BEVERLY, Mass. - In a North Shore Cup matchup against Salem State, the Endicott baseball team took a heartbreaking loss 1-0 in 11 innings on Thursday night at North Field. The Gulls dropped to 14-10 on the year, despite a strong effort on the hill by junior pitcher Tyler Hill (Las Vegas, Nev.) while the Vikings improved to 12-10 as an infield miscue allowed Salem State to score.
Endicott plays a conference doubleheader on Saturday, April 13th on the road against Gordon starting at 12:00 pm. Salem State gets back to their MASCAC schedule with a pair of home games against Westfield State on Saturday.
The Gulls and Vikings both struggled at the plate, turning the game into a pitching battle between Hill and Salem State's Michael Baryski (Walpole, Mass.) who both pitched deep into the game. Hill went 7 2/3 innings strong , allowing just one hit, walking four, while striking out three. Baryski hurled eight shutout innings before giving way to reliever Ed Deren (Westford, Mass.) who went the final three frames, earning the victory.
Endicott, held to just three hits in the game, threatened in the bottom of the third after Ralph Fidaleo (Fairfield, Conn.) walked and stolen base to get into scoring position. Connor Ressel (Rockport, Mass.) grounded out to second base to push Fidaleo to within 90 feet of home, but Baryski was able to escape the jam by forcing a fly out to right to end the inning.
Gulls senior Kevin Dupras (Belchertown, Mass.) came on in the top of the ninth and struck out two Vikings in his first inning of relief. In extra innings, however, Dupras got into trouble, needing an inning-ending double play to escape a first and second situation with one out. In the top of the 11th, Salem State got a one-out double to left by junior Matt Burgess (Kingston, Mass.) who then reached third on a groundout to the right side. Burgess scored on the next play as a fielding error allowed him to reach home for the game's lone run.
Endicott put the tying run on base in the bottom of the 11th, but the Vikings closed out the game by forcing a fly out and a groundout.
