BEVERLY, Mass. – The No. 1 ranked Endicott College baseball team defeated No. 6/7 Johns Hopkins University, 5-2, to complete a two-game sweep of the Blue Jays and earn its second straight NCAA Super Regional crown this afternoon at North Field. With the sweep, the Gulls advance to their second College World Series in as many years.
WP (5-1): Brady Stuart (Hudson, Mass.) – 5 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 6 K
LP (6-2): Quinn Rovner (Bell Blue, Pa.) – 4.1 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 2 BB
SV (4): Evan Scully (Maynard, Mass.) – 0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 K
After a scoreless first, Caleb Cyr (Coral Springs, Fla.) put Johns Hopkins on the board in the top of the second with a solo shot over the fence in right center. Cyr's round-tripper was his 20th of the season, 37th of his career, and the 101st homer for Johns Hopkins as a team in 2024.
An RBI single up the middle by Dylan Whitney (Oak Park, Ill.) with two runners on, gave the Blue Jays a 2-0 edge before the frame was over.
Brenden Walsh (Reading, Mass.) registered Endicott's first hit of the game in the bottom of the third as he ripped a single through the left side.
The Gulls then knotted the game at two in the bottom of the fourth.
With one out, Danny MacDougall (Taunton, Mass.) worked a walk before Brendan O'Neil (Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.) launched a two-run homer to right – his 16th of the season.
Endicott took its first lead of the game in the bottom of the fifth when Nicolas Notarangelo (Taunton, Mass.) drove in Dylan Pacheco (Dartmouth, Mass.) for the 3-2 edge. Pacheco drilled a one-out triple to right center to set up the RBI opportunity for Notarangelo. In the very next at-bat, MacDougall belted his second home run in as many days to left field extending Endicott's advantage to 5-2.
Brady Stuart (Hudson, Mass.) came out of the pen in the fourth inning after starter Nicholas Cannata (Marlborough, Mass.) lasted 3.1 innings on the bump for the Gulls.
Stuart was dominant for Endicott as he pitched five shutout innings, scattered three hits, and walked three against one of the most potent offenses in the nation and got the Gulls into the ninth inning.
Endicott pitchers held Johns Hopkins to just two runs this afternoon and seven total runs in the series. The Blue Jays entered the weekend having scored 105 runs in six postseason games, but had its second-lowest run output of the season today – the lowest since scoring just one run against No. 3 ranked Baldwin Wallace on February 24.
Johns Hopkins ripped back-to-back hits to start the top of the ninth, but with Whitney up at bat, Pacheco saved at least a run with a leaping catch at second base to record the first out of the inning.
Scully entered the game for Endicott with the bases loaded later in the frame and retired the final two batters of the game to secure the save and to send Endicott back to the College World Series.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- When leading after six innings this year, Endicott is now 40-0.
- With two runs in the fourth and three runs in the fifth, Endicott has now outscored its opponents by a combined total of 108-25 in those innings this season (64-14 in the fourth, 44-11 in the fifth).
- Additionally, when holding teams to two or fewer runs, the Gulls are 27-0 this season.
- Endicott broke the school record for wins. Now with 46 victories on the season, the Gulls surpassed the previous mark of 45 set by the 2023 squad.
- Appearing in its ninth NCAA Tournament, Endicott hosted an NCAA Super Regional for the third consecutive season.
- Endicott ends its home slate of games with a perfect 25-0 record and over the past three seasons has combined for a 69-6 record at North Field (.920 winning percentage). Johns Hopkins completed its 2024 campaign with a 15-6 record away from Babb Field.
- Endicott is now 4-2 all-time in NCAA Super Regional contests after this year's sweep of Johns Hopkins and last year's sweep of Ithaca College.
WHAT'S NEXT
Endicott (46-2) heads to Eastlake, Ohio for the College World Series, which begins on Friday, May 31. All contests will be played at Classic Auto Group Park. Johns Hopkins (35-11) sees its season come to an end.
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(Photo Credit - David Le '10)
