CNE SEMIFINALS: No. 11/12 Baseball Falls To WNE; Rebounds Against Hartford To Clinch Spot In CNE Championship

BEVERLY, Mass.  — The No. 11/12 nationally ranked and top-seeded Endicott baseball team was defeated by third-seeded Western New England, 7-4, but later rebounded against second-seeded Hartford, 10-0, on Friday afternoon at North Field to earn its spot in the 2026 Conference of New England (CNE) Championship.

GAME ONE: WNE 7, NO. 11/12 ENDICOTT 4

WP (1-1): Brody Rogers (Schodack, N.Y.) — 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K
LP (2-4): Evan Scully (Maynard, Mass.) — 1.1 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 K
SV (3): Jason Pinsonnault (Hampton, N.H.) — 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K

In a back-and-forth affair, the Golden Bears eventually pulled away with four runs over the eighth and ninth innings (two in each frame) to clinch a spot in the CNE Championship.

However, earlier in the contest, the Gulls showed their resilience, battling from behind to take a lead.

Trailing 1-0 in the bottom of the fifth, a Kyle Grabowski (Westfield, Mass.) RBI double down the left field line evened the score.

Then, after the visitors snagged a pair in the top of the sixth to reclaim a 3-1 lead, the Gulls responded with a three-spot to take their first lead of the day.

With the bases loaded and one out, Coach Haley called on the bat of Brady Rickenbach (Manchester, N.H.) from off the bench in a clutch spot. On a 1-1 count, Rickenbach drilled one to the deepest part of the ballpark in right-center field, and nearly left the park for a grand slam, but instead settled for a bases-clearing double, giving Endicott its 4-3 lead.

Scully came in to relieve Matt Pappalardo (Pelham, N.H.) after his strong six-inning start. The right-handed reliever looked dominant in his first inning of work (T7, inherited the 4-3 lead), and even fanned the side. However, in the eighth, he was touched up for two runs, which gave WNE its lead back.

The Gulls were unable to get any late offense going, and after the Golden Bears grabbed two more runs in the top of the ninth, the visitors wrapped up their 7-4 road win to advance to the CNE Championship out of the winner's bracket.

GAME TWO: NO. 11/12 ENDICOTT 10, HARTFORD 0

WP (2-0): Jeremy Krendel (Framingham, Mass.) — 7 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 K
LP (1-3): Justin Gouin (North Haven, Conn.) — 2 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 2 K

The offense was ready for the challenge in game two, as it wasted very little time.

The Gulls put up a quick trio of runs thanks to doubles from TJ Liponis (Scarborough, Maine), Grabowski, and Brenden Walsh (Reading, Mass.), in addition to an RBI infield single from Paul Armstrong (Windham, N.H.).

Then, a Hawks error and an RBI walk from AJ Hamm (Shrewsbury, Mass.) made it 5-0 through three, and an RBI groundout from Walsh in the fourth later made it 6-0.

A four-run fifth inning, which contained an Adam Regan (Braintree, Mass.) RBI single and a Liponis three-run shot, gave plenty of support to Krendel in his sparkling CNE Playoff debut.

The freshman southpaw turned in a dominant seven innings of work, and allowed just five Hawks baserunners in total.

He turned the ball over to Colby Correia (Fairhaven, Mass.) and Derek Roberts (Wayland, Mass.), who each pitched 1-2-3 innings to secure a CNE Championship berth for the Gulls on Sunday.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• Endicott advances to its sixth straight CNE/CCC Championship, and is in search for its fifth consecutive conference championship title.
• Grabowski and Liponis combined to go 7-for-7 against Hartford in game two. Grabowski finished the contest 4-for-4 (two doubles, two singles, walk), while Liponis went 3-for-3 on the evening (two doubles, homer).
• Sunday's CNE Championship game was initially scheduled for Saturday, but was pushed back due to expected rainfall Saturday afternoon. The game will now be played on Sunday at 11 AM, and the Gulls will need to defeat Western New England twice to capture the CNE Championship.
• First victory for WNE against Endicott since 4/27/19.
• Gulls are now 7-0 all-time against Hartford.
• Krendel went a career-high seven innings in his elimination game start, providing some much-needed length from the Endicott pitching staff.

WHAT'S NEXT

WNE (24-18) and Endicott (33-9) advance to the CNE Championship, and will square off on Sunday, 5/10 at 11 AM. WNE needs just one win, while Endicott would need to beat the Golden Bears twice to capture the CNE Championship.

Hartford (22-15-1) sees its 2026 season come to a close. 

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(Photo Credit - Jonah Bean '28)