No. 6/7 Southern Maine Tops Endicott, 6-3

BEVERLY, Mass. – The Endicott baseball team lost to No. 6/7 nationally ranked Southern Maine, 6-3, on Wednesday evening in non-conference action at North Field.

Southern Maine senior starter Dalton Rice (Waterford, Maine) was credited with the win (1-0) on seven innings pitched, seven hits, two runs (both earned), six walks, and a game-high six strikeouts.

Meanwhile, Endicott starter Joseph Oriola (Pembroke, Mass.) received the hard-luck loss (1-1) via three innings, one hit, three runs (all unearned), two free passes, and two punchouts.

The Gulls jumped on the scoreboard first with a pair of runs in the bottom of the second inning thanks to an RBI single up the middle from Christian Allaire (Sandown, N.H.) and a sacrifice bunt with runners at the corners via Matt Bald (De Pere, Wisc.).

Southern Maine answered in the next half inning with three runs, however, and never relinquished the lead the rest of the way despite seeing Endicott threaten in nearly every inning until the conclusion of the contest (10 LOB, 3rd on).

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• Endicott currently ranks first in strength of schedule according to D3baseball.com.
• Today's game was the home opener for the Gulls.
• Southern Maine has now won six games in a row.
• The Huskies are ranked No.6 in the latest D3baseball.com poll and No. 7 via the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) poll.

WHAT'S NEXT

Endicott (7-6) hosts Eastern Nazarene tomorrow at 3:30 PM. No. 6/7 Southern Maine welcomes Rhode Island College (RIC) to its campus this Saturday, March 30 for a doubleheader scheduled to start at 12 PM. 

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(Photo Credit - David Le '10)