Beverly, Mass. – Danny Mello (Peabody, Mass.) went 3-for-4 with three runs scored and was one of seven players with at least one RBI as top-seeded and host Endicott advanced to its second ECAC New England Championship game in program history with a 10-5 win over \#5 Suffolk on Saturday afternoon.  Mello also broken the program record for steals in a season after swiping two bags in the win.

The Gulls (32-15) advance to Sunday’s title game and will face the winner of Anna Maria and Coast Guard at 11 a.m. The Rams conclude their season at 24-21.

Freshman Tad Gold (Martha’s Vineyard, Mass.) went 2-for-5 with a team-high two RBI and a run scored while junior Mike Russo (Natick, Mass.) added a pair of hits and a run scored in the win. Gold and Russo each supplied a defensive highlight in center and right field, respectively.

Freshman first baseman Michael Muse (Milton, Mass.) was 3-for-4 at the dish for Suffolk while cleanup hitter Andrew Babb (Ashland, Mass.) drove in two and scored one in the setback.

The visitors jumped out to an early 1-0 lead after Devan Jones (Roslindale, Mass.) hit a sacrifice fly to deep right field to score Mark Addesa (Revere, Mass.), who led off the inning with a double, from third.

Endicott gained its first lead of the day thanks to a series of singles in a five-run third inning. Robbie Goldstick (Deerfield, Ill.) led off with one through the right side before Russo reached on a bunt. Mello and Chris Dominguez (Braintree, Mass.) followed suit with consecutive RBI singles until a double-play threatened to end the inning early. Freshman Jake Northrup (Boxborough, Mass.) kept the inning alive with an RBI to right field with two outs. Sitarz and Gold continued the theme with back-to-back singles before Mike Griffin (Arlington, Mass.) reached on an error. Three batters later, Suffolk’s Alex Torres (Framingham, Mass.) induced an inning-ending ground out to get out of a bases loaded jam.

Mello led off the fourth with a double to right field, stole third, and scored on a fielder’s choice to give the Blue and Green a 6-1 lead.

Suffolk responded with a run in the top of the fifth to pull within four. Junior Dan Belanger (Raynham, Mass.) singled up the middle with nobody on and two-outs. Senior Nick Travelyn (Bedford, N.H.) followed with an RBI double to left field.

The Rams added three more runs in the top of the sixth to close the gap to just one. Babb’s two-run homerun to left field barely eluded a Russo attempt at the wall to make it 6-4. Later in the inning, Stanley reached on a fielder’s choice to score Mark Annese (Winchester, Mass.) from third. 

The Gulls countered with a run in the bottom of the sixth to make it stretch the lead to two. Mello reached on a walk and proceeded to swipe second. Three batters later, Sitarz singled up the middle to plate him from second.

A three-run eighth inning gave Endicott a bit of breathing room. Gold delivered a two-out, RBI double to score Eric Lemke (Southington, Conn.) before Griffin padded the lead, first with an RBI single then with a run to close out the inning.

The Commonwealth Coast Conference (TCCC) Pitcher of the Year Benjamin Petrides (Belchertown, Mass.) closed the door over the final 2.2 innings to pick up his third save of the season.

Junior Mike Nich (Orange, Conn.) picked up his seventh win of the season after going 5.1 innings. Nich (7-4) allowed five runs on seven hits while striking out two.

Torres went 7.2 innings, allowing 10 runs (nine earned) on 16 hits with three strikeouts to fall to 6-6 on the year.