Endicott Walks Off with Split against Salem State

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BEVERLY, Mass. – Alexandra Moise (North Reading, Mass.) bunted home Jesse Bilafer (Concord, Mass.) in the bottom of the eighth inning to give Endicott a 4-3 come-from-behind victory Tuesday in the first game of their double header with Salem State.

The Vikings (18-8) salvaged a split of the day with a 6-5 victory in the nightcap, although the Gulls (13-10) very nearly pulled off another two-run comeback in the final inning of that game.

Game 1

Trailing 3-1 heading into the bottom of the seventh, Endicott rallied for two late runs to tie the game, starting with a single by left fielder Byrne Katz (Trumbull, Conn.). Her pinch runner, Katelyn Soja (Chicopee, Mass.) came around to score when Salem State pitcher Alyssa Bryan (Stoneham, Mass.) threw a ball into center field that should have been a fielder’s choice off the bat of first baseman Nicole Devlin (Dudley, Mass.).

With two outs, third baseman Jocelyn Russo (Middletown, Conn.) reached on an RBI infield single to the pitcher to tie the game and send it to the top of the eighth, where pitcher Nell O’Connor (Harwich, Mass.) finished her complete game with a 1-2-3 inning to set the stage for Moise’s winning bunt.

O’Connor (4-1) pitched all eight innings, yielding nine hits and three runs while striking out one and not issuing a walk.

Bryan falls to 9-2 for the Vikings, going seven and a third innings and striking out 8 batters in a complete game loss.

Endicott took the lead in the first when Bilafer tripled and then scored on a passed ball. The Vikings scratched two runs back in the top of the second on a single by first baseman Christina Cipriani (Peabody, Mass.) and a two-out double by left fielder Lauren DiCredico (Tewksbury, Mass.). They added another run in the sixth on a base hit up the middle by Cipriani.

Moise was the only Endicott player with two hits, while Cipriani and shortstop Michelle Grifoni (Peabody, Mass.) each hit safely twice for the Vikings.

Game 2

The Gulls almost pulled off another comeback, scoring one run in the bottom of the seventh but could not overcome a five-run third inning that undid a 4-0 Endicott lead.

Endicott started the first inning with a flurry, scoring three runs on four hits and taking advantage of a Salem State error and a wild pitch. When the dust had settled, they had chased game two starter DiCredico from the game.

The Vikings would not go quietly in game two. Bryan, the designated player in game two until she came on for the save, opened the second inning with a homer to left field to cut the gap to 3-1, though the Gulls got the run back in the bottom of the inning on a single by Kelley Michael (Ipswich, Mass.) that scored Bilafer.

Things came apart for Endicott in the third, as Salem State got two runners on for third baseman Jenn Toussaint (Reading, Mass.) who hit a towering home run off of the rock in center field. Bryan reached on an error after the homerun and RBI singles by second baseman Lauren Garchinsky (Saugus, Mass.) and Cipriani made the score 6-4 in favor of the Vikings.

The Gulls loaded the bases in the seventh and scored once when Byrne Katz was hit by a pitch, but the threat ended when Bryan came on to get Devlin to strike out swinging and then induced a ground ball to second from Krista Fales (Melrose, Mass.) to pick up her first save of the year.

Russo had three hits in the game from the leadoff spot and joined with Bilafer and Michael at the top of the order for seven hits and four runs.

Toussaint and DiCredico each had two hits for Salem.

Freshman Meg Donegan (Atkinson, N.H.) pitched well in relief for Endicott, going the final four and a third innings and allowing four hits, no runs, no walks and two strikeouts. Danielle LaRocque (Averill Park, N.Y.), who was tagged for six runs in two and two-third innings, fell to 3-3 with the loss for Endicott.

Katelynn Fanning (East Boston, Mass.) picked up the win for Salem, improving to 6-4 on the season.

Endicott continues non-conference play on Friday afternoon when they travel to Babson for a doubleheader starting at 3:00 pm.

Salem State will be just up the road from Beverly on Thursday when they play against Gordon. The Viking’s second straight North Shore Cup doubleheader will begin at 3:30 pm.