NCAA TOURNAMENT: Bridgewater State Tops No. 4/8 Endicott, 4-2

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. — The No. 4/8 nationally ranked Endicott baseball team fell to Bridgewater State, 4-2, in the opening game of the NCAA Tournament on Friday morning at Alumni Park.

WP (9-2): Matt Josselyn (Hanson, Mass.) — 9 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 4 K
LP (8-1): Gabe Van Emon (Lexington, Mass.) — 6 1/3 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 9 K

Bridgewater State jumped on the board early with a two-spot in the first inning via an RBI double and a run-producing single.

The Gulls countered with a pair of their own in the third to even up the score at two apiece.

TJ Liponis (Scarborough, Maine) cut the deficit in half with an RBI on a fielding error at second, while Joseph Millar (Lake Hopatcong, N.J.) drove in the game-tying run on a single to right field.

Both pitchers took over the game until the seventh when the Bears capitalized on a miscue earlier in the frame for the game's final pair of runs.

Josselyn closed out the contest by only allowing three runners to reach base over the final five innings.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• The Bears are 15-4 at home this season.
• Josselyn tossed his ninth complete game this season (12 starts).
• Today's game was the first meeting between the two programs since 2008.

WHAT'S NEXT

No. 4/8 Endicott (39-7) will play the loser of Johnson & Wales/Middlebury tomorrow at 8:30 AM.

Bridgewater State will play the winner of the previously mentioned matchup tomorrow at 12 PM.

The third and final game of the day will be played between the winner of the 8:30 AM game and the loser of the 12 PM contest at 3:30 PM. 

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(Photo Credit - Leanna Puccio '24)