EASTLAKE, Ohio — The No. 1 nationally ranked Endicott baseball team fell to No. 11/13 Misericordia, 12-4, to end its historic 2024 season and College World Series run on Sunday afternoon at Classic Park.
WP (8-1): Steve Rinda (Stowe, Pa.) — 6 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 7 K
LP (5-2): Nicholas Cannata (Marlborough, Conn.) — 2.2 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 0 K
With the Gulls as the away team, Joey Frammartino (North Reading, Mass.) and Dylan Pacheco (Dartmouth, Mass.) each reached base as the first two batters (E4F, HBP) and later advanced to second and third on Nicolas Notarangelo's (Taunton, Mass.) groundout to the second baseman, setting up a second and third situation with just one out for the Gulls.
However, the Cougars struck out two consecutive batters to escape the jam unscathed.
In the bottom of the first, the Cougars loaded up the bases and capitalized via a hit-by-pitch to take the early 1-0 lead. Cannata generated a flyout to Notarangelo to strand the bases loaded and avoid any further damage in the frame.
Misericordia later broke through for a three-spot in the third utilizing some small ball play, which knocked Cannata out of the game. Will Fox (West Hartford, Conn.) entered with two outs and runners on first and third, and induced a fly out to center, ending the Cougars' threat.
Brendan O'Neil (Ponte Vedra, Fla.) got a run back for the Gulls with a solo blast to deep left center field in the top of the fourth, his team-high 17th of the season, to get the Gulls on the board.
In the bottom of the fifth, more small ball ensued from the Cougars giving them some separation in the contest, as they put up a five-spot on the board to take a commanding 9-1 lead.
The Gulls responded and showed some fight in the top of the sixth, as Notarangelo led off with a single to right, and Danny MacDougall (Taunton, Mass.) followed by belting his 10th home run of the year, cutting the deficit back to six (9-3).
Later in the inning, TJ Liponis (Scarborough, Maine) doubled down the third base line and later scored on John Mulready's (Peabody, Mass.) RBI chopper to short, which made it a five-run game.
The Cougars eventually pulled away in the eighth with three runs highlighted by Garrett McIlhenney's (Essex, Md.) second home run of the season.
With one last chance for a rally, Notarangelo blooped a one-out single into left field. Unfortunately for the Blue and Green, no further offense presented itself, and the 2024 season came to a close via an O'Neil groundout to first.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- The Gulls finished with a program-record and national best 47 wins this season.
- Notarangelo led the Gulls with a .455 AVG / .571 OBP /.636 SLG over the CWS run.
- Endicott recorded its first-ever CWS victory yesterday as a part of its historic season.
- First-ever No. 1 national ranking for an Endicott varsity sports program; ranked No. 1 for nine consecutive weeks in American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) and D3Baseball.com polls.
- The Gulls were perfect at North Field (25-0) for the first time in program history.
WHAT'S NEXT
No. 1 Endicott concludes its 2024 season with a 47-4 overall record.
No. 11/13 Misericordia (40-10) advances to the D3 College World Series National Semifinals and faces Lynchburg for a spot in the National Championship. The Cougars will need to defeat the Hornets twice to reach the championship series round.
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(Photo Credit - David Le '10)
