GULLS RECEIVING VOTES IN COLLEGIATE BASEBALL NEWSPAPER DIII NATIONAL POLL

BEVERLY, Mass. – Endicott baseball student-athletes JJ Branch (Milford, Mass.), Mike Kochiss (Fairfield, Conn.), and Nick Quattro (Canton, Conn.) have all been named to the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper NCAA Division III Players to Watch list.

The Collegiate Baseball Newspaper NCAA Division III Players to Watch list is chosen by all NCAA Division III coaches from across the country and compiled by the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper.

In 2015, Quattro led all NCAA Division III pitchers in hits allowed per nine innings (3.91) and WHIP (0.67), while ranking seventh in pitching appearances (24.0) and 16th in ERA (1.42). Quattro went 8-1 with three saves in his first season as a significant contributor out of the pen, throwing 50 2/3 IP for the Gulls. He struck out 55 batters while allowing opposing hitters to hit just .131 against him. Quattro did not allow a single run, earned or unearned, over 11 appearances from March 25th to April 19th as he went 7-0 during that stretch and lowered his ERA from 5.79 to just 0.88.

Branch posted a 7-3 overall record, a 1.44 ERA (No. 17 in NCAA), and struck out 53 batters in 75 innings pitched last season for the Gulls. Branch ranked first in the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) in games started (11), shutouts (2), and innings pitched, and second in wins and ERA. Branch also registered five or more strikeouts in six games last spring and recorded ten quality starts (min. 6 innings pitched, 3 ER or less).

Kochiss produced a .262/.341/.423 slash line (.avg/.obp/.slg) to go along with 18 runs scored, 39 hits, 33 RBI, 10 doubles, one triple, four home runs, 19 walks, and four stolen bases in 43 games played (42 at third, one at first). Kochiss, who hit 35 times in the cleanup spot for Endicott in 2015 and six times in the third slot, compiled 13 multi-hit games, and nine multi-RBI contests. Kochiss also hit .300 (15-for-50) with runners in scoring position, .750 (9-for-12) with a runner on third and less than two outs, .261 (12-for-46) with two outs, and knocked in a run 12 times with two outs in an inning.

Among student-athletes in the CCC, Kochiss ranked inside the top-15 in 11 offensive categories, including RBI (2nd), walks (5th), doubles (6th), and home runs (6th), to highlight a few.

Endicott went 26-17 (12-4 CCC) in its eighth season under head coach Bryan Haley last spring. In 2013 and 2014, the Gulls captured back-to-back CCC Championships and reached the NCAA New England Regional Finals in both seasons. 

For the latest on Endicott Athletics, follow the Gulls on social media on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.