Gulls rally in the sixth to win game one; sweep ENC in TCCC double dip

Beverly, Mass. – The Endicott baseball team found themselves trailing Eastern Nazarene by one in the sixth inning of game one of a TCCC doubleheader, but timely hitting lifted the Gulls to a 5-4 win. Endicott carried the momentum into game two with an 8-2 victory, completing the two-game sweep of the Lions.

Endicott improved to 16-7 overall and 8-2 in the conference while Eastern Nazarene dropped to 5-16 (2-8 TCCC).

Boxscore

Down 4-3 in the top of the sixth inning, Endicott junior Colin Sitarz (West Hartford, Conn.) roped a double down the left field line to tie the game and later scored on a double off the top of top of the outfield wall by junior Mike Russo (Natick, Mass.). 

Gulls sophomore hurler Brendan Pittsley (Plympton, Mass.) pitched the final three innings, allowing only two base runners on a walk and a hit while striking out five batters to earn the victory. Pittsley is now 2-2 on the season. 

Endicott jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the top of the first as leadoff batter Danny Mello (Peabody, Mass.) singled through the left side, then stole second to get into scoring position. After a walk to Chris Dominguez (Braintree, Mass.) and a sacrifice bunt by Eric Lemke (Southington, Conn.) advanced the runners, cleanup hitter Jake Northrup (Boxborough, Mass.) singled to drive in the game’s first run. 

With runners on first and third, the double steal attempt by the Gulls plated Dominguez and after reaching third base following a groundout, Northrup scored on a RBI single by Sitarz. 

With Endicott up 3-0, Eastern Nazarene began to chip away at the lead starting with a run in the bottom of the third inning. Senior Juan Rivera (Pelham, N.H.) hit a ball in the air to left field that was mishandled for an error, allowing Rivera to reach second base. After the next batter struck out, senior Luke Matthews (Boise, Idaho) roped a two-out single through the left side that scored the runner from second to make it 3-1 Endicott.

The Lions tied the game at 3-3 in the fourth inning on a Juan Rivera single to right center that brought home Danny Rodriguez (Bronx, N.Y.) and Matt Jayne (Quincy, Mass.). Eastern Nazarene would take the lead at 4-3 in the fifth on a RBI double down the left field line by freshman Dave Manning (Yorktown Heights, N.Y.), setting up Endicott’s rally in the sixth. 

Endicott’s starting pitcher, Tyler Hitchcock (Abington, Mass.), went four innings allowing four runs, three earned, on seven hits and no walks. He struck out three in the game. His counterpart, Steve Doyle (Weymouth, Mass.), pitched six innings allowing all five runners on eight hits and three walks while fanning three. Lions junior Jeremy Cook (Hatfield, Pa.) pitched a scoreless seventh allowing one base runner via a walk. 

Boxscore

Game two saw the Endicott once again obtain an early 3-0 in the first inning, however, they would not allow Eastern Nazarene back in the game by piling on all eight runs in the first four innings. 

Danny Mello cracked his first homerun of the season and finished the game 3-for-4 with two runs and two RBI to lead the Endicott offense in this game. Mello’s two-run blast came in a four-run top of the fourth for the Gulls that saw Endicott take an 8-0 lead.

Jake Northrup added two RBIs on a groundout in the first that scored Chris Dominguez and an RBI single to left in the fourth that plated Eric Lemke. 

Gulls pitcher Benjamin Petrides (Belchertown, Mass.) improved to 4-0 on the season after going five innings, allowing just one run on four hits while striking out six batters. Connor McLaughlin (Clinton, Mass.) and Kevin Dupras (Belchertown, Mass.) each pitched an inning of relief and combined for three strikeouts to close out the game for the Gulls. 

Tad Gold (Martha’s Vineyard, Mass.) and Colin Sitarz each added RBIs in this game with Gold doubling in a runner and Sitarz getting a RBI single. 

Eastern Nazarene scored two runs in the game, one on a RBI groundout by Juan Rivera in the fifth and the other on a single through the left side by Steve Doyle that scored sophomore Carlos Silver (New York, N.Y.). Silver had reached on a fielder’s choice and stole second base to get in scoring position. 

Eastern Nazarene’s Jared Daniels (Smithsburd, Md.) pitched two shutout innings to end the game but Lions starter Steve Oehlschlaeger (Dallas, Texas) took the loss after giving up 11 hits and two walks resulting in eight runs, four of which were earned. 

Endicott will host TCCC opponent Colby-Sawyer on Saturday, April 9^th starting at 12:00 pm on North Field. Eastern Nazarene takes on Anna Maria at 12:30 pm on the same day.