SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – The Endicott baseball team split its Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) doubleheader against Western New England University (WNEU) on Sunday afternoon at Trelease Park. The Gulls fell to the Golden Bears in game one by a 2-1 score, but took game two 4-2 to earn the split.
GAME ONE – WNEU 2, Endicott 1 (7 inn.)
David Cherry (Southbury, Conn.) picked up his fourth victory of the season (4-1) on seven innings of work, eight hits, one run (unearned), zero walks, and a game-high 10 strikeouts.
Will Ferreira (Nantucket, Mass.) shouldered the loss (2-1) on 6 1/3 innings pitched, 10 hits, two runs (both earned), three free passes, and four punchouts.
Endicott took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second as Corbin Hyde (Lewiston, Maine) plated Mike Kochiss (Fairfield, Conn.) from third base with a hard-hit single to right field.
The remainder of the contest then belonged to the pitchers before WNEU put together a two-run rally in the bottom of the seventh to walk off with the game one victory.
With one out in the frame, WNEU's offense registered two singles – with a walk sandwiched in the middle – to load the bases for Kevin Marciano (Pepperell, Mass.) who eventually evened the score at 1-1 with an RBI single. Eduardo Colmenares (Caracas, Venezuela) later followed with the walk-off hit against Davarn Nova (Buzzards Bay, Mass.) on a single to right field.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Kochiss went 3-for-3 from the fifth spot in the lineup to extend his hitting streak to 10 straight games.
- The Gulls turned two double plays in the loss (15th this season, fourth multi-double play game).
FOR THE FOES
- Colmenares, Daniel Morin (Salem, N.H.), and Scott Hubener (Mendon, Mass.) all collected multi-hit games in the win.
- Hubener led the trio with a 3-for-3 day at the plate, and also scored the game-winning run.
GAME TWO – Endicott 4, WNEU 2
Owen Bautze (Sudbury, Mass.) struck out seven batters in a complete-game effort to help the Gulls earn the split versus WNEU in game two. In his fifth start of the season, Bautze scattered three hits, allowed two runs (both earned), and walked just one hitter on 90 pitches (55 strikes).
Tom Mahoney (Granville, Mass.) was the dealt the loss on six innings, seven hits, three runs (two earned), two free passes, and seven strikeouts.
Endicott responded from the game one loss immediately in the top of the first inning with two runs, and never relinquished its lead for the rest of the matchup.
In the top of the first, Anthony Serina (Portsmouth, R.I.) ripped an RBI triple to right field for a 1-0 lead, while Kochiss made it 2-0 later in the frame with a run-producing single to left field.
The Gulls tacked on another run in the fourth on a fielding error and one more run in the seventh on a passed ball.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Nick Berno (St. Albans, Vt.) and Serina both had multi-hit games in the win.
- Bautze registered his second quality start of the season (6 IP, 3 ER or less).
- Bautze also held the top of the order (1-2-3) and the bottom of the order (7-8-9) hitless in today's victory.
FOR THE FOES
- WNEU leads the all-time series, 20-17.
- The Golden Bears scored their runs on a Ben LaCroix (Branford, Conn.) RBI single to left center in the fifth, and a solo home from Morin in the seventh.
WHAT'S NEXT
Endicott (17-9, 7-1 CCC) hosts Framingham State University on Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. WNEU (19-5, 7-1 CCC) welcomes Keene State College to its campus tomorrow at 3:30 p.m.
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