Endicott weathers Beckers late rally to win 7-6 in ECAC Quarterfinal

Boxscore

Beverly, Mass. – The Endicott baseball built up a 6-1 lead after a six-run bottom of the second inning, and despite allowing four runs late in the game to Becker College, the Gulls held on for the 7-6 win in the ECAC Quarterfinals at North Field. 

 

Endicott (31-14), playing as the top-seed in the ECAC Division III New England Tournament, had seven extra-base hits including homeruns by senior Chris Dominguez (Braintree, Mass.) and freshman Jake Northrup (Boxborough, Mass.)  to pace the Gulls offense.

 

Becker (22-12), the runner up in the NECC Tournament, ends their 2011 season after increasing their win total from 14 to 22 from a season ago.  Four Hawks batters had multi-hit games including junior Manny Sanchez (Porterville, Calif.) and sophomore Todd Tompkins (West Haven, Conn.) who each recorded three hits.  Tomkins added two runs scored and two RBI on solo homeruns in the first and third innings. 

 

On the mound, Endicott sophomore Tyler Hitchcock (Abington, Mass.) improved to 6-2 on the season after pitching 6 1/3 innings with one strikeout.  Hitchcock cruised through the first six innings, allowing only the solo shots to Tompkins, but ran into trouble in the seventh after being charged with two runs on RBI singles by Keith Kandel (Fresno, Calif.) and Weston Meehan (Thomson, Ga.). 

 

Gulls freshman Steven Carter (Brunswick, Maine) recorded an out before giving way to TCCC Pitcher of the Year Benjamin Petrides (Belchertown, Mass.) who went 2  1/3 innings, allowing no hits, no walks while striking out one for the long relief save conversion.    

 

For the Hawks, senior Errick Maddern (West Haven, Conn.) took the loss, falling to 5-5, after giving up seven earned runs on eight hits and four walks.  Becker freshman Tony Cantalupo (DePere, Wisc.) came on in relief and held Endicott’s batters to just one hit and one walk with a strikeout. 

 

Becker opened up the top of the first with one run on one of Tompkins’ long balls.  In the bottom of the second, however, the Gulls crossed the plate six times to take a commanding 6-1 lead.  Northrup led off the inning with a solo shot to right field, junior Mike Russo (Natick, Mass.) drove home Colin Sitarz (West Hartford, Conn.) on a fielder’s choice grounder, Tad Gold (Martha’s Vineyard, Mass.) and Russo converted a first and third double steal, Robbie Goldstick (Deerfield, Ill.) knocked a triple to right that drove home Russo, Danny Mello (Peabody, Mass.) singled home Goldstick and Dominguez cracked a homerun over the left field wall. 

 

The Hawks got a run back with Tompkins’ second homerun of the game in the top of the third and Endicott added their final run on a Northrup double down the left field line that plated Eric Lemke (Southington, Conn.).  Northrup was out on the play attempting to stretch his hit into a triple.

 

Becker started their four run top of the seventh on a Kandel RBI single to left that scored Tom Natoli (Suffern, N.Y.), who had reach on a double to right center to lead off the inning.  Kandel later scored on Meehan’s hit to right.  An error brought home the third run and finally, with the bases loaded, freshman Mike Marcello (West Haven, Conn.) was hit by a pitch to bring home Becker’s sixth and final run of the game. 

 

Endicott now moves on to the ECAC Semifinals where they will face the \#5 seeded Suffolk Rams, a team the Gulls defeated earlier in the 2011 season 14-3 on the road, on Saturday, May 14^th at 11:00 am.  Endicott will also host the other semifinal game between \#7 Anna Maria and \#6 Coast Guard to be played at 3:00 pm on the same day.