COLLEGE WORLD SERIES: Valiant Comeback Effort Falls Just Short; No. 9/11 Endicott Falls To No. 16/18 Adrian, 10-9

EASTLAKE, Ohio — The No. 9/11 nationally ranked Endicott baseball team put up six runs in the bottom of the ninth, but ultimately fell just short of a comeback win to No. 16/18 Adrian, 10-9, in Monday afternoon's College World Series semifinal thriller from Classic Park.

WP (3-1): Lincoln Lipinski (Onsted, Mich.) — 5 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 8 K
LP (1-2): Kyan Bagshaw (Amherst, N.H.) — 1.1 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 2 K
SV (1): Ben Bates (Berlin Heights, Ohio) — 0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K 

The Bulldogs drew first blood in the top of the second, but the Blue and Green responded with a run of their own in the bottom half.

John Fusco (Naples, Fla.) stayed hot to lead off the rally with a single up the middle.

Fusco swiped second to get himself in scoring position, and then after a lengthy at-bat, Trevor Kamuda (Groveland, Mass.) ripped a single through the left side of the infield to score Fusco from second, evening the score.

The Bulldogs snagged another tally in the third, but the Gulls answered the call again in the bottom of the fourth.

Adam Regan (Braintree, Mass.) pushed across the tying run with a fielder's choice groundout to second base.

After a gutsy five innings of work from starter Matt Pappalardo (Pelham, N.H.), Jake Harmony (Fairfield, Conn.) took over in the sixth, and tossed a scoreless inning for the Gulls.

In the top of the seventh, the Bulldogs once again reclaimed a lead (3-2). Kyan Bagshaw (Amherst, N.H.) entered with men aboard, and he ended up stranding the bases loaded to avoid further damage in the frame.

Facing a one-run deficit once more, Brenden Walsh (Reading, Mass.) crushed a solo shot into the left field bleachers to knot up the score at three a side.

Unfortunately, over the eighth and ninth innings, the Bulldogs put up seven runs (three in the eighth, four in the ninth) to take a seemingly safe lead at 10-3.

That lead typically would be plenty, but not against the 2026 Gulls.

After struggling with runners in scoring position all day, the Gulls offense put up a monster bottom of the ninth.

Kyle Grabowski (Westfield, Mass.) led off the rally with a double down the left field line, and Cade Bernardo (Glenmont, N.Y.) followed his lead with a single up the middle to place men on the corners with no outs.

Walsh then climbed into the box, and on a 2-1 pitch, he lined an RBI single into center field, scoring Grabowski from third.

With men now on second and third, Fusco came back to the plate. He poked one perfectly through the right side of the infield, loading up the bases with still nobody out in the inning.

AJ Hamm (Shrewsbury, Mass.) then worked a six-pitch walk, forcing in the second run of the inning.

Brady Rickenbach (Manchester, N.H.) was called on to pinch-hit in James Benestad's (Portsmouth, R.I.) spot in the order, and he drilled one back up the middle that deflected off the pitcher's mitt. However, the Adrian pitcher recovered after the ricochet, and made a heads-up play to just get Walsh at home plate for the force out and first out of the inning.

After a lengthy review, Kamuda came up to bat, and he worked a great plate appearance to eventually walk and force home another run.

That flipped the lineup back up to the top of the order. Regan, who had been held to 0-for-4 on the day, came through when it mattered most. The Misericordia transfer crushed a bases clearing double into the right-center field gap, sending the Gulls into a frenzy and putting the tying run on second base.

Unfortunately, the valiant effort came to a halting close after the Bulldogs beared down and retired two straight Gulls to end the threat, forcing the if-necessary game for later this evening.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• Earlier in the day, Denison beat East Texas Baptist to force the if-necessary game in bracket one as well.
• 11 Gulls batted in the bottom of the ninth inning, unselfishly passing the baton to the next man in the order.
• Walsh's defense in right field prevented at least one additional run from scoring earlier in the contest. His arm stopped a tagging baserunner from attempting to score from third.
• The Gulls' right fielder also hit his 14th homer of the season, which is just three shy of the program's single-season record (Brendan O'Neil M'24, 17 homers in 2024).
• The ninth-inning rally forced four pitching changes (five total pitchers) in the three-out span.

WHAT'S NEXT

No. 9/11 Endicott (42-12) and No. 16/18 Adrian (40-13) return to action tonight under the lights. They face off following the pod one finale between Denison and East Texas Baptist.

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(Photo Credit - Will Ridenhour)