CCC TOURNAMENT: No. 2 Endicott Baseball Postseason Preview

BEVERLY, Mass. – The second-seeded Endicott baseball team will host fifth-seeded Gordon this Thursday at 3 p.m. in the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Tournament at North Field.

Endicott earned the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament, which features a double elimination format, after posting a 13-3 record in league play this season. Western New England claimed the No. 1 seed in the CCC Tournament by winning a tie-breaker against the Gulls. Both teams split with No. 3-seed Nichols, but the Golden Bears' sweep of No. 4-seed Salve Regina gave them the edge over Endicott. Curry rounds out the postseason field as the No. 6 seed in the tournament.

PREVIOUS MATCHUPS

• Endicott swept Gordon by scores of 12-3 and 9-8 earlier this year on Saturday, April 16. (BOX SCORE GM 1 | BOX SCORE GM 2).

ALL-TIME SERIES NOTES

• The Gulls hold a 32-8 edge in the all-time series versus Gordon, which dates back to April 2, 1996.

POSTSEASON HISTORY

• Endicott has won six CCC championships, with its most recent title run coming in 2014.
• The Gulls have qualified for the CCC Tournament in every season as a member of the conference (2000-2015).

NEED TO KNOW

• Endicott leads the CCC in fielding percentage (.970), and also ranks second in earned run average (4.07), and fourth in batting average (.302).
• Nick Berno (St. Albans, Vt.) and Mike Kochiss (Fairfield, Conn.) rank fourth (.402) and fifth (.400) in batting average, respectively, in the league.
• JJ Branch (Milford, Mass.) is one win shy of setting the program's all-time mark. Branch currently has 24 career wins to his credit in 48 appearances (41 starts).

2016 CCC BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE
Dates and times subject to change 

Day 1 – Thursday, May 5
(Games 1-3, Hosted by higher seeds)

Game 1 - #6 Curry at #1 Western New England, 3 p.m.
Game 2 - #5 Gordon at #2 Endicott, 3 p.m.
Game 3 - #4 Salve Regina at #3 Nichols, 3 p.m.

Day 2 – Friday, May 6
(Games 4-6, Hosted by higher seeds)

Game 4 – Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2, TBD
Game 5 – Winner Game 1 vs. Loser Game 3, TBD
Game 6 – Winner Game 2 vs. Winner Game 3, TBD

Day 3 – Saturday, May 7
(Games 7-9)

If four teams remain after Game 6, the following procedure will be observed with the highest seed serving as host:

Game 7 – Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6, TBD
Game 8 – Winner Game 4 vs. Loser Game 6, TBD
Game 9 – Loser Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8, TBD

Note: The early game involving the host team will be played on the host team's field, while the other game will be played at an alternate site.

If five teams remain after Game 6, the following procedure will be observed:
(Game 8 will be hosted by the higher seed in that game. Games 7 and 9 will be hosted by the highest seed among those three teams.)

Game 7 – Loser Game 5 vs. Loser Game 6, TBD
Game 8 – Winner Game 4 vs. Winner Game 5, TBD
Game 9 – Winner Game 6 vs. Winner Game 7, TBD

Day 4 – Sunday, May 8
(Games 10-11)

If four teams remain after Game 6, the following procedure will be observed with the highest remaining seed serving as host:

Game 10 – Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 9, TBD
Game 11 – If necessary, same teams as in Game 10, TBD

If five teams remain after Game 6 AND only two teams remain after Game 9, the following procedure will be observed with the highest remaining seed serving as host:

Game 10 – Winner Game 8 vs. Winner Game 9, TBD
Game 11 – If necessary, same teams as in Game 10, TBD

If five teams remain after Game 6 AND three teams remain after Game 9, the following procedure will be observed:

Game 10 – Winner Game 8 vs. Loser Game 9, TBD
Game 11 – Winner Game 9 vs. Winner Game 10, TBD 

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