No. 19/27 Baseball Rolls To Sweep Against Wentworth, 16-1 and 14-4

WEYMOUTH, Mass. — The No. 19/27 nationally ranked Endicott baseball team swept Wentworth, 16-1 (7 innings) and 14-4 (8 innings), in Saturday afternoon's Conference of New England (CNE) doubleheader from Libby Field.

GAME ONE: NO. 19/27 ENDICOTT 16, WENTWORTH 1 (7 INN.)

WP (5-0): Brady Stuart (Hudson, Mass.) — 7 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K
LP (5-1): Alec Peruzzi (Plymouth, Mass.) — 5 IP, 4 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 3 BB, 4 K

Another complete-game effort from Stuart (third this season) and a nine-run sixth inning carried the Gulls to victory in game one.

AJ Hamm (Shrewsbury, Mass.) kicked off the game one onslaught with a three-run blast to left in the second. 

After the Leopards got their only run of the game in the fourth (3-1 Endicott), Brady Rickenbach (Manchester, N.H.) got one back for the Gulls in the top of the fifth via an RBI single to center.

The Gulls then strung together their nine-run inning in the top of the sixth to pull away from the hosts.

James Benestad (Portsmouth, R.I.) (RBI single) and John Fusco (Naples, Fla.) highlighted the big inning with RBI base-knocks (RBI single for Benestad, three-run triple for Fusco).

Cade Bernardo (Glenmont, N.Y.), Brenden Walsh (Reading, Mass.), Rickenbach, Hamm, and Trevor Kamuda (Groveland, Mass.) all picked up RBI's on either walks or hit-by-pitches to pour on the run support.

Up 13-1 in the top of the seventh, the Gulls bench added on a few more runs of insurance. Shea LaFleur (Salem, N.H.) drilled an RBI single through the right side of the infield, Stephen Ondrick (Weymouth, Mass.) pushed home a run with a walk, and Benestad picked up another RBI on a sac fly.

The 16 runs of support was more than enough for the rolling Stuart, who limited the Leopards to just four total baserunners in his complete game.

GAME TWO: NO. 19/27 ENDICOTT 14, WENTWORTH 4 (8 INN.)

WP (4-1): Matt Pappalardo (Pelham, N.H.) — 5.1 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 2 K
LP (2-5): Nigel Cross (Worcester, Mass.) — 4 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 4 K

The Gulls offense wasted little time getting back to work in game two. They tallied four runs in the second courtesy of RBI doubles from Benestad, Hamm, and Kamuda (two-run double).

Endicott took a 6-0 lead into the bottom of the sixth after Kamuda tallied another RBI via groundout (fourth inning) and Paul Armstrong (Windham, N.H.) picked up a bases loaded, pinch-hit RBI base-knock (top of the sixth).

The Leopards struck for three in the bottom of the sixth, and another in the seventh, drawing the contest to within just two runs (6-4).

However, the Gulls erupted for an eight-spot in the top of the eighth, enacting the league's mercy rule and an early 14-4 road win to complete the CNE sweep.

TJ Liponis (Scarborough, Maine) cashed in a three-run bomb to start the eighth inning frenzy.

Benestad then added to his big day with another two-run single before Hamm and Kamuda both doubled to drive in the final three Endicott runs.

Kyan Bagshaw (Amherst, N.H.) locked up the win with a speedy 1-2-3 bottom of the eighth (1 K; seven total pitches).

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• Endicott improved to 55-9 all-time against Wentworth after today's sweep.
• Stuart's three complete games this season lead the CNE, and rank T-7th most in Division III.
• His 1.57 ERA ranks T-16th best in DIII.
• Liponis cranked his second homer of the season (18th career; T-10th most in program history).
• Kamuda drove in a game-high five runs in game two, while Hamm picked up a team-high six RBI's across the doubleheader (three in each game).

WHAT'S NEXT

No. 19/27 Endicott (21-7, 11-1 CNE) hosts Roger Williams on Tuesday, April 21 in a CNE clash at 3:30 PM. Wentworth (17-13, 6-6 CNE) hosts Hartford on Tuesday for a 6 PM CNE matchup. 

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(Photo Credit - Bradley Griffin '28)