AUBURNDALE, Fla. – The Endicott baseball team edged The College of New Jersey, 7-6, on Friday afternoon at the Lake Myrtle Athletic Complex.
Endicott jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the third inning. Kyle Brennan (Wallingford, Conn.) doubled down the left field line to get on base and then scored on a single from Nickolas Perkins (Nashua, N.H.).
TCNJ responded in the fifth with two runs to take the 2-1 advantage but the Gulls saw a double from Anthony Macchia (Ridgefield, Conn.) which scored three runs to regain the 4-2 lead during the top of the sixth.
Endicott added one more run in the seventh to stretch that lead to 5-2 but the Lions wouldn't go down without a fight. TCNJ saw two runs in both the seventh and eighth innings to gain a slight 6-5 lead.
In the top of the ninth, Benjamin Schena (Cheshire, Conn.) doubled down the right field line to get Endicott started. Matt Bald (De Pere, Wisc.) walked and then Brennan laid down a bunt to load the bases. Perkins also walked to send in the tying run before Dan Cacciola (Saugus, Mass.) hit a sacrifice fly to center to put the Gulls up 7-6.
The Lions attempted to rally in their last at-bat but the Endicott defense stood strong to secure the 7-6 victory.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Joseph Oriola (Pembroke, Mass.) got the start for the Gulls and struck out four batters in five innings of work.
- Tyler Davis (Bethel, Conn.) earned the win to improve to 1-0 overall, while Liam Burke (Westwood, Mass.) picked up his first save of the season.
- Brennan went a perfect 5-for-5 at the plate with a double, two runs and an RBI.
- John Duffy (Stratford, Conn.) was 3-for-4 with one run.
- This is the second meeting between Endicott and TCNJ and the all-time series is now tied at 1-1.
WHAT'S NEXT
Endicott (5-5) takes on Nichols (8-5) for a conference doubleheader on Saturday, March 23 at Henley Field in Lakeland, Fla. with the first game slated for 11 AM.
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(Photo Credit - David Le '10)
