Box Score

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BEVERLY, Mass. – Endicott and Bates each collected 13 hits but in the end it was the Gulls who came away with a 10-7 victory on Wednesday afternoon in non-conference baseball action at North Field.

The Gulls end their three game losing streak and improve to 11-12, while Bates falls to 11-8 on the season and have dropped four straight games themselves.

First baseman Colin Sitarz (W. Hartford, Conn.) had a big day for Endicott, going 2-4 with three runs batted in and two runs scored. He was one of four Gulls who had multiple hit games.

Endicott jumped in front with three runs in the bottom of the first inning, as they saw their first four runners reach base. Center fielder Tad Gold (Martha’s Vineyard, Mass.) stroked a triple to right center and came in to score on an RBI groundout by Sitarz.

Earlier in the inning, shortstop E.J. Martinez (Brooklyn, N.Y.) sent a double down the left-field line to score third baseman Daniel Mello (Peabody, Mass.), who was hit by a pitch and then stole second base. Martinez came in to score when designated hitter Eric Lemke (Southington, Conn.) sent a shot down the right field line that should have been an RBI double, though Lemke was thrown out at second base on a strong relay play.

Mello and Lemke each had two hits for the Gulls, while Gold came across the plate three times.

The Bobcats retook the lead with four runs in the top of the third, all of them unearned after a two-out error by Mello allowed third baseman Mike Ciummei (Acton, Mass.) to reach. Ciummei and Jeffrey Gunn (Atlanta, Ga.) came around on a towering double by second baseman Griff Tewksbury (Concord, N.H.).

Left fielder Nate Pajka (Douglas, Mass.) took the next pitch and deposited it in the same spot as Tewksbury for a double, then came around as well on a bloop single by center fielder Steve Burke (Bedford, N.H.).

Burke led the Bobcats with a 3-5 day at the plate, while Gunn, Tewksbury and right fielder Mekae Hyde (Lewiston, Maine) all had two hits. Tewksbury and Pajka drove in a pair of runs each.

Endicott got the four runs back in the bottom of the fourth, when Gold led off with a double and scored when freshman Harry Oringer (Dartmouth, Mass.) beat out a ground ball to shortstop, advancing to second when Bates junior Ryan Sonberg (Windsor, Conn.) threw the ball away.

Oringer and Sitarz crossed the plate on a triple to deep left field by right fielder Conor Ressel (Rockport, Mass.). Catcher Robbie Goldstick (Deerfield, Ill.) followed with an RBI single to extend Endicott’s lead to 7-4.

Sitarz added a two run double in the fifth and left fielder Michael Russo (Natick, Mass.) singled him home for Endicott, who jumped out to a 10-5 lead.

Ciummei pounded a double to right field in the seventh inning and the Bobcats grabbed another run on a sacrifice fly to center by Pajka.

Endicott starter Mike Nich (Orange, Conn.) settled down after allowing four unearned runs in the third inning. Nich went six innings and allowed just two earned runs on nine hits. He collected six strikeouts without issuing a walk on the outing, while improving to 2-2 on the season.

Sophomore John Morrison (Ridgefield, Conn.) pitched an inning and a third to pick up his second save of the season.

Bates sophomore Dean Bonneau (Amherst, Mass.) lasted just one inning, allowing three earned runs on three hits. Junior Mike Antonellis (Sudbury, Mass.) went four innings in relief, allowing seven runs, six of them earned on nine hits and saw his record drop to 1-2.

Endicott will be back on the field this Saturday when they travel to Bristol, R.I. for a single non-conference game with Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) rival Roger Williams. The Gulls are currently 5-3 in the CCC.

Bates will return to New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) on Friday afternoon when they play at Bowdoin (3:00 pm).