DUDLEY, Mass. – The Endicott baseball team split a pair of Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) games on Saturday afternoon against Nichols College at the NC Baseball Field. The Gulls defeated the Bison, 5-4, in nine innings in game one before Nichols earned the split in game two with a 10-7 (seven innings) victory.
GAME ONE – Endicott 5, Nichols 4 (nine innings)
Evan Lumpinski (Woodbridge, Conn.) drove in the would-be game-winning run for the Gulls in the top of the ninth inning with an infield single to short before Colby Morris (Newburyport, Mass.) stranded a one-out double in the bottom half of the frame to lock up the victory.
Morris earned the win (3-0) in relief on two shutout innings of work, while Nichols' reliever Chris Dipilato (Worcester, Mass.) took the loss (0-2) over 1 2/3 innings pitched, two hits, and one run (earned).
The Bison trailed 3-1 in the bottom of the seventh inning, but forced extras with a two-run double to center field off the bat of Cam Cook (Phoenixville, Pa.). Both teams then exchanged single runs in the eighth inning (Endicott – fielder's choice RBI | Nichols – sacrifice fly) prior to Lumpinski's game-winning hit in the ninth.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Conference doubleheader games are seven innings (regulation).
- Will Ferreira (Nantucket, Mass.) tossed a quality start (min. 6 IP, 3 ER or less) as the sophomore left-hander went six innings, and yielded six hits, two runs (both earned), and no walks to go along with a game-high four strikeouts.
- Mike Kochiss (Fairfield, Conn.) extended his hitting streak to 14 straight games with an RBI single to right field in the sixth, which gave Endicott its 3-1 advantage, at the time.
- Michael DeDonato (Chelmsford, Mass.) and Chris Seidl (Dracut, Mass.) both recorded multi-hit games.
- DeDonato leads the team with 12 multi-hit contests, while Seidl ranks fourth on the squad with eight.
FOR THE FOES
- The Bison collected 11 hits total, including two each from Cook, Matt Hardy (North Attleboro, Mass.), Nick Osma (Babylon, N.Y.), and Brendan Martin (Nashua, N.H.).
- Joseph Nicolace (Cranston, R.I.) also produced a quality start on 7 1/3 innings pitched, seven hits, four runs (two earned), one free pass, and two punchouts.
GAME TWO – Nichols 10, Endicott 7 (seven innings)
Down 5-3 in the bottom of the fifth, Nichols rallied for seven runs over the next two innings for its eventual 10-7 victory over the Gulls.
Adam Rigney (Niantic, Conn.) was credited with the win (6 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 3 BB, 4 K), while Owen Bautze (Sudbury, Mass.) suffered the loss (4 1/3 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 1 BB, 2 K).
Nick Roy (Middletown, Conn.) jump started the offense in the fifth with a game-tying two-run single to center, while Benjamin Harrow (North Reading, Mass.) notched a run-producing single up the middle to take a 6-5 advantage. Osma then gave the Bison the lead for good with an RBI double to left center that plated Roy.
In the top of the seventh, Endicott scratched home two runs, but Kevin Kirley (Clinton, Mass.) stranded the game-tying run at the plate with a ground out to end the contest and earn the split.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Kochiss went 2-for-4 with one run scored and two RBI to move his hitting streak to 15 straight.
- Nick Berno (St. Albans, Vt.) and Kochiss both had two-run singles in the four-run second inning for the Gulls.
- Endicott is 28-7 all-time against Nichols.
FOR THE FOES
- Roy hit a three-run homer in the first to highlight the rest of the scoring for the Bison.
- Roy finished game two at the plate with a 3-for-4, two runs scored, five RBI stat line.
- Joe Assenza (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) went 3-for-4 (two runs) from the leadoff spot, while Hardy went 3-for-3 with two runs and one RBI from the three-hole.
WHAT'S NEXT
Endicott (20-10, 8-2 CCC), who has now won 20 or more games in eight straight seasons, hosts Salve Regina for a conference doubleheader tomorrow at 12/2:30 p.m. Nichols (17-13, 6-4 CCC) travels to Western New England tomorrow for a conference twin bill at 12/2:30 p.m. For the latest on Endicott Athletics, follow the Gulls on social media on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.