BEVERLY, Mass. – In their CCC schedule opener against Eastern Nazarene, the Endicott baseball team garnered two wins thanks to combined pitching effort that resulted in just one unearned run allowed over 18 innings played on Friday. The Gulls broke a 1-1 tie with a run in the fifth and two more in the sixth en route to a 4-1 win in game one and in game two, Endicott and Eastern Nazarene needed 11 innings as a walk-off hit put the only run on the board in a 1-0 shutout triumph for the Blue and Green.
Endicott (6-6, 2-0 CCC) faces another conference test on Sunday, March 29th against Salve Regina which will be held at North Field starting at 3:00 p.m. Sunday's doubleheader was originally scheduled to be played in Newport but poor field conditions forced the site change. Eastern Nazarene returns to Endicott's North Field on Saturday to face Wentworth for a CCC doubleheader starting at 12:00 p.m.
Game One: Endicott 4, Eastern Nazarene 1
Endicott sophomore lefty Luke Morse (Westford, Mass.) pitched 4 1/3 innings with one unearned run allowed and six strikeouts before handing the ball over to junior right-hander Nick Quattro (Canton, Conn.) who pitched the final 2 2/3 innings with three strikeouts and won the game. After Morse's best outing of the young season to-date, Quattro helped the Gulls defense escape a two-on, one-out jam by forcing a fielder's choice groundout to third and getting the third out to strike out swinging to keep the game tied 1-1 going into the bottom of the fifth.
In the bottom of the fifth, sophomore centerfielder Cam Farnham (Andover, Mass.) doubled down the left field line with one out and scored on a sharp single to center by senior second baseman Harry Oringer (Dartmouth, Mass.) to put Endicott ahead 2-1.
One inning later, the Gulls would tack on two insurance runs to take a 4-1 advantage late in game one. Pinch-hitter freshman lefty Brad Rebello (Bellingham, Mass.) singled to left to lead off the bottom of the sixth and was pinch-run for by freshman Dan Zabbo (Dracut, Mass.). Zabbo swiped second base and got to third on a fly out to right by Nicholas De Lotto (Southbury, Conn.). Zabbo, just 90 feet away from scoring, would advance home on a wild pitch to make it 3-1 Endicott. Endicott would reset and load the bases with just one out against them and tack on one final run on a RBI hit to center that scored junior Cody Hall (Rutland, Mass.).
Eastern Nazarene's final trip to the plate in the top of the seventh saw runners get on first and second with one out but Quattro recorded his third strikeout and forced a fly out to center to end game one .
Gulls freshman Michael DeDonato (Chelmsford, Mass.) hit a sacrifice fly to left in the bottom of the second to give Endicott a 1-0 lead as De Lotto scored on the play. In the top of the third, Eastern Nazarene's only run of the game came off a passed ball that allowed Brandon Wynne (New Haven, Conn.) to cross home plate.
Eastern Nazarene freshman Brent Houle (Westfield, Mass.) suffered the loss (2-1) as he went 5 1/3 innings, allowing three earned runs on four hits and five walks. Quattro earned his first win of the season.
Game Two: Endicott 1, Eastern Nazarene (11 inn.)
Game two proved to be a pitcher's duel between the Gulls and Lions as Eastern Nazarene senior righty Doug English (Myrtle Beach, S.C.) threw 131 pitches and lasted nine shutout innings before he was pulled from the game. English allowed just five hits and two walks while striking out four in the gutsy effort on the mound.
He was countered by Endicott freshman Owen Bautze (Sudbury, Mass.) who started and went 4 1/3 innings, allowing three hits and two walks with a season-high six strikeouts. It was Nick Quattro, however, who again showcased his ability out of the pen with 6 2/3 innings of no-hit ball and was electric with nine strikeouts. Quattro (2-0) earned the win as he baffled the Lions lineup long enough for Endicott to finally produce a walk-off win in the bottom of the 11th.
In the final inning, Eastern Nazarene reliever freshman Antonio Ortegon (Haltom City, Texas) got the first two outs of the inning on an infield popup and a strikeout before Gulls junior Anthony Serina (Portsmouth, R.I.) drew a walk to get on base. Freshman Nick Berno (St. Albans, Vt.) pinch-ran for Serina and immediately stole second base to get into scoring position. Brad Rebello, who came into the game in the bottom of the ninth as a pinch hitter and grounded out, provided the big hit Endicott needed with a line drive to center that sailed over the centerfielder's head and brought Berno home for the game-winning run.
Both teams had their opportunities to score in game two. Eastern Nazarene's best chance to score came in the top of the fifth as back-to-back hits, a single by Rocco Martinelli (Panama City, Panama) followed by a double Brandon Wynne, put runners on second and third with no outs. Bautze struck out a batter before issuing a walk to load the bases. Quattro was called upon and the first batter he faced tried to lay down a suicide squeeze and missed allowing the defense to catch the runner on third in a rundown. With two outs, Quattro got out of the jam on a little dribbler in front of the plate that freshman Hunter Boyce (Bangor, Maine) easily handled.
Endicott was unable to generate two out rallies in the fifth, sixth, and ninth innings when they were able to finally able to get a runner on base. In the bottom of the eighth, after Cam Farnham worked a walk to lead off the inning, English picked off the speedy Farnham who was eager to steal to second and was thrown out in a rundown.