MILTON, Mass. — The No. 23 nationally ranked Endicott baseball team swept Curry College in a conference doubleheader on Sunday evening by scores of 3-1 and 11-5 (8 inn.) at the Jack Vallely Diamond.
GAME ONE: No. 23 Endicott 3, Curry 1
Endicott starter Liam Burke (Westwood, Mass.) earned the win (2-1) on six solid innings, three hits, one run (unearned), a walk, and a game-high six strikeouts. Meanwhile, Will Bryant (Cumberland, Maine) closed out the seventh on a groundout and a 4-6-3 double play, all sandwiched around a single and two hit-by-pitches.
The Gulls trailed 1-0 after two innings of play, but rallied behind an RBI single from Brad Rebello (Bellingham, Mass.) and a sacrifice fly via Michael DeDonato (Chelmsford, Mass.) in the third. Endicott also tacked on an insurance run in the fourth as Kyle Brennan (Wallingford, Conn.) drove in Nickolas Perkins (Nashua, N.H.) on a groundball to the right side of the infield.
GAME TWO: No. 23 Endicott 11, Curry 5 (8 inn.)
Down 5-1 headed into the top of the fifth, Endicott forced extra innings with four runs combined through the fifth and sixth innings before exploding for six more in the eighth to secure the sweep.
Michael Casciano (Somers, Conn.) and Ian Schmidt (Plymouth, Conn.) got the Gulls going in the fifth as both student-athletes knocked in one reach on a double and a single, respectively, before a fielding error later in the frame allowed Endicott to cut into the deficit at 5-4. Meanwhile, in the sixth, Rebello lifted a sacrifice fly to right field with one out to even up the score at 5-5.
The Gulls then capitalized on that momentum in the eighth when DeDonato and Casciano plated runs with singles and Brennan launched a two-out grand slam - the first home run of his collegiate career - for the knockout punch.
Endicott reliever Victor Molle (Peabody, Mass.) picked up the victory (1-0) out of the pen on 2 1/3 scoreless frames, one hit, zero walks, and two strikeouts. Cooper Anibal (Bedford, N.H.) was equally as impressive in relief as the freshman bridged the gap to Molle for 2 1/3 shutout innings alongside zero hits, one walk, and two punchouts.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORES
- Endicott is 30-17 all-time against Curry.
- The Gulls are 8-1 on the road this season.
- Endicott has won six straight games.
WHAT'S NEXT
No. 23 Endicott (14-3, 4-0 CCC) hosts Saint Joseph's (Me.) on Tuesday, April 10 at 4 PM. Curry (6-10, 3-3 CCC) welcomes Bridgewater State University to its campus Wednesday, April 11 at 3:30 PM.
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(Photo Credit - David Le '10)