NCAA TOURNAMENT: No. 1 Baseball Outlasts SUNY New Paltz In Marathon Contest, 19-12

STORRS, Conn. — The No. 1 nationally ranked Endicott baseball team defeated SUNY New Paltz in Saturday night's NCAA Regional matchup, 19-12, in a four-plus hour affair at Elliot Ballpark.

WP (8-0): Charlie Hale (Brookline, N.H.) — 3 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 4 K
LP (3-2): Liam Ryan (Middle Island, N.Y.) — 2.1 IP, 4 H, 8 R, 8 ER, 5 BB, 3 K
SV (3): Evan Scully (Maynard, Mass.) — 2.2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K

Facing an early 5-4 deficit in the top of the fourth, Brendan O'Neil (Ponte Vedra, Fla.) stepped up to the plate with runners on first and second and absolutely demolished a 1-2 pitch to give the Gulls a 7-5 lead. The ball landed beyond the Adirondack chairs in right field, into the UConn woods, and out of sight.

Later that inning, Joey Frammartino (North Reading, Mass.) capitalized on a bases loaded opportunity with an RBI single into right field, and Nicolas Notarangelo (Taunton, Mass.) piled on to the offensive outburst with a two-run single into right center, making it an 11-5 Endicott lead after the seven-run frame.

In the fifth, the Gulls grabbed a pair of insurance runs highlighted by John Mulready's (Peabody, Mass.) RBI single to left center, and in the sixth, they found three more thanks to a Notarangelo RBI double, a TJ Liponis (Scarborough, Maine) sac fly, and a Mulready RBI walk.

The Blue and Green clutched onto a 16-12 lead heading into the ninth, but again plated some insurance runs thanks to the keen eye of O'Neil (RBI walk) and Liponis' two-run single through the left side of the infield.

On the mound for the Gulls, John Connolly (Attleboro, Mass.) got the start and recorded five outs before Hale relieved him and pitched the following three innings in relief. Following Hale's solid three innings of work, Kyan Bagshaw (Amherst, N.H.) tossed 0.2 innings, Chris Jenkins (Mansfield, Mass.) logged one, and Scully closed out the final 2.2 frames to earn his third save of the season, nailing down the 19-12 Mansfield Regional win.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• This is the first-ever meeting between the two teams.
• The contest featured 29 walks, an NCAA Division III Tournament record. The previous high mark was 25, and the all-time single-game record is 30.
• This marks the most runs scored for the Gulls in an NCAA Tournament game (surpasses 18-8 Regional win over St. John Fisher on 5/21/22).
• Frammartino and Notarangelo each collected three hits and three-plus RBI in the offensive explosion.
• Scully's 2.2 innings of relief tied a career-high.

WHAT'S NEXT

No. 1 Endicott (43-2) advances to the Regional final. The Gulls face the winner of third-seeded SUNY New Paltz (31-12) and fourth-seeded Husson (24-11) tomorrow in a 2:30 PM (approximate) first pitch at Mansfield Athletic Complex. 

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(Photo Credit - Eastern Connecticut State University Athletics)