LAGRANGE, Ga. — The No. 2/3 nationally ranked Endicott baseball team split its season-opening doubleheader with LaGrange, 12-3 (loss) and 15-6 (13-inning win), on Saturday afternoon at Cleaveland Field.
GAME ONE: LaGrange 12, No. 2/3 Endicott 3
WP (2-0): Josiah Chiesa (Dalton, Ga.) — 6.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 4 BB, 5 K
LP (0-1): Charlie Hale (Brookline, N.H.) — 3.1 IP, 8 H, 7 R, 7 ER, 0 BB, 4 K
After LaGrange got an early run in the second inning, Hale was able to escape further damage by inducing a ground out to Kyle Grabowski (Westfield, Mass.) at third.
Hale then retired the side in order with three consecutive punchouts in the top of the third.
The Gulls loaded up the bases in the top of the fourth, but were unable to find any scoring in the frame.
In the bottom half of the fourth, the Panthers did capitalize on their baserunners, as they drove in a six-spot to break the game open.
Endicott was not able to find any real offense until the eighth inning, when Zach Stephenson (Mansfield, Mass.) led things off with a single through the right side of the infield. He later scored when Robbie Wladkowski (Norwood, Mass.) drilled a double to left field.
Cade Bernardo (Glenmont, N.Y.) made the most of his first career at-bat later in the inning, as he cranked a two-run double off the center field wall, plating Wladkowski and TJ Liponis (Scarborough, Maine).
The Gulls came up with one more chance in the ninth, but were unable to add to their eighth inning scoring and consequently lost their season-opener by a 12-3 score.
GAME TWO: No. 2/3 Endicott 15, LaGrange 6 (13 Inn.)
WP (1-0): Ben Gill (Sanford, Maine) — 3.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 4 BB, 2 K
LP (0-1): Nick Morgan (Cataula, Ga.) — 5.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
After facing a 4-0 deficit, the Gulls were able to force extra innings, and thanks to a heroic collegiate debut from Gill out of the bullpen, eventually were able to pull away in the 13th inning with a 10-run frame.
Down 4-0 in the 7th, the Gulls offense finally scratched across two runs via a Wladkowski RBI single and a Liponis sac fly.
The Panthers got a run back in the bottom half of the frame, but the Blue and Green responded with two more of their own in the top of the 8th (Danny MacDougall (Taunton, Mass.) RBI single; Stephenson sac fly) and then tacked on another in the the ninth (John Mulready (Peabody, Mass.) RBI fielder's choice) to send the game into extras.
Some clutch extra-innings relief from Preseason All-American Kyan Bagshaw (Amherst, N.H.) (1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 4 K) and then Gill set the stage for an offensive explosion in the 13th. Elijah Moses (Haverhill, Mass.), Joey Frammartino (North Reading, Mass.), Grabowski, and MacDougall each racked up RBI base-knocks in the 10-run frame.
Gill stayed on for the bottom of the 13th to close out the Blue and Green's first win of the 2025 season.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- MacDougall (seven), Wladkowski (seven), and Frammartino (eight) each set new career-highs in at bats during game two. Frammartino's eight set a new program high.
- In game one, Pat Hart (Norfolk, Mass.) and Grady Vanidestine (Brewer, Maine) each pitched in relief for the first time in their respective Endicott career's.
- MacDougall's four hits in game two tied a personal best.
- The Gulls left 11 runners stranded on base in game one (twice left the bases loaded).
- Will Frain (Hamilton, Mass.) picked up his first two career hits in game two.
WHAT'S NEXT
No. 2/3 Endicott (1-1) and LaGrange (4-4) complete the three-game set tomorrow in a 12 PM rubber match matinee.
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(Photo Credit - David Le '10)
