening round of TCCC tournament on Tuesday, April 29 and will face either Curry College or Western New England on the road. This is the 13th straight year the Chargers have qualified for the conference tournament, open to the top eight teams in a field of 12 schools. The Chargers split with Curry and Western New England in the team's regular-season match-ups.
Endicott finishes the regular season at 19-18 overall, 13-9 in conference play and earn the tournament's No. 5 seed. They will travel to Wentworth Institute of Technology on Tuesday, for an opening round match-up with the No. 4 seeded Leopards. The Gulls swept the season series with the Leopards. The opening round against WIT will be played at Tufts University at 3:00 p.m. on Tuesday afternoon.