Endicott squeezed by Brandeis 4-3 in non-conference action

Boxscore

Waltham, Mass. – The Endicott baseball team gave up four runs in the final two innings and dropped a 4-3 road, non-conference game to Brandeis. Gulls (25-13) pitcher Kevin Dupras (Belchertown, Mass.) pitched six scoreless innings, allowing only four hits, before the three-run bottom of the seventh. 

Brandeis (22-13) saw junior Sean O’Hare (Southampton, Mass.) rope a triple down the right field line that scored two runners to cut Endicott’s lead down to 3-2. The Gulls called upon freshman Steven Carter (Brunswick, Maine) to escape the jam but the next batter, Brian Ing (Sandwich, Mass.), bounced the first offering in front of the plate which allowed O’Hare to score from third. 

With the score tied 3-3, Judges sophomore Nick Cortese (Guaynabo, Puerto Rico) singled and stole second to get into scoring position. A sacrifice put the runner at third, then sophomore Chris Ferro (Walpole, Mass.) executed a suicide squeeze to give the home team the 4-3 advantage.

Endicott put runners on first and second with two outs in the top of the ninth on a single by Robbie Goldstick (Deerfield, Ill.), a stolen base by pinch runner EJ Martinez (Brooklyn, N.Y.), and a walk to Tad Gold (Martha’s Vineyard, Mass.), but junior Danny Mello (Peabody, Mass.) battled through an 11-pitch at bat before fouling out to end the game.

The Blue and Green had their offense working in the first half of the game, scoring single runs in three of the first five innings. Sophomore Eric Lemke (Southington, Conn.) hit an RBI single to drive home Chris Dominguez (Braintree, Mass.), who doubled to reach second base. Goldstick scored the other two runs, racing home on a sacrifice fly by Mello in the third and scoring on an infield grounder by Dominguez in the fifth. 

Dupras finished the game allowing three runs on seven hits and a walk in six innings on the mound. Carter pitched the final two innings, allowing run on one hit, no walks and a strikeout. 

Brandeis freshman Colin Markel (Scarsdale, N.Y.) came on in relief of Mike Swerdloff (Scarsdale, N.Y.) and earned the win. Markel retired two hitters and got his second win while Brian Ing (Sandwich, Mass.) earned his second save of the season. Swerdloff got the no-decision, pitching six innings allowing eight hits and three runs while striking out two batters.