Stuart's No-No Leads No. 2/3 Baseball To Season-Opening Split

LAGRANGE, Ga. — The No. 2/3 nationally ranked Endicott baseball team split its season-opening doubleheader with Mississippi University for Women (MUW). The Gulls fell by a 6-4 score in game one before bouncing back with a dominant 10-0 win in game two, highlighted by Brady Stuart's (Hudson, Mass.) no-hitter.

GAME ONE: NO. 2/3 ENDICOTT 4, MUW 6

WP (2-0): Will Carter (Kosciusko, Miss.) — 3.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 4 K
LP (0-1): Ben Gill (Samford, Maine) — 3 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 K
SV (1): Connor Reilly (Moundville, Ala.) — 0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K

In a back-and-forth affair, MUW struck first in the bottom of the first.

However, in the fourth, the Gulls got on the board and took their first lead of the year (3-1) courtesy of a three-run blast to left off the bat of center fielder Trevor Kamuda (Groveland, Mass.).

After allowing the early run, Evan Scully (Maynard, Mass.) settled in nicely, and at one point retired a stretch of 12 Owls in 14 batters. Scully finished his day with a solid line of 5 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, and 10 K.

Some rocky defense in the bottom of the fifth allowed the Owls to knot the score even at three, and they wound up grabbing a lead with two more runs in the sixth.

Endicott got back within a run in the top of the seventh, as AJ Hamm (Shrewsbury, Mass.) belted a solo shot out to left center.

MUW padded its lead with an insurance run off of Gill in the bottom of the eighth, and despite a late scoring threat from the Blue and Green in the top of the ninth, the Hawks closed out their win by a 6-4 score.

GAME TWO: MUW 0, NO. 2/3 ENDICOTT 10

WP (1-0): Brady Stuart (Hudson, Mass.) — 7 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 7 K
LP (0-1): Robby Canten (Corinth, Miss.) — 3 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 3 BB, 4 K

In game two, the Gulls' offense came out firing. 

After Stuart tossed a 1-2-3 top of the first inning, the Gulls' bats posted two runs in the bottom half after Brenden Walsh (Reading, Mass.) doubled home a pair. 

They added two more in the second via Kyle Grabowski's (Westfield, Mass.) first round-tripper of the year, and then posted a four-spot in the fourth thanks to Hamm's two-run double and another Grabowski two-run blast.

Two more insurance runs in the sixth and seventh innings put the Gulls up by double-digits heading into the top of the seventh.

Stuart rolled through the Owls' order, fanning seven over his seven nearly-perfect innings. The only batters to reach base were walks that came in the fourth and sixth frames. 

In the bottom of the sixth, Hamm started a highlight double play to keep the Owls out of the hit column, as he sprawled out up the middle to haul in a liner, and then whirled back to first base to pick off the baserunner.

Needing just three more outs in the top of the seventh, Stuart did not falter, and camly retired the side in order via two groundouts and a foul popout. He was then mobbed by his teammates in celebration of the historic feat.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• Stuart's no-hitter is the first since Tyler Connelly (Grafton, Mass.) in 2008, which was head coach Bryan Haley's first season at the helm. 
• First career 10+ strikeout outing for Scully.
• Grabowski's two homers place him at 21 total for his career. His 21 homers are tied for seventh most in program history.
• Kamuda's homer was the second of his career, while Hamm hit his sixth. 
• John Fusco (Naples, Fla.) and Connor McGee (Bethesda, Md.) each picked up their first career Endicott base hits in game one, while Finn Adams (Stratham, N.H.) collected his first in game two.

WHAT'S NEXT

No. 2/3 Endicott (1-1) faces host team LaGrange this Sunday at 12 PM. MUW (3-3) also takes on LaGrange on Sunday at 2 PM. 

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(Photo Credit - David Le '10)