Baseball crowned ECAC New England co-champs; end record-breaking season

Beverly, Mass. – For the second time in program history, the Endicott baseball team has won an ECAC Championship. Endicott was declared co-champions of the 2011 ECAC Division III New England Tournament along with Anna Maria College after weather forced the cancellation of the title game.

Making their second straight and fifth overall appearance in the postseason tournament, the Gulls opened with a 7-6 win over \#8 Becker on Wednesday (May 11). Three days later, the bats came alive in a 10-5 win over \#5 Suffolk in the semifinals. Sunday’s championship matchup with the AMCATS would have been the fifth meeting between the two sides this season, having already met twice during the regular season and twice more during the TCCC Tournament. 

The 2010-11 season was a record-breaking one for the Gulls as they won a program-best 32 games and saw a number of individual records fall. 

The Commonwealth Coast Conference (TCCC) Rookie of the Year Jake Northrup (Boxborough, Mass.) set the single-season record for hits, RBI, batting average, total bases, and doubles.   North split time between shortstop and first base defensively and had 71 hits, 54 RBI, 106 total bases, and 16 doubles while batting .461 on the year. 

Sophomore Danny Mello (Peabody, Mass.) set the single season record for stolen bases in a season by swiping 29 in his inaugural year with the Blue and Green. The Gulls’ lead-off man also set the record for runs in a season with 49. 

Endicott finished with an overall record of 32-15 and went 15-7 in conference play. The Gulls won their first three games of the TCCC Tournament behind three strong pitching performances before falling on championship Sunday to Western New England. 

Additionally, six members of the squad earned All-TCCC selections including three first team honorees and three second team nods. Northrup, along with his Rookie of the Year award, was awarded First Team status as well as juniors Benjamin Petrides (Belchertown, Mass.) and Colin Sitarz (West Hartford, Conn.). Petrides was also named the TCCC’s Pitcher of the Year. 

Petrides, who made 13 appearances on the mound including six starts, went unblemished with a 5-0 record and three saves. Petrides sported a 2.01 ERA in 49.1 innings pitched, allowing just 11 earned runs all season on 44 hits, seven walks while fanning 39 batters. He held opposing batters to a .238 batting average against in 2011.

Endicott’s right fielder, Sitarz set career-highs in runs scored (36), runs batted in (39), stolen bases (15) and triples (7) in 2011. He started in all 47 games this season.

Endicott’s All-TCCC Second Team winners included Mello, sophomore second baseman Eric Lemke (Southington, Conn.), and sophomore pitcher Brendan Pittsley (Plympton, Mass.). Lemke played all 47 games for the Gulls this season and batted .307 with 37 runs, 34 RBI, 20 base-on-balls, nine doubles and eight stolen bases. Lemke ended the season with an impressive .967 fielding percentage. Pittsley went 5-2 on the mound with a 3.51 ERA and team-leading 41 strikeouts and .189 batting average against. He recorded a complete-game shutout of Anna Maria in the first game of the TCCC Championship Tournament, winning 5-0 after hurling nine innings and allowing only three hits and two walks while striking out seven. 

With just four seniors graduating on Saturday, May 21^st, including shortstop Chris Dominguez (Braintree, Mass.), the Blue and Green anticipate another successful season in 2012 with their sights set on the TCCC Championship trophy and a bid into the NCAA Tournament.