No. 2 Baseball Tops No. 9 Johns Hopkins, 14-8

AUBURNDALE, Fla. — The No. 2 nationally ranked Endicott baseball team knocked off No. 9 Johns Hopkins, 14-8, on Monday morning at Lake Myrtle Field 5.

WP (2-0): John Connolly (Attleboro, Mass.) - 5.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 7 K
LP (0-2): Ryan Anderson (Palos Verdes Estates, Calif.) - 4.1 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 3 K

With the game tied at 1-1 in the top of the fifth, back-to-back homers from Danny MacDougall (Taunton, Mass.) (three-run homer) and Nicolas Notarangelo (Taunton, Mass.) (solo shot) gave the Gulls a 5-1 lead they would not relinquish the rest of the way.

After Brendan O'Neil (Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.) scored on a wild pitch later that inning, AJ Hamm (Shrewsbury, Mass.) singled home John Mulready (Peabody, Mass.) to cap off the six run frame for the Blue and Green.

That run support was plenty for starting pitcher John Connolly, as he went five strong with seven strikeouts and just two earned runs allowed. 

In the sixth and seventh innings, the Gulls plated some insurance runs via a Notarangelo three-run double (sixth inning), a MacDougall two-run single (seventh inning), and another Notarangelo RBI single (seventh inning) to score MacDougall.

The two combined for a 7-11 day with nine RBI's and five runs scored at the plate.

Johns Hopkins attempted a comeback bid in the bottom of the seventh, but Evan Scully (Maynard, Mass.) limited the damage and held down the Jays the rest of the way following his entrance with one out in the frame. His final line was 2.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K.

BEYOND THE BOX

• This is the first-ever matchup between the two teams.
• Johns Hopkins was the No. 1 ranked team in the D3baseball.com preseason poll, while Endicott was No. 4.
• Notarangelo's four-hit performance ties a career high. 
• MacDougall's five RBI's and four runs scored both tie career-bests.
• Joey Frammartino (North Reading, Mass.) had another successful day out of the leadoff spot, going two-for-four with three runs scored.
• The 10-0 start to the season is the best record through 10 games in program history (previous: 2023, 8-2).

WHAT'S NEXT 

No. 2 Endicott (10-0) returns to action tomorrow, with a 9:45 AM first pitch against Wisconsin-Stevens Point in Davenport, Florida. No. 9 Johns Hopkins (7-5) faces No. 7 Wisconsin-La Crosse tomorrow at 9:30 AM, also in Davenport. 

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(Photo Credit - Emma Purple '24)