AUBURNDALE, Fla. – The Endicott baseball team returned to action in the 2016 RussMatt Central Florida Invitational on Thursday and suffered a 6-4 loss at the hands of William Paterson as the Pioneers scored two runs in both the seventh and eighth innings to erase a Gulls 4-2 lead and win the game. Endicott fell to 3-3 overall and 2-3 during their spring break slate.

Gulls left fielder Evan Lumpinski (Woodbridge, Conn.) had his first career multi-hit game as he went 3-for-4 with two RBI, but two clutch hits by William Paterson late in the game erased the freshman's standout performance.

Facing a 4-2 deficit in the bottom of the seventh, William Paterson quickly put runners into scoring position after a leadoff walk by sophomore first baseman Anthony Hoagland (Dumont, N.J.) followed by a double down the left field line by senior right fielder Jimmy Kenny (Fairfield, N.J.). After a groundout to first, unassisted, held the runners at second and third, Pioneers senior shortstop Victor Sanchez (Haverstraw, N.Y.) drove a single to right to tie the game at 4-4.

One inning later, William Paterson again put two runners on with one out in the bottom of the eighth. Third baseman K.C. Abel (Wayne, N.J.) doubled to gap in left center to plate both Tyler Garguilo (Paramus, N.J.) and Mike Abate (Wayne, N.J.) to give the Pioneers the 6-4 advantage.

William Paterson sophomore reliever Bryan Kopko (Colonia, N.J.) earned the win in relief, throwing the final 1 2/3 innings with one hit allowed. Mario Danza (Monroe, N.J.) took the bump for the Pioneers and lasted six innings, giving up three runs (two earned) on seven hits and two walks with three strikeouts, before giving way to the bullpen.

Lumpinski's first RBI came in the top of the second on a two-out, single through the right side to score freshman first baseman Chris Seidl (Dracut, Mass.). Later in the game, Lumpinski's groundout to second would allow Seidl, who went 2-for-5 in the game, to score his second run putting the Gulls ahead 4-2 in the top of the sixth. Endicott would also see senior Anthony Serina (Portsmouth, R.I.) rocket a line drive over the right fielder's head to score Hunter Boyce (Bangor, Maine) before getting thrown out at third trying to stretch a double into a triple.

On the mound for Endicott, sophomore righty Brady Hall (Rockville, Md.) made his first start of the season and threw 4 1/3 innings with two earned runs charged via seven hits and three walks. Hall struck out two batters. Senior reliever Nick Quattro (Canton, Conn.) suffered the loss in three innings of long relief as he gave up three earned runs while punching out three batters.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• Today was the third all-time meeting between Endicott and William Paterson. The Gulls fell to 0-3 all-time against the Pioneers with previous RussMatt Invitational losses coming in 2013 (10-3) and 2014 (18-4).
• Hall made his second appearance of the season today. He previous pitched three innings of relief in an 8-0 loss to Franklin & Marshall on Sunday.
• Hall made his third career start and first of the 2016 season. In 2015, Hall beat Wheaton (Mass.) and took a no-decision versus UMass Dartmouth.
• The Gulls had four sacrifice bunts against William Paterson. Three out of the four sacrifices eventually led to runs scored for Endicott.

FOR THE FOES

• William Paterson improved to 9-4 overall and 4-2 during their RussMatt Invitational run.
• William Paterson had three players record multiple hits. Abel and Kenny each had three hits while Sanchez had two hits. The rest of the Pioneer lineup went 3-for-16.
• The Pioneers had two errors in the game which both led to Endicott runs.

WHAT'S NEXT

Endicott (3-3) faces their second consecutive New Jersey Athletic Conference opponent tomorrow at 11:00 a.m. when the Gulls take on Rowan at Henley Field, the home for NCAA Division II's Florida Southern College.

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