NCAA TOURNAMENT: Endicott Captures Regional Championship Over Cortland, 7-5

CORTLAND, N.Y. — The No. 16/19 nationally ranked Endicott baseball team defeated No. 8/14 Cortland, 7-5, in the championship game of the NCAA Tournament - SUNY Cortland Regional on Sunday evening at Wallace Field.

WP (6-3): Max Tarlin (Sharon, Mass.) — 1/3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K
LP (3-2): Dylan Beers (Woodbury, N.Y.) — 1/3 IP, 2 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 0 K
SV (1): Alexander Zaiser (Naples, Fla.) — 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 K

Trailing 5-2 in the top of the eighth inning, the Gulls rallied with a five-run frame to eventually capture the regional championship.

Endicott's 7-8-9 hitters consisting of Dylan Pacheco (Dartmouth, Mass.), Kyle Grabowski (Westfield, Mass.), and Matthew McKinley (Hudson, N.H.) got the rally going with a walk, hit by pitch, and walk, respectively.

From there, Caleb Shpur (East Canaan, Conn.) laced an RBI single to right field to make it 5-3 before Nicolas Notarangelo (Taunton, Mass.) belted a go-ahead grand slam that held true the rest of the way.

Notarangelo was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the tournament for his efforts, which included a .316/.400/.684 slash line, nine runs, six hits (1 2B, 2 HR), eight RBI, and one stolen base on as many chances.

Zaiser finished off the Red Dragons over the last two innings, highlighted by his emphatic game-ending punchout in the ninth, to lock up the win and send the Gulls' squad into a frenzy at the mound.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• The 2022 baseball team is now the seventh program in school history to advance to the Round of 16 and/or Quarterfinals in the NCAA Tournament and the first-ever to win a regional championship.
• Previous teams include the 2006 Women's Soccer, 2014 Men's Volleyball, 2016-17 Men's Basketball, 2016-17 Men's Ice Hockey, 2019 Field Hockey, 2019 Men's Volleyball, 2021 Field Hockey, and 2021-22 Women's Ice Hockey.
• Shpur, Grabowski, Pacheco, Notarangelo, Gabe Van Emon (Lexington, Mass.), and Ian Parent (Williston, Vt.) were all named to the SUNY Cortland Regional All-Tournament Team.
• Endicott extended its program record win total to 40 victories with today's sweep of Cortland.
• The Gulls defeated the Red Dragons 16-3 earlier in the day to force the "if necessary" game earlier in the day.
• Shpur made a diving play in the right center gap in the sixth to save a potential run from scoring, while also giving the Gulls some momentum headed into the late stages of the game.
• As a team, Endicott hit .328 and compiled 22 extra-base hits (11 2B, 3 3B, 8 HR).

WHAT'S NEXT

No. 16/19 Endicott (40-8) will now play Baldwin Wallace in the NCAA Super Regionals from May 27-28 at a site to be determined later.

Cortland's 2022 season comes to a close at 35-12 overall. 

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(Photo Credit - Endicott Athletic Communications)