BEVERLY – The Endicott baseball team earned a key conference doubleheader sweep over Wentworth on Friday evening at North Field by scores of 4-2 (game one) and 7-6 (game two). Wentworth served as the home team in today’s Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) doubleheader.
GAME ONE: Endicott 4, Wentworth 2
Endicott sophomore Kevin Gould (Rollinsford, N.H.) stymied the Leopards over seven innings pitched to stay undefeated on the season (5-0). Gould scattered three hits, allowed only one earned run (two total), and did not issue a walk alongside seven strikeouts on 87 pitches (66 for strikes).
Ryan Obin (Plymouth, Mass.) shouldered the loss (4-2) on seven innings of work, nine hits, four runs (three earned), three free passes, and one punchout.
Tied 2-2 in the top of the seventh, Nick Berno (St. Albans, Vt.) gave the Gulls a 3-2 advantage with an RBI single through the right side before Mike Kochiss (Fairfield, Conn.) made it 4-2 with a run-producing double to right field.
Gould repaid his offense in the bottom half of the frame by retiring Wentworth in order on a groundout and back-to-back strikeouts swinging to lock up the win.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Kochiss went 2-for-4 with two RBI (12th multi-hit game, fifth multi-RBI).
- Berno had a game-high three hits to go along with two runs scored and one RBI. Berno has had three hits in a game twice this season.
- Michael Casciano (Somers, Conn.) was 2-for-4 from the cleanup spot today. It’s the fourth time he has hit in the four-spot in 2017.
- The Gulls scored their second run of the game on a double steal by Kochiss (second) and Berno (home). Kochiss knocked in the game’s first run with a double down the right field line in the first.
FOR THE FOES
- Jordan Burst (Jackson, N.J.) hit a solo homer in the third, and finished 2-for-3 with one run scored and an RBI.
- Owen Swanson (New Milford, Conn.) notched an RBI single to center in the bottom half of the first to even the score at 1-1.
GAME TWO: Endicott 7, Wentworth 6Â
Kochiss’ three-run homer in a four-run fifth, and RBI base knocks by Chris Seidl (Dracut, Mass.) and Joseph Deutsch (Fairfield, Conn.) in the sixth proved to be the difference for the Gulls in game two.
Wentworth did not go away quietly, however, as the Leopards pushed across three runs in the sixth and put the game-tying run 90 feet away with no outs in the seventh before Will Bryant (Cumberland, Maine) and Endicott’s defense put the clamps on a potential walk-off bid against them on their own field.
In a rather dramatic seventh inning, Hunter Boyce (Bangor, Maine) gave Endicott its first out of the frame when he gunned down a would-be base stealer at second with runners at the corners. After Wentworth failed to execute a double steal for the first out of the inning, Deutsch snared a sharp grounder at third, stared down the Leopards’ third base runner and threw a dart over to first for out number two. Bryant did the rest as he induced the final hitter of the night to groundout 1-3 to complete the sweep.
Nick Quattro (Canton, Conn.) was credited with the win (2-2, 5 IP, 4 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 7 K), while Bryant collected his first career save with his scoreless seventh inning for the Gulls.
Wentworth’s Aaron Denis (Dover, N.H.) took loss (3-2) via five innings, six hits, five runs (all earned), two walks, and five strikeouts.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Kochiss went 2-for-4 with one run scored and three RBI from the third spot in the order. Kochiss is currently hitting .421 with eight hits, two runs, five doubles, one homer, and six RBI from the three-hole. He also sports a .450 on-base percentage, and a .842 slugging percentage from that spot in the lineup (five games).
- With the sweep, Endicott is 35-9 in the all-time series against Wentworth.
- The Gulls have won the last seven matchups versus the Leopards.
FOR THE FOES
- Wentworth scores six runs on just six hits, while no one in starting lineup had a multi-hit game in the loss.
- The Leopards are 4-5 on the road this season.
WHAT’S NEXT
Endicott (13-11, 6-4 CCC) travels to Wesleyan tomorrow for a non-conference doubleheader at 12 & 2 PM. Wentworth (13-8, 3-5 CCC) takes on Johnson & Wales University on Thursday, April 20 on the road at 3:30 PM.
BEVERLY, Mass. – The first-seeded Endicott men’s volleyball team will look to capture its fifth straight conference title on Saturday at 2 PM when the Gulls host fifth-seeded Elms College in the New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) Tournament championship match at MacDonald Gymnasium.
THE MATCHUP: Endicott is 2-0 against Elms this season, and 29-3 all-time versus the Blazers dating back to January 31, 2003. The Gulls also hold a 15-2 record at home in the series.
Meanwhile, in their most recent playoff matchups as opponents, Endicott is 2-1 in the last three meetings. The Gulls posted a semifinals victory over Elms last season and a conference title win against the Blazers in 2013. Elms’ lone victory over Endicott in their last three meetings came in the 2012 NECC championship, a 3-1 win for the Blazers.
HOW THEY GOT HERE: Endicott defeated Newbury on Thursday by a 3-0 score at home. The match never seemed in doubt for the Gulls despite playing through five tied scores and two lead changes in set two, and five more tied scores and three lead changes in set three. Newbury’s biggest lead in either set was only two points, and the Nighthawks never held an advantage in set two or three past the 6-6 mark. Endicott also led the whole way in set one.
Elms bested second-seeded Regis, 3-1, after falling behind 1-0 in the match. It also marks the fourth straight year the No. 3 seed has topped the No. 2 seed in the NECC Tournament semifinals.
ENDICOTT (20-10)Â The Gulls posted a perfect 12-0 league record to earn the No. 1 seed in the tournament and a bye into the semifinals. Endicott is currently 9-1 in its last 10 matches, which includes a 3-2 victory over No. 13 nationally ranked MIT. Among all conference teams, the Gulls are first overall in kills (1225) and points (1617.5), second in hitting percentage (.247) and assists per set (10.62), and third in digs per set (9.41).
ELMS (18-9) The Blazers have won four in a row and eight of their last 10 headed into Saturday’s match. Among all conference teams, Elms is third in kills (958), hitting percentage (.199), assists per set (9.77), blocks per set (1.37), and points (1253.0), and first in digs per set (11.24).
NECC TOURNAMENT
First Round – Tuesday, April 11th
Match 1: #5 Newbury College 3, #4 Eastern Nazarene College 0
Match 2: #3 Elms College 3, #6 Southern Vermont 0
Semifinals – Thursday, April 13th
Match 3: #1 Endicott 3, #5 Newbury 0
Match 4: #3 Elms 3, #2 Regis 1
Championship – Saturday, April 15th
Match 5: #3 Elms @ #1 Endicott, 2 PM
BEVERLY – The Endicott men’s tennis team posted a decisive 8-1 conference victory over Curry College on Friday evening at the South Campus Courts.
Endicott swept doubles play in convincing fashion to begin the match, and secured the win in singles with victories at No. 5 and No. 3 positions to move to 9-6 overall and 3-2 in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) play this year.
In doubles action, the Gulls saw Justin Toler (Concord, Mass.) and Sean McAndrews (Vineyard Haven, Mass.) win 8-1 at No. 2, Nicholas Eherts (New Milford, Conn.) and Charles Book (Devon, Pa.) claim an 8-0 victory at No. 3, and Christopher Kirkpatrick (Newburyport, Mass.) and Keaton McCleary (Charlotte, N.C.) wrap up doubles play with an 8-5 triumph at No. 1.
Anthony Rinaldi (Attleboro Falls, Mass.) followed with a swift 6-1, 6-0 win at No. 5 singles, while Eherts produced a 6-0, 6-1 triumph at No. 3 to luck up the win over the Colonels.
Thomas Brent (Gorham, Maine) also notched a 6-1, 6-1 victory at No. 4, Christos Papadopoulos (Weymouth, Mass.) had a 6-0, 6-4 win at No. 6, and Book rounded out the list of highlights with a gritty 7-6 (7-5), 6-4 victory at No. 1.
TOP QUOTE
“It’s always good to end a long week like we had on a high note,” said Endicott men’s tennis head coach Jeremy Howard in reference to today’s win over Curry. “We now have some downtime to regroup before we take on Eastern Nazarene next Wednesday.”
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Endicott is 4-0 at home this season.
- Brent has won four matches in a row, and is 6-2 overall on the year.
WHAT’S NEXT
Endicott (9-6, 3-2 CCC) travels to Eastern Nazarene on Wednesday, April 19 at 3:30 PM. Curry (5-8, 1-4 CCC) hosts Wentworth next Wednesday at 3:30 PM.
