BEVERLY, Mass. – The Endicott baseball team earned a key conference doubleheader sweep over Wentworth on Friday evening at North Field by scores of 4-2 (game one) and 7-6 (game two). Wentworth served as the home team in today's Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) doubleheader.
GAME ONE: Endicott 4, Wentworth 2
Endicott sophomore Kevin Gould (Rollinsford, N.H.) stymied the Leopards over seven innings pitched to stay undefeated on the season (5-0). Gould scattered three hits, allowed only one earned run (two total), and did not issue a walk alongside seven strikeouts on 87 pitches (66 for strikes).
Ryan Obin (Plymouth, Mass.) shouldered the loss (4-2) on seven innings of work, nine hits, four runs (three earned), three free passes, and one punchout.
Tied 2-2 in the top of the seventh, Nick Berno (St. Albans, Vt.) gave the Gulls a 3-2 advantage with an RBI single through the right side before Mike Kochiss (Fairfield, Conn.) made it 4-2 with a run-producing double to right field.
Gould repaid his offense in the bottom half of the frame by retiring Wentworth in order on a groundout and back-to-back strikeouts swinging to lock up the win.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Kochiss went 2-for-4 with two RBI (12th multi-hit game, fifth multi-RBI).
- Berno had a game-high three hits to go along with two runs scored and one RBI. Berno has had three hits in a game twice this season.
- Michael Casciano (Somers, Conn.) was 2-for-4 from the cleanup spot today. It's the fourth time he has hit in the four-spot in 2017.
- The Gulls scored their second run of the game on a double steal by Kochiss (second) and Berno (home). Kochiss knocked in the game's first run with a double down the right field line in the first.
FOR THE FOES
- Jordan Burst (Jackson, N.J.) hit a solo homer in the third, and finished 2-for-3 with one run scored and an RBI.
- Owen Swanson (New Milford, Conn.) notched an RBI single to center in the bottom half of the first to even the score at 1-1.
GAME TWO: Endicott 7, Wentworth 6
Kochiss' three-run homer in a four-run fifth, and RBI base knocks by Chris Seidl (Dracut, Mass.) and Joseph Deutsch (Fairfield, Conn.) in the sixth proved to be the difference for the Gulls in game two.
Wentworth did not go away quietly, however, as the Leopards pushed across three runs in the sixth and put the game-tying run 90 feet away with no outs in the seventh before Will Bryant (Cumberland, Maine) and Endicott's defense put the clamps on a potential walk-off bid against them on their own field.
In a rather dramatic seventh inning, Hunter Boyce (Bangor, Maine) gave Endicott its first out of the frame when he gunned down a would-be base stealer at second with runners at the corners. After Wentworth failed to execute a double steal for the first out of the inning, Deutsch snared a sharp grounder at third, stared down the Leopards' third base runner and threw a dart over to first for out number two. Bryant did the rest as he induced the final hitter of the night to groundout 1-3 to complete the sweep.
Nick Quattro (Canton, Conn.) was credited with the win (2-2, 5 IP, 4 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 7 K), while Bryant collected his first career save with his scoreless seventh inning for the Gulls.
Wentworth's Aaron Denis (Dover, N.H.) took loss (3-2) via five innings, six hits, five runs (all earned), two walks, and five strikeouts.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Kochiss went 2-for-4 with one run scored and three RBI from the third spot in the order. Kochiss is currently hitting .421 with eight hits, two runs, five doubles, one homer, and six RBI from the three-hole. He also sports a .450 on-base percentage, and a .842 slugging percentage from that spot in the lineup (five games).
- With the sweep, Endicott is 35-9 in the all-time series against Wentworth.
- The Gulls have won the last seven matchups versus the Leopards.
FOR THE FOES
- Wentworth scores six runs on just six hits, while no one in starting lineup had a multi-hit game in the loss.
- The Leopards are 4-5 on the road this season.
WHAT'S NEXT
Endicott (13-11, 6-4 CCC) travels to Wesleyan tomorrow for a non-conference doubleheader at 12 & 2 PM. Wentworth (13-8, 3-5 CCC) takes on Johnson & Wales University on Thursday, April 20 on the road at 3:30 PM. For the latest on Endicott Athletics, follow the Gulls on social media on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.