NCAA TOURNAMENT: No. 1 Baseball Knocks Off Husson, 6-2

POSTGAME INTERVIEW

MANSFIELD, Conn. — The No. 1 nationally ranked Endicott baseball team erased an early deficit to take down the NAC Champion Husson Eagles, 6-2, on Friday afternoon at the Mansfield Regional.

WP (11-0): Jordan Gottesman (Acton, Mass.) — 6.1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 5 K
LP (5-3): Matt Wallingford (Greene, Maine) — 5 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 K
SV (4): Will Fox (West Hartford, Conn.) — 2.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 5 K

Dylan Pacheco (Dartmouth, Mass.) and Nicolas Notarangelo (Taunton, Mass.) each singled in what looked like a promising Endicott first inning, but were eventually left stranded as the Gulls were unable to find scoring in the frame.

The Eagles then jumped out to a 1-0 advantage with a third-inning RBI double into right center.

The Gulls responded in the bottom of the fourth, as Robbie Wladkowski (Norwood, Mass.) ignited the Endicott offense with a two-run single into the right center field gap, scoring Danny MacDougall (Taunton, Mass.) and TJ Liponis (Scarborough, Maine). 

In the sixth, the Gulls found an insurance run as Brendan O'Neil (Ponte Vedra, Fla.) jarred the ball loose at the plate on a fielder's choice play, crossing home with the Blue and Green's third run of the afternoon.

After a leadoff double for the Eagles in the seventh, Fox replaced Gottesman and limited the damage, only allowing the inherited runner to score and preventing any further damage in the frame. 

With a slim 3-2 lead in the bottom of the eighth, the Blue and Green grabbed some much needed insurance via a Brenden Walsh (Reading, Mass.) RBI walk, a Joey Frammartino (North Reading, Mass.) sac fly to center, and a Pacheco RBI single through the left side of the infield.

Fox slammed the door against the Eagles with a 1-2-3 ninth (struck out the side), locking up his fourth save of the season and giving the Gulls their first win of the Mansfield Regional (1-0 record). 

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• The Gulls advance to 7-2 in the all-time series against the Eagles.
• Liponis cranked two doubles to deep left center field in the contest.
• MacDougall swiped his 43rd bag of the season and is now tied for the national lead in thefts.
• Notarangelo returned to action for the first time since April 30 versus Trinity. He drilled a line drive single to left field on the first pitch he saw in the contest.
• Gottesman now holds the program's single-season record for wins (11) and is second in strikeouts (96).

WHAT'S NEXT

No. 1 Endicott (42-2) advances to Game 4 tomorrow and will face the winner of Game 2 (No. 22 Eastern Connecticut versus SUNY New Paltz) at approximately 2:30 PM. Husson (23-11) will face the loser of Game 2 tomorrow at 11 AM.

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(Photo Credit - Eastern Connecticut State Athletics)