SUPER REGIONAL CHAMPS! No. 9/11 Endicott Punches Ticket Back To Eastlake After Game Three 12-4 Win Over Salve Regina

NEWPORT, R.I. — The No. 9/11 nationally ranked Endicott baseball team bounced back from their game two loss (6-5) to defeat No. 4/5 Salve Regina, 12-4, in game three, and punch its ticket to its fourth straight Division III College World Series.

GAME ONE: NO. 4/5 SALVE REGINA 6, NO. 9/11 ENDICOTT 5

WP (12-1): Nolan Romanowski (Wynantskill, N.Y.) — 6.1 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 2 K
LP (6-2): Matt Pappalardo (Pelham, N.H.) — 3 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 5 K
SV (2): Ethan Santerre (Bristol, R.I.) — 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K

After Salve Regina hopped on the Gulls for two runs in the top of the first, the Blue and Green got one back in the bottom of the first thanks to a Seahawks error following Brenden Walsh's (Reading, Mass.) infield single.

The Seahawks padded their lead with three runs in the third, taking a 5-1 lead for the second day in a row.

Similar to yesterday's comeback, the Gulls started to build an uprising, and brought it back to within a one-run contest in the bottom of the fifth.

Kyle Grabowski (Westfield, Mass.) drilled a two-run single through the left side of the infield, and then Walsh sent one up the middle to drive in another run to complete the three-run rally in the bottom of the fifth.

Salve Regina snagged a key insurance run in the top of the eighth to make it 6-4, and then in the bottom of the eighth, the Gulls answered right back with an Adam Regan (Braintree, Mass.) RBI single through the left side of the infield.

With one final chance in the bottom of the ninth, the Gulls came to bat. Unfortunately, the Seahawks relievers staved off the Gulls offense, and ultimately the Seahawks took game two by a 6-5 final score.

GAME TWO: NO. 9/11 ENDICOTT 12, NO. 4/5 SALVE REGINA 4

WP (5-4): Evan Scully (Maynard, Mass.) — 5 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 6 K
LP (0-2): Sean Mulligan (Verona, N.J.) — 2.1 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 2 K

In game two, the Gulls offense came out firing.

After Scully pitched a scoreless first inning for the Gulls (first one of the series), the offense came to bat.

They wasted very little time, as John Fusco (Naples, Fla.) reached base on a hit-by-pitch right before AJ Hamm (Shrewsbury, Mass.) worked the count in his favor.

On a 3-1 pitch, Hamm crushed a two-run shot to left field to put the Gulls on top, 2-0.

Another shutdown inning brought the Gulls right back up, and this time it was Fusco who delivered a clutch hit. He hit a sinking liner into the left center field gap, and chased home Cade Bernardo (Glenmont, N.Y.) from first base to extend the lead to 3-0.

As Scully kept dealing, the Gulls broke it open in the top of the fourth. Brenden Walsh (Reading, Mass.) crushed a three-run shot to left center field, giving the Blue and Green some breathing room (6-0).

Two innings later, TJ Liponis (Scarborough, Maine) joined in on the longball parade. The Gulls' senior captain ripped a solo shot over the left field fence to push the lead to 7-0, and then another clutch two-run double from Hamm made it a laugher at 9-0.

With the tall task of closing out the Seahawks' bats, Scully and Colby Correia (Fairhaven, Mass.) were up to the challenge.

After Scully pitched his five innings, Correia came on for an extended relief outing of 3.1 IP (5 K, 0 ER) to keep the Seahawks' lineup quiet.

The hosts finally got themselves on the board with three runs between the sixth and seventh innings, but Correia and the Gulls' defense limited the damage to maintain a comfortable lead (10-3).

In the top of the eighth, Endicott added a couple runs of insurance thanks to a deep flyout from Fusco that turned out to be a two-RBI sac fly. Bernardo trotted home from third on the sac fly, and Walsh's electric speed allowed him to come all the way around from second on the deep flyout to right, sending the Gulls dugout into a frenzy and keeping the momentum in their favor.

With a 12-4 lead in the bottom of the ninth, Jake Harmony (Fairfield, Conn.) replaced Correia, needing just two more outs.

Harmony set down the first man via backwards K, and then induced a deep fly ball to right.

Walsh dropped back, got settled under the fly ball, and squeezed it for the final out, clinching the Super Regional Championship, a fourth straight College World Series berth, and a huge dogpile on the Salve Regina mound.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• Endicott baseball becomes the first program since Chapman to reach four straight Division III College World Series (2005-09).
• Brady Stuart (Hudson, Mass.) made a surprise relief appearance out of the Endicott bullpen in game one. Stuart left yesterday's start after suffering an apparent injury, but returned in dominant form today to stifle the Seahawks through four innings of relief (0 ER, 4 K).
• Scully won both the Conference of New England (CNE) Championship clincher, and the Super Regional Championship clincher.
• Walsh bombed his 13th homer of the season. He is now tied for second most homers hit in a single-season in program history.
• Hamm's four RBI in game two tied a season high.
• Liponis' homer was the 22nd of his career, which ties him with Danny MacDougall '25 for seventh most in program history.

WHAT'S NEXT

No. 9/11 Endicott (40-11) advances to its fourth consecutive College World Series. The CWS begins on Thursday, May 23 at Classic Park in Eastlake, Ohio (times and opponents TBD).

No. 4/5 Salve Regina (40-8) sees its 2026 season come to a close.

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(Photo Credit - David Le '10)