BEVERLY, Mass. – The Endicott baseball team punched its ticket to the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Championship on Saturday evening with a sweep of Suffolk, 5-4 and 21-5, in the CCC Tournament Pod B Finals at North Field.
GAME ONE: Endicott 5, Suffolk 4
WP: Nicholas Cannata (Marlborough, Conn.) – 2 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
LP: Steven Rossi (Corning, N.Y) – 6 2/3 IP, 10 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 6 K
SV: Max Tarlin (Sharon, Mass.) – 2/3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
Trailing 4-3 in the bottom of the seventh inning, junior outfielder Joseph Millar (Lake Hopatcong, N.J.) sparked the comeback for the Gulls when he blasted a game-tying home run to deep right field for his third long ball of the season.
From there, Caleb Shpur (East Cannan, Conn.) ripped a triple to left center and later came around to score via a Michael Bonollo (Shrewsbury, Mass.) one-out RBI single through the right side to push Endicott ahead for good, 5-4.
Suffolk didn't go away quietly, however, as the Rams had the tying run at second in the eighth and the bases loaded in the ninth with one out.
After giving up a single to fill the bases upon entering the game in the ninth, Tarlin dialed in striking out Blase Cormier (Wayland, Mass.) with a nasty backdoor slide for out number two and induced a 1-3 groundout to secure the win.
GAME TWO: Endicott 21, Suffolk 5
WP: Cooper Anibal (Bedford, N.H.) – 5 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 5 K
LP: EJ Birch (Menands, N.Y.) – 4 IP, 5 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 4 BB, 3 K
SV: NONE
Endicott slugged its way to the sweep in game two behind a 21-run offensive outburst, which ranks ninth all-time in a single game in program history.
Bradley Baldinger (Massapequa, N.Y.), Kyle Brennan (Wallingford, Conn.), and Justin Bailey (Grafton, Mass.) highlighted the offense as all three student-athletes hit a three-run homer in the victory.
Meanwhile, Millar and Nick Carelli (Holden, Mass.) also drove in three runs each for the Gulls.
As an offense, Endicott went 14-for-23 (.609) in RBI opportunity situations.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORES
- The Gulls are 22-14 all-time against Suffolk (17-12 at home).
- Endicott is 12-4 at home this season.
- The Gulls have won five straight games.
WHAT'S NEXT
Endicott (15-6) has advanced to the CCC Championship and awaits the winner of tomorrow's matchup in the Pod A Finals between Salve Regina and Roger Williams. Suffolk sees its 2021 season come to a close at 11-12 overall.
For the latest on Endicott Athletics, follow the Gulls on social media on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.
(Photo Credit - Demetrius Kazanas '23) | BOX SCORE - GM 1 | BOX SCORE - GM 2
