Gulls Walk Off to Split Double-Header with Husson

BEVERLY, Mass. – Endicott lost a lead late in both of their non-conference baseball games against Husson University on Saturday at North Field, but they were able to strike back in the second contest and salvage a split of the double-header.

Endicott (8-5) took the second game by a 2-1 margin after Husson (5-9) erupted for four runs in the ninth to win the opening contest 8-4.

The Gulls will begin their Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) play on Monday with a double-header at Roger Williams, with the first game set to begin at 2:00 pm.

Husson will also begin conference play next, with a Thursday doubleheader at North Atlantic Conference (NAC) foe Maine-Farmington (1:00 pm).

Game Two: Endicott 2, Husson 1

Brett Holmgren (Middleboro, Mass.) delivered a bases-loaded RBI single in the bottom of the seventh inning and the Gulls walked off with a 2-1 win in a game that featured two superb pitching performance by first year players.

Endicott freshman Jon Branch (Milford, Mass.) went six innings, allowing just one unearned run on three hits and two walks while striking out two.

Brandon Reilly (Pemaquid, Maine) took a complete game no-decision, surrendering two runs over six and two-thirds innings and falling to 1-2 for the season.

Holmgren, who leads the team in batting average, went 2-4 with both of Endicott's RBIs and is now batting .529 for the season. The senior first baseman got the Gulls in front in the bottom of the first inning with a double down the left field line that plated second baseman Harry Oringer (Dartmouth, Mass.).

It looked as though Branch would go the distance for the shutout victory, but the Eagles took advantage of two errors by Oringer in the seventh inning and loaded the bases before center fielder Shawn Smith (Winterport, Maine) scored on a fielder's choice by designated hitter Kyle Bishop (Waterville, Maine).

The Gulls looked to be headed to extra innings as Reilly quickly got the first two outs in the bottom of the frame, but freshman Cody Hall (Rutland, Mass) singled to center field and Tad Gold (Martha's Vineyard, Mass.) followed with a single to left center and the hosts had two on with two outs.

Oringer then reached on a fielder's choice and Gold was safe on an error by Husson second baseman Brandon Gendreau (Brewer, Maine), which extended the inning and loaded the bases for Holmgren, who shot a rocket up the middle to plate Hall and end the game.

 Endicott junior Connor McLaughlin (Clinton, Mass.) improved to 1-1 on the season with the victory after allowing the fielder's choice and then inducing a double-play to end the seventh inning.

Game One: Husson 8, Endicott 4

Endicott grabbed a 4-1 lead with a run in the fifth and three runs in the sixth, but the Eagles tied the game a half inning later and then exploded for four runs in the top of the ninth to emerge with an 8-4 victory.

Gendreau and Dylan Foster (Oakland, Maine) each had two hits at the top of the Husson lineup, while right fielder Pat Thibodeau (Caribou, Maine) drove in three runs for the  visitors.

Oringer and third baseman Taylor English (Barre, Vt.) each had two hits and an RBI apiece in game one for the Gulls, while Oringer, Hall, and Holmgren, who also had an RBI, each scored.

After Husson had grabbed a single run in the top of the fourth on an RBI groundout by first baseman J.T. Whitten (Waterville, Maine), Endicott answered on a single to center field by English in the fifth that scored outfielder Ralph Fidaleo (Fairfield, Conn.).

The Gulls grabbed a three-run advantage in the sixth inning on a triple by Oringer and RBI singles by Holmgren and Colin Sitarz (W. Hartford, Conn.).

Freshman Mike Walkowicz (Amherst, Mass.) pitched six innings and allowed three runs on six hits with three strikeouts for the Gulls, but got into trouble in the seventh, putting two men on before being lifted for McLaughlin, who walked the next two batters and then surrendered a single to Foster and an RBI fielder's choice to Thibodeau.

It was hit batsmen in the ninth inning that gave McLaughlin, who fell to 0-1 on the year, trouble. He loaded the bases on two hit by pitches and a surprise bunt single by Foster, and two runs crossed the plate on a single by Thibodeau, who took the first pitch he saw from new pitcher Kevin Dupras (Belchertown, Mass.) and deposited it into left center.

The Eagles grabbed two more runs on a single up the middle by junior Josh Gaudette (Waterville, Maine) and a passed ball, which allowed Thibodeau to score.

Eagles junior Pat McEwen (Brewer, Maine) evened his record at 2-2 on the year with a complete game effort. Over nine innings, McEwen surrendered nine hits and two walks, allowing three earned runs and picking up four strikeouts.