Endicott Earns 5-3 Comeback Victory Over Wheaton (Mass.)

BEVERLY, Mass. — The Endicott baseball team rallied for a come-from-behind victory, 5-3, Thursday evening at North Field against visiting Wheaton (Mass.) in a non-conference contest rescheduled from April 23rd.

The Lyons took a 2-0 lead in the top of the second inning on sophomore first baseman Tyler Walsh's (Cumberland, R.I.) towering two-run shot to left center field with one out that bounced on the road on the other side of the fence.

Endicott responded in the bottom of the frame following graduate student Steve Morganelli's (Milford, Mass.) successful sac bunt with two strikes to move runners to second and third, when classmate Corbin Hyde (Lewiston, Maine) cracked a bases-clearing double to left center to plate classmate Anthony Serina (Portsmouth, R.I.) and junior left fielder Michael Casciano (Somers, Conn.). Endicott took a 3-2 edge later in the second as freshman third baseman Joseph Deutsch's (Fairfield, Conn.) sac bunt squeezed home Hyde.

The Gulls used a pitcher-by-committee approach after sophomore starter Zachary Sultar (South Windsor, Conn.) was bounced after just two innings on the hill. Wheaton knotted the game at three-all in the sixth as Walsh's one-out single scored sophomore left fielder Jared Sharkey (West Bridgewater, Mass.) with junior reliever Victor Molle (Peabody, Mass.) toeing the rubber.

Graduate student Nick Quattro (Canton, Conn.) then entered the game to face the next batter in which he hit by a pitch, before inducing an inning-ending double play (6-4-3) with the bases juiced to get his first two outs of an eventual 2 2/3 innings of relief and went on to pick up the win (4-3).

Freshman catcher Ian Schmidt (Plymouth, Conn.) crushed his first career home run to left field to give the Gulls a 4-3 lead in the seventh inning with one out as sophomore righty Tommy Larason (Norwell, Mass.) finally made his exit after 6 1/3 innings on the bump.

Endicott tacked on an insurance run in the eighth when a bases-loaded walk to Morganelli brought home junior second baseman Michael DeDonato (Chelmsford, Mass.) with the Gulls' final run of the day.

Sophomore reliever Will Bryant (Cumberland, Maine) took the reins in the ninth to earn his team-leading fourth save (tied for second-most in the conference) of the season.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• Endicott won its third game in a row.
• The Gulls are now 1-1 against NEWMAC opponents this season.
• Endicott is 9-10 in non-conference action this season.
• The Gulls are 8-13 overall and 4-6 against Wheaton in the all-time series dating back to 1998.
• Endicott has won five of the past six meetings against the Lyons, including three in a row with a 3-2 victory in Beverly, Mass. on April 21, 2015 in the most recent meeting before today.
• Sultar earned a no-decision for the Gulls in his third start of the year as he lasted just two innings and allowed two runs on one hit with two walks and a pair of punchouts.
• Senior center fielder Cam Farnham (Andover, Mass.), DeDonato, and Schmidt each tallied two hits, while Casciano led the team with a game-high three knocks.

FOR THE FOES

• The Lyons' losing skid slid to three straight.
• Walsh now has two home runs this season.
• Walsh and senior right fielder Zach Goodwin-Boyd (Florence, Mass.) each collected two hits for the visitors' four total on the day.
• Larason suffered the loss (5-3) in his seventh start of the season before being replaced by freshman southpaw Zach Pipa (Rumford, R.I.).

WHAT'S NEXT

Endicott (18-15) goes on the road at Roger Williams for a CCC doubleheader on Saturday, April 29th at 11:00 a.m./1:30 p.m.

Wheaton (22-11) will travel to face Babson in the first of a three-game series in the NEWMAC Semifinals on Saturday, April 29th at 12:00 p.m.

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(Photo Credit - David Le)