Endicott and WNEC split TCCC doubleheader

Beverly, Mass. – The Endicott and Western New England baseball teams each earned victories in a crucial early season TCCC games, splitting an afternoon doubleheader at North Field on the Endicott College campus.

Endicott is now 12-7 (4-2 TCCC) while WNEC moves to 13-5 (9-1 TCCC).

Boxscore

WNEC pitcher Matt Rogers (Portsmouth, R.I.) went six strong innings, allowing just two runs on seven hits and one walk and closer Mike Lawlor (Windsor, Conn.) shut the door on the Gulls in the final frame to keep the Golden Bears undefeated in conference play with a 5-2 win. 

Endicott scored first in the bottom of the first inning when Danny Mello (Peabody, Mass.) hit a leadoff double then reached third on a sacrifice bunt by Chris Dominguez (Braintree, Mass.). Eric Lemke (Southington, Conn.) hit a slow grounder to third base for an infield single, allowing Mello to cross home plate. 

WNEC took the lead at 2-1 in the top of the fourth on an RBI single by senior catcher Jason Leclerc (Chicopee, Mass.) that drove home Andrew Fatse (Hampden, Mass.). Fatse had reached base on a double down the right field line to start off the inning. Leclerc, after moving up to second base, swiped third base and scored on a groundout by Kyle McKelvey (Schenectady, N.Y.).

The Golden Bears tacked on another run in the top of the fifth on a Tony Trubia (Tolland, Conn.) solo blast to deep centerfield to put the visitors up 3-1. 

Endicott trimmed the lead down to one run on a Colin Sitarz (West Hartford, Conn.) RBI single to left to plated Lemke. That would be the closest the Blue and Green would get as WNEC scored twice in the top of the sixth on a error and a squeeze bunt by McKelvey.  

Brendan Pittsley (Plymton, Mass.) pitched the first 3 2/3 inning for the Gulls, allowing two runs on four hits and a walk while striking out one. Tyler Hitchcock pitched the final 3 1/3 innings, allowing three runs, one earned, on just one hit, one walk and one strikeout. 

Boxscore

Three shutout innings by Benjamin Petrides (Belchertown, Mass.) kept the WNEC offense at bay and helped the junior hurler earn his first save of the season in a 3-2 win for the Gulls. 

The Blue and Green were the first team to score once again, plating two runs in the bottom of the second. Back-to-back singles for Colin Sitarz and Tad Gold (Martha’s Vineyard, Mass.) set up a two-RBI double by outfielder Mike Russo (Natick, Mass.), giving the Gulls a 2-0 early lead. 

The lead did not last long as WNEC responded with two runs of their own in the top half of the third inning. With two outs, Casey Dadio (Branford, Conn.) walk then scored on Mike Rubino’s (Northford, Conn.) double over the right fielder’s head. The next batter, Trubia, roped a single to left field that brought in Rubino to tie the game. 

Endicott would claim the lead in the bottom half of the inning on a Jake Northrup (Boxborough, Mass.) RBI to centerfield that scored Danny Mello. 

Endicott starting pitcher Kevin Dupras (Belchertown, Mass.) went four strong innings and earned his first victory of the season. Dupras allowed two runs on three hits and three walks before giving way to Petrides for the three-inning save. 

WNEC saw hurler Kevin Jefferis (Cheshire, Conn.) go for five innings while giving up three runs on nine hits and one walk. Mike Lawlor was once again called upon to pitch, getting out of a bases loaded, no outs situation. 

Endicott moves on to play New England College up in Henniker, New Hampshire on Saturday, April 2^nd starting at noon. WNEC hosts Keene State in non-conference action on Thursday, March 31^st at 3:30 pm.