No. 1 Baseball Knocks Off UMass Dartmouth, 14-5

BEVERLY, Mass. — The No. 1 nationally ranked Endicott baseball team knocked off non-conference opponent UMass Dartmouth, 14-5, on Wednesday afternoon at North Field.

WP (3-1): Brady Stuart (Hudson, Mass.) — 2.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K
LP (0-1): Scott Cromack (Peabody, Mass.) — 0.1 IP, 4 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 1 BB, 0 K
SV (4): Kyan Bagshaw (Amherst, N.H.) — 3.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 0K

The Corsairs hopped out to an early 4-0 lead in the contest, as they touched up Charlie Hale (Brookline, N.H.) more than anyone has in quite some time. Hale's final line was 3.1 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, and 3 K, as he earned a no-decision in the contest.

The Gulls' offense got to work in the bottom of the fourth, as TJ Liponis (Scarborough, Maine) cranked his fifth home run of the season, a solo shot over the rocks in left field.

In the fifth, they cut the deficit down to one (4-3) thanks to Brendan O'Neil's (Ponte Vedra, Fla.) team-high ninth homer of the season, a two-run shot to dead center.

After the Corsairs scored another to take a brief 5-3 lead in the top of the sixth, the Gulls responded with a seven spot in the bottom of the frame to open up a 10-5 advantage through six full.

The rally was highlighted by an Elijah Moses (Haverhill, Mass.) RBI-single through the right side of the infield (cut the deficit back to one), a Dylan Pacheco (Dartmouth, Mass.) two-run bomb to left (gave the Gulls a 7-5 lead; third homer this season), and a James Benestad (Northborough, Mass.) RBI base-knock up the middle.

In the eighth, the Blue and Green added four more via an AJ Hamm (Shrewsbury, Mass.) RBI-single to right center and a Joey Frammartino (North Reading, Mass.) opposite-field two-run shot to left center (fifth of the season).

After Stuart's shut-down 2.2 innings of relief (1 ER, 6 K, W), Bagshaw entered in the seventh. He pitched a scoreless seventh, eighth, and ninth innings to lock up the save and the 14-5 Gulls win. 

BEYOND THE BOX

• The Gulls improve to 11-3 in the all-time series against the Corsairs.
• Senior captain catcher John Mulready (Peabody, Mass.) returned to action after missing the previous 21 games with a foot injury. He went 1-for-3 with a single through the left side in his return, and was pinch-ran for amidst the seven-run rally in the sixth.
• Nicolas Notarangelo (Taunton, Mass.) reached base six times in the contest (triple, single, four walks).
• With their fifth home runs of the season, Frammartino and Liponis are tied for second on the team and eighth in the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) (also set career-highs for both).
• The Gulls improve to 17-0 at the Nest this season.

WHAT'S NEXT

No. 1 Endicott (30-2, 11-1 CCC) welcomes UMass Boston to its campus tomorrow for a 3:30 PM first pitch. UMass Dartmouth (18-14-1, 10-1 LEC) travels to Keene State on Saturday for a doubleheader (12 / 3 PM). 

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(Photo Credit - Jonny Ratner '24)