Gulls Open Back-to Back Games with Eight Runs in CCC Sweep of Lions

BEVERLY, Mass. – Endicott scored five runs in the first inning and three runs in the second inning of each of their games on Saturday afternoon, which led to two victories and a sweep of Eastern Nazarene College in a Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) baseball doubleheader at North Field.

The Gulls improved to 23-8 all time against Eastern Nazarene with victories of 16-7 in the opener and 14-2 in the night cap.

Endicott has an important CCC double-header tomorrow afternoon at North Field when they welcome in reigning conference champion Western New England. The Gulls and Golden Bears are set for a 12:00 pm first pitch.

The Lions are off until Tuesday afternoon when they will host Newbury in a non-conference double-header starting at 3:30 pm.

Game 1: Endicott 16, Eastern Nazarene 7

Endicott got six runs batted in from graduate outfielder Colin Sitarz (W. Hartford, Conn.), who also blasted the first home run of the year for the Gulls, a two-run shot in the fourth that was immediately followed by a pinch-hit homerun to left center by Ralph Fidaleo (Fairfield, Conn.), which pushed Endicott's lead to 11-3.

Sitarz got the Gulls off to a great start with a bases-loaded triple in the first inning, and Robert Goldstick (Deerfield, Ill.) doubled him home after center fielder Tad Gold (Martha's Vineyard, Mass.) had opened the scoring with a single through the left side in an opening frame in which the first five Endicott batters reached base.

Designated hitter Michael Cahill (Plymouth, Mass.) plated three more runs with a bases-loaded double in the bottom of the second inning.

Brett Holmgren (Middleboro, Mass.) scored four runs in the game, on base via a single, a hit by pitch and two walks. Gold was 3-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI and second baseman Harry Oringer (Dartmouth, Mass.) had two hits and scored three runs.

The visitors pulled back seven runs across the fourth and fifth innings. Jake Koch (Dayton, Nev.) took a bases loaded walk and Jeremy Wagner (Oklahoma City, Okla.) drove in two runs with a single to right center.

Pat Yee (Lynnfield, Mass.) led off the fifth with a pinch-hit single and then scored n the first of three straight doubles by the Lions, off the bat of Anthony Berroa (Teaneck, N.J.). David Manning (Yorktown Heights, N.Y.) and Ryan Garza (Elsa, Texas.) also doubled and Koch again walked and Rocco Martnelli (Panama City, Panama) scored on a wild pitch of ball four.

Wagner and Garza were the only two players with multiple hits in the game for the Lions.

Endicott freshman starter Mike Walkowicz (Amherst, Mass.) evened his record at 1-1, allowing five earned runs in four innings and recording six strikeouts. Walkowicz recorded five of his first six outs via the strikeout, including striking out the side swinging in the first inning.

Tyler Hill (Las Vegas, Nev.), Kevin Dupras (Belchertown, Mass.), and Connor McLaughlin (Clinton, Mass.) all pitched scoreless innings of relief for the Gulls.

Lions starter Brad Hampton (South Daytona, Fla.) fell to 0-3 on the season, after giving up eight earned runs on seven hits and two walks through just two innings.

Conor Ressel (Rockport, Mass.), Gold, Oringer and Fidaleo all swiped bases in the victory for Endicott.

Game 2: Endicott 14, Eastern Nazarene 2

Endicott opened the game with five straight singles and recorded four of their five stolen bases in the first inning, again jumping in front 5-0.

Oringer had three RBIs in game two, getting the ball rolling by singling in two runs in the first inning. Catcher EJ Martinez (Brooklyn, N.Y.), who was 1-for-1 and got hit twice, drove in a pair of runs in the second with a double to left center, scoring both Sitarz and Holmgren for the second time in the contest.

JJ Branch (Milford, Mass.) pitched five innings of five-hit ball and allowed just two runs with two strikeouts and evened his season record at 1-1 for the Gulls.

Oringer added an RBI groundout in the third to score Taylor English (Barre, Vt.) and then the Gulls plated five more runs in the fourth on a pinch-hit RBI double by Eric Lemke (Southington, Conn.) and RBI outs made by Ressel and Gold.

The Gulls outhit the Lions 11-5, and took advantage of three Eastern Nazarene miscues while making just one themselves.

Homgren was 2-for-4 with two runs scored and Sitarz had another great game, going 2-2 with an RBI and three runs scored.

The visitors grabbed one unearned run when Hampton crossed the plate on an error in the second, and one more in the third when Garza and Manning hit back-to-back doubles. From the fourth inning on, the Lions were held to just two hits.

Endicott senior Michael Griffin (Arlington, Mass.) finished the game with two perfect innings and two strikeouts.

Brandon Wells (Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.) suffered the loss to drop to 2-3 on the year after giving up nine earned runs on eight hits across just three innings.