BEVERLY, Mass. — Junior closer Will Bryant (Cumberland, Maine) became the Gulls' all-time saves leader on Monday evening as No. 23 nationally ranked Endicott defeated Suffolk University, 3-2, at North Field.
Will Ferreira (Nantucket, Mass.) earned the win in relief on three innings of work, one hit, no runs, two walks and a pair of strikeouts, while Bryant closed out the ninth for his fifth save this season and program record 12th of his career.
Bryant's record-breaking save did not come without drama, however, as the junior closer received some stellar defense in the frame to keep Suffolk from tying the game. With a runner on third and one out, Endicott third baseman Jacob Thibault (Methuen, Mass.) gunned down the would-be tying run at the plate after he backhanded a low groundball off the bat of Steven Shamnoski (Pittstown, Pa.) and fired a strike to Gulls' catcher Brendan McDonald (Quincy, Mass.) who then blocked the plate perfectly and applied a clean tag on Nik San Antonio (Cranston, R.I.) for the second out of the inning.
Bryant followed by giving up a single to left field, but worked around the first-and-second, two-out situation with a groundout to lock up the 3-2 win, and become the program's all-time saves leader.
Meanwhile, offensively, Endicott opened up the scoring via a Michael Casciano (Somers, Conn.) with a two-run bomb to left field in the first to make it 2-0. The Gulls also tacked on the all-important insurance run in the second via a two-base throwing error eventually scored Kyle Brennan (Wallingford, Conn.) from first base after Matthew McKinley (Hudson, N.H.) dropped down an infield bunt single down the third base line.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Endicott is 15-9 in the all-time series against Suffolk.
- The Gulls have won the last three meetings versus the Rams.
- Bryant surpassed Connor McLaughlin '14 (11 saves) on the all-time saves list.
- Joseph Oriola (Pembroke, Mass.), who earned Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Pitcher of the Week accolades earlier today, received a no-decision on 4 1/3 innings pitched, five hits, two runs (both earned), one walk, and a game-high five strikeouts.
- Alexander Mandrus (Acton, Mass.) stranded a potential game-tying run in the fifth with his second strikeout of the contest (0.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K).
- Michael DeDonato (Chelmsford, Mass.) went 3-for-4 with one run scored and four stolen bases. Earlier today, DeDonato also was named the CCC Player of the Week.
FOR THE FOES
- Shamnoski and Trevor Lee (Flanders, N.J.) both had RBI singles in the fifth inning.
- Rams' starter Tyler Zell (Marion, Mass.) went seven innings alongside six hits, three runs (two earned), no walks, and four strikeouts.
WHAT'S NEXT
No. 23 Endicott (10-3) hosts Salem State tomorrow at 3:30 PM. Suffolk (4-13) takes on Rhode Island College tomorrow at 4 PM.
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(Photo Credit - David Le '10)