Shpur Throws Out Game-Tying Run At Home, Gulls Walk Off Against Pomona-Pitzer, 5-4

CLAREMONT, Calif. — The No. 10/10 nationally ranked Endicott baseball team defeated No. 28 Pomona-Pitzer, 5-4, in non-conference action on Monday evening at Alumni Field.

WP (1-0): Brady Stuart (Hudson, Mass.) — 2 1/3, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K
LP (2-2): Eric Prough (Walnut Creek, Calif.) — 2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
SV (3): Max Tarlin (Sharon, Mass.) — 1/3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K

The game ended in thrilling fashion as Caleb Shpur (East Canaan, Conn.) threw a dart from shallow center field to catcher John Mulready (Peabody, Mass.) for the final out of the contest.

Shpur's throw one-hopped perfectly to Mulready's glove side directly into the path of the sliding runner. The sturdy catcher did the rest by holding onto the baseball despite a collision at home to keep Endicott undefeated on the season (5-0). 

The Gulls led 4-0 after three full innings behind a pair of RBI from Jake Nardone (Westfield, Mass.) and Dylan Pacheco (Dartmouth, Mass.).

Pacheco drove in a pair of runs with a double in the third, while Nardone bookended the scoring with RBI base knocks in the second and third innings, respectively.

Pomona-Pitzer chipped away at the deficit with two runs in the sixth and seventh innings before Mulready drove in the game-winning run with an RBI single to right center in the ninth.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• Endicott is 3-2 all-time against Pomona-Pitzer.
• Mulready, Pacheco, and Nardone went a combined 7-for-13 with three runs scored, five RBI, and one walk from the 4-5-6 spots in the lineup.
• TJ Liponis (Scarborough, Maine) made a leaping catch on a line drive for the second out of the ninth that robbed Pomona-Pitzer of at least a first-and-second situation or at best a first-and-third scenario that could have dealt the Gulls a different hand in the final frame.
• In the next at-bat of the inning, the Sagehens notched a single to left center to put runners at first and second before the walk-off play at the plate happened.

WHAT'S NEXT

No. 10/10 Endicott (5-0) plays No. 5 Chapman later tonight at 10 PM (EST). No. 28 Pomona-Pitzer (8-9) hosts Webster on Thursday, March 16 at 12 PM. 

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(Photo Credit - David Le '10)