CCC Athletes of the Week – Week Ending March 22nd
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Sophomore third baseman Mike Kochiss (Fairfield, Conn.) and freshman Brad Rebello (Bellingham, Mass.) swept the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) weekly awards both players were integral pieces in Endicott's 3-3 record at the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational from Monday through Friday last week.
Kochiss, named CCC Player of the Week, batted .400 on the week with eight hits including four which went for extra bases with three walks. He drove in eight runs, scored five times, and sported a .957 fielding percentage in six games at the hot corner.
Kochiss was an offensive threat in each of Endicott's wins over Bowdoin (15-8), UMass Dartmouth (8-5), and Amherst (12-4) as he recorded seven of his eight hits in those games. In game two of a doubleheader with Bowdoin, Kochiss went 2-for-2 with a walk and three RBIs courtesy of two sacrifice flies and a late-inning RBI single. Against UMass Dartmouth, the sophomore reached bases three times in five trips to the plate, scored twice, and recorded six putouts. In Endicott's final game of the week, the second of two against Amherst, Kochiss blasted two homeruns including back-to-back bombs with five-hole hitter Matthew Paola (Middlebury, Conn.) in a crucial four-run top of the fourth. It was the eighth time in program history a player has hit two homeruns in a single game.
This week's CCC Rookie of the Week, Rebello appeared in all six games Endicott played after Sunday's season opening doubleheader loss to #3 Cortland State and the Gulls benefited from his presence as the freshman hit .400 (4-for-10) with four RBI, three runs, and two walks. Rebello also made an appearance on the mound, getting two outs against #5 Birmingham-Southern with a strikeout in relief.
Rebello's biggest output came in his move to third in the order in game two against Amherst. He went 1-for-3 with three RBI a sacrifice fly and a two-run single in a seven-run outburst by the Gulls in the top of the second.
With a 3-5 overall record Endicott now looks ahead to a full slate of games back in New England starting with Worcester State (5-6) on Tuesday, March 24th at 3:30 p.m. That game will be played at Endicott's North Field.
