Branch Fans Nine In 8-3 Win Over Framingham State

BEVERLY, Mass. – Senior right-hander JJ Branch (Milford, Mass.) struck out a career-high nine batters over 7 2/3 innings to lead the Gulls past Framingham State University, 8-3, on Tuesday evening at North Field.

In his eighth start of the season, Branch only allowed one earned run (three total), scattered six hits and issued two walks on 116 pitches (74 strikes) to improve to 5-0 on the year. Colby Morris (Newburyport, Mass.) picked up his first career save by closing out the final four outs of the contest (1 fly out, 3 ground outs, 1 double play).

Framingham State freshman starter Kyle Hodgson (Berkley, Mass.) took the loss on 4 1/3 innings, six hits, six runs (all earned), one free pass, and two punchouts.

The Rams grabbed a quick 1-0 lead in the top of the second on an RBI single to center from Anthony Venuti (Braintree, Mass.), but Endicott answered with a five-run fourth and never looked back.

In the fourth, Mike Kochiss (Fairfield, Conn.) evened up the score at 1-1 with RBI double to left field before Cam Farnham (Andover, Mass.) gave the Gulls the lead for good with a two-run single up the middle.  Josh Drew (Intervale, N.H.) capped the scoring two at-bats later with a two-run blast down the right field line for a 5-1 advantage.

Both teams then exchanged solo runs in the fifth and seventh innings prior to Cody Hall's (Rutland, Mass.) RBI double down the right field line in the eighth that concluded the scoring in the game.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• Endicott is 7-0 in the all-time series versus Framingham State, which dates back to March 14, 2010. 
• Kochiss extended his hitting streak to 12 straight games with a one-out double in the second. Kochiss finished the day going 3-for-4 with one run scored and two RBI.
• Kochiss has registered nine multi-hit games (2-6, 3-2, 4-1) and five multi-RBI contests (2-3, 3-1, 4-1) this season.
• Morris entered the game with runners on first and second and one out in the top of the eighth inning to pick up his first career save. Morris has inherited 14 runners this season, and only allowed three to score.
• Branch currently sits one win shy (23) of tying Mike Nich (Orange, Conn.) on all-time career wins list. Nich recorded 24 wins over his career, which spanned from 2009, 2011-13.
• Drew's home run in the fifth was the first of his career.

FOR THE FOES

• The Rams scored on a throwing error in the fifth, and a sac fly from Venuti in the seventh to highlight the rest of their scoring.
• Venuti finished the game going 2-for-2 with one run and two RBI from the eighth spot in the lineup.
• RJ Gray (Lowell, Mass.) also produced a multi-hit game (2-for-4, one run scored).
• Brendan McDonough (Chelmsford, Mass.) was solid out of the pen as the senior side-armer allowed just three hits, and one unearned, run over 2 2/3 innings (one walk, two strikeouts).

WHAT'S NEXT

Endicott (18-9) travels to Southern Maine tomorrow to take on the No. 16 nationally ranked Huskies at 3:30 p.m. Framingham State (10-15) visits Rhode Island College on Thursday at 3:30 p.m. 

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