BEVERLY, Mass. – The Endicott baseball team turned in a 3-2 opening day victory over Stevens on Sunday afternoon in non-conference action at North Field.
Gulls' sophomore reliever Alexander Mandrus (Acton, Mass.) earned the win on 3 1/3 innings pitched, three hits, no runs, two walks, and a pair of strikeouts. Meanwhile, Will Bryant (Cumberland, Maine) notched the save via 1 2/3 shutout frames, one hit, zero free passes, and a punchout.
Stevens' senior starter Quinn DiPasquale (Chelmsford, Mass.) was dealt the hard-luck loss on eight innings, four hits, three runs (one earned), two walks, and two strikeouts.
Tied 2-2 in the bottom of the sixth, Brendan McDonald (Quincy, Mass.) launched a 3-2 pitch with two outs over the left-center field wall to break up the tie late in the contest. McDonald fell behind in the count 0-2 before battling back for the eventual go-ahead home run (first career) that he pulled 352-plus feet over the left-center wall.
Stevens didn't go away quietly, however, as the Ducks loaded the bases with one out in the eighth but Bryant forced Carlos Leon (Boca Raton, Fla.) to ground into a rally-killing 4-3 double play to keep the score locked in at 3-2 in favor of the Gulls. Bryant inherited two runners in the frame as he came on for Mandrus with runners on first and second and one out.
In the ninth, Bryant hit the first batter he faced but again responded with a fielder's choice groundout, a strikeout swinging and a comebacker for the victory.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Dan Cacciola (Saugus, Mass.) robbed Matthew Pasko (Ringoes, N.J.) off a one-out extra-base hit in the top of the seventh with an outstretched diving catch in the left-center field gap. Earlier in the contest, Pasko ripped an RBI triple into the left-center gap that gave Stevens a 1-0 lead at the time.
- Today's game was the first-ever meeting between both programs.
- Endicott has won three straight season openers dating back to 3/7/2016.
- Matt Bald (De Pere, Wisc.) went 2-for-4 with one run scored out of the leadoff spot for his second career multi-hit game.
- Michael DeDonato (Chelmsford, Mass.) had an RBI infield single in the bottom of the third.
- Endicott's other run came home on the back-end of a first and third caught stealing play.
- Gulls' starter Will Ferreira (Nantucket, Mass.) went three innings allowing one hit, two runs (both earned), two walks, and three strikeouts on 62 pitches.
FOR THE FOES
- Pasko was 1-for-4 with one run scored and one RBI.
- Tommy Baronner (Solana Beach, Calif.) went 1-for-5 with one RBI out of the leadoff spot. His lone RBI came on a groundout in the third.
- DiPasquale threw 65 strikes on 103 pitches over eight innings of work.
WHAT'S NEXT
Endicott (1-0) plays a non-conference doubleheader against the University of La Verne on Sunday, March 11 at 2/5 PM (EST) in La Verne, California as part of the California Invitational. Stevens (1-4) hosts SUNY-Old Westbury on March 7 in Hoboken, N.J. at 3 PM.
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(Photo Credit - David Le '10)