April 9, 2009
Box Score - Game One / Box Score - Game Two
BEVERLY, Mass. - The Commonwealth Coast Conference leading Curry College posted a pair of wins against Endicott on Thursday, downing the Gulls 11-5 and 6-4 in a TCCC doubleheader on North Field in Beverly, Mass. The Colonels are now 20-3 overall and 13-1 in league play, while the Gulls suffer their ninth straight loss to drop to 7-17 and 2-8 in Conference games.
The Gulls opened the scoring in the home half of the second inning in game one as Benjamin Petrides (Belchertown, Mass.) singled down the left field line to score Joe Klein (Monroe, Conn.) from second to take the 1-0 lead. The advantage would be short-lived, however, as Curry scored three times in the third which included a two-run homerun to left field by senior James Geosits (Wyomissing, Pa.).
The Gulls got a run back in both the third and the fourth on singles by Michael Russo (Natick, Mass.) and Mike Barbati (Melrose, Mass.) to make it 4-3 in favor of Curry. A scoreless fifth quickly translated into a breakout sixth inning for the Colonels, as the guests posted five runs to open up their lead. Jesse Bruinsma (Lynnfield, Mass.) connected on a two-run homer to center, followed by consecutive doubles from Tony Luciani (Weymouth, Mass.) and Geosits. Each side would go on to add two runs apiece in their respective side of the seventh, allowing Curry to take game one, 11-5.
Curry had 14 hits off four Endicott pitchers in the victory. Bruinsma went 3-for-5 with four RBI and two runs scored in game one, while teammate James Geosits drove in three runs and score twice for the guests.
In game two, Curry steadily built a 4-0 lead with a single run in both the first and second and three runs in the third inning. Tim Sweeney (Walpole, Mass.) delivered a two-RBI single in the third to add to the Colonel's advantage.
Endicott began chipping away with a pair of runs in the fourth as Aaron Santos (Cambridge, Mass.) led off with a double to center, followed by a single from Michael Russo. The designated hitter, Roberto Zapata (Boston, Mass.), then cleared the bases when he stroked a two-RBI single to make it a 5-2 ballgame.
Starting pitcher Mike Nich (Amity, Conn.) found his groove as the game went on, blanking Curry in both the fourth and fifth inning to keep Endicott's comeback hopes alive. Curry scored a run in the sixth off an RBI single up the middle off the bat of Jesse Bruinsma, padding the Colonels lead to 6-2 heading into the bottom of the seventh.
Endicott refused to go away quietly as the first two Gull batters reached on an error and a walk to quickly put pressure on the Curry pitching staff. After an RBI single to right field by Alex Judge (Wilton, Conn.), the Gulls loaded the bases with a single to short center by Mike Barbati. Aaron Santos would help make it a two run game as he poked a sacrifice fly to centerfield, allowing Joe Klein to tag-up and score. With one out and the lead cut to two, Cory Moore (Lynn, Mass.) buckled down and got Russo to strike out swinging and then got Zapata to ground out into a game ending put out at second.
Curry returns to action on Friday afternoon when the Colonels host Babson College at 3:00 p.m. in Milton, Mass. The Gulls look to end its current losing streak on Saturday when Endicott travels to Roger Williams for a pair of TCCC match-ups beginning at 11:00 a.m.