EASTLAKE, Ohio — The No. 1 nationally ranked Endicott baseball team fell to reigning national champion Lynchburg, 7-2, on Friday afternoon in game one of the 2024 College World Series.
WP (10-2): Wesley Arrington (Keswick, Va.) — 9 IP, 10 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 12 K
LP (11-1): Jordan Gottesman (Acton, Mass.) — 5.2 IP, 7 H, 6 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 4 K
After Gottesman tossed a quick 1-2-3 first inning, Dylan Pacheco (Dartmouth, Mass.) slapped a one-out single into right field and stole second to get an early runner in scoring position for the Gulls. However, after Pacheco was cut down at third base on a fielder's choice, the Hornets escaped the first without allowing a run.
They carried that early momentum into the top of the second, when they pushed across four runs highlighted by Brandon Garcia's (Durham, N.C.) two-run single up the middle.
Endicott and Gottesman responded by putting up a zero in the top half of the third, but the Hornets added another run in the fourth and one more in the sixth to take a 6-0 lead.
The Gulls got on the board in the bottom half of the sixth after Nicolas Notarangelo (Taunton, Mass.) started a two-out rally with a single into right center. He scored from first on a Danny MacDougall (Taunton, Mass.) RBI double that skipped down the left field line.
Brendan O'Neil (Ponte Vedra, Fla.) followed MacDougall with another RBI double down the left field line.
Chris Jenkins (Mansfield, Mass.) came on to toss a 1-2-3 seventh and eighth innings, but the Gulls were unable to cut into the 6-2 deficit any further in the bottom half of those frames. Arrington struck out three Gulls in the eighth to escape a bases loaded situation without surrendering a run.
The Hornets added another insurance run in the top of the ninth to take a 7-2 lead heading to the bottom of the ninth.
Robbie Wladkowski (Norwood, Mass.) led off the Gulls' half of the frame with a single, but Arrington struck out the next three batters in succession to close out the 11th consecutive Lynchburg win.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- This is the fourth matchup all-time for the two teams. Lynchburg leads the all-time series 3-1.
- Joey Frammartino (North Reading, Mass.), Pacheco, MacDougall, and Wladkowski each logged multi-hit performances in the contest.
- Since April 27th, Arrington has made six starts and has tossed a total of 48 innings. In that span, he has pitched three complete games, which included a no-hitter against Randolph-Macon— the six seed in the tournament.
- Lowest run output of the season for Endicott.
- Each team tallied 10 hits in the matchup.
- Lynchburg is ranked No. 26 overall in the final regular season American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) Poll.
WHAT'S NEXT
No. 1 Endicott (46-3) takes on Pomona-Pitzer tomorrow at 10 AM in an elimination game at Classic Park.
Lynchburg (36-15) advances to the winner's bracket contest against Misericordia at approximately 1:15 PM.
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(Photo Credit - David Le '10)
