Paola's Walk-Off Single Punctuates Gulls' Ninth-Inning Rally To Stun No. 14 USM, 4-3

BEVERLY, Mass. – With the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, senior right fielder Matthew Paola (Middlebury, Conn.) hit a 1-2 pitch up the middle to plate sophomore pinch hitter Michael Casciano (Somers, Conn.) with the winning run from third base in Endicott's 4-3 come-from-behind victory over No. 14 nationally-ranked University of Southern Maine Wednesday evening at North Field.

Junior right-hander Victor Molle (Peabody, Mass.) earned his first career win (1-0) in a Gulls' uniform as he came on to pitch the ninth and allowed zero runs on one hit and a strikeout.

Southern Maine freshman reliever Matt Correale (Peabody, Mass.) was tagged with his first loss of the season (0-1) on three innings of work. Correale gave up two runs (both unearned) on four hits, one walk and one strikeout.

The Huskies scored first as senior right fielder Nick DiBiase (Portland, Maine) had an infield single to third base to lead off the game and came around to score on senior shortstop Sam Dexter's (Oakland, Maine) RBI double in the top of the first.

The Gulls then took a 2-1 lead as they put up two runs in the bottom of the third on sophomore catcher Hunter Boyce's (Bangor, Maine) RBI groundout to the pitcher to bring junior center fielder Cam Farnham (Andover, Mass.) home for the host's first run. Sophomore left fielder Michael DeDonato (Chelmsford, Mass.) gave Endicott its first lead of the game when he scored on sophomore second baseman Nick Berno's (St. Albans, Vt.) single up the middle with two outs.

The Huskies grabbed the lead back in the top of the sixth when senior center fielder Jake Glauser (Goffstown, N.H.) smoked a ball to left field for an RBI double scoring junior designated hitter Paul McDonough (Wells, Maine). USM padded the lead to 3-1 in the seventh as McDonough laced an RBI single into center field to plate Dexter.

Endicott's heroics happened in the bottom of the ninth with two outs as two quick groundouts left the hosts in a hole facing a 3-2 deficit before senior shortstop Cody Hall (Rutland, Mass.) singled to left to give the Gulls a fighting chance as freshman pinch runner Matt Bald (De Pere, Wisc.) replaced Hall on first base. Casciano, pinch-hitting for Boyce, reached based on catcher's interference and DeDonato singled to left as Bald hustled all the way around from second to tie the game at 3-all.

An intentional walk to Berno loaded the bases for Paola whose walk-off single up the middle gave Endicott its first walkoff victory of the season.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• DeDonato finished his night going 3-for-5 with an RBI double and one run scored as he leads the team with the most multi-hit games this season.
• Freshman first baseman Chris Seidl (Dracut, Mass.) extended his hitting streak to 12 straight games, good for the longest on the team this season, as he went 1-for-4 on the day.
• Farnham registered a game-high two stolen bases and currently leads the team with eight swipes on the season (second-most in the Commonwealth Coast Conference.)
• Sophomore right-hander Brady Hall (Rockville, Md.) pitched six full innings on the bump (7 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 2 SO) as he got a no-decision, before being replaced by freshman southpaw Liam Burke (Westwood, Mass.) in his first career appearance who recorded one out (0H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 SO) and junior RHP Colby Morris (Newburyport, Mass.) who gave up just one hit and two walks in 1 2/3 innings of relief.
• USM still leads the all-time series, 17-8, dating back to April 17, 2001.

FOR THE FOES

• The Huskies are ranked No. 14 in the latest NCBWA/D3Baseball.com poll as of March 29, 2016.
• McDonough tallied three of the team's nine hits as he had a 3-for-5 day at the plate with one run scored and one RBI.
• Freshman starter Ryan Gaydou (Dartmouth, Mass.) lasted six innings on the hill en route to a no-decision and allowed two runs (both earned) on six hits, recorded four punch outs and issued one walk.

WHAT'S NEXT

Endicott (8-5) returns to action on Thursday, March 31 as the Gulls travel to Cambridge, Mass. to take on MIT in a non-conference contest at 3:30 p.m. University of Southern Maine (7-5) takes on Rhode Island College in doubleheader action on the road on Saturday, April 2 at 12/3 p.m. 

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