Baseball

No. 3/4 Endicott Baseball Downs WNE, 4-2

BEVERLY, Mass. — The No. 3/4 nationally ranked Endicott baseball team downed Western New England, 4-2, in Wednesday's Conference of New England (CNE) Quarterfinal matchup from North Field.

WP (11-1): Charlie Hale (Brookline, N.H.) — 7 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 8 K
LP (6-2): Matt Lauria (East Haddam, Conn.) — 8 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 11 K
SV (2): Brady Stuart (Hudson, Conn.) — 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K

The game was a pitching duel between Hale and Lauria for the majority of the game, as neither pitcher had allowed more than one earned run through 5.2 IP. 

With the Gulls up 1-0 in the bottom of the sixth, they tacked on three huge insurance runs. John Mulready (Peabody, Mass.) drove in Joey Frammartino (North Reading, Mass.) with a hard-hit RBI base-knock up the middle to give the Gulls a 2-0 lead.

Then, a batter later, AJ Hamm (Shrewsbury, Mass.) picked up his third hit of the day (second RBI base hit) with a two-run shot over the left center field fence, putting the Gulls up 4-0.

The Golden Bears picked up their first two runs of the day after an Endicott misplay around the infield, but Hale was able to bear down and escape any further damage, keeping it a 4-2 game.

The visitors surmounted another rally in the top of the eighth, and Coach Haley called on Stuart for the first time since March 22 at Nichols. The right-hander induced a 463 ground ball double play to the first batter he faced, stranding the bases loaded.

He then pitched a scoreless ninth inning to lock up the win for the Gulls, securing themselves a date with Nichols back at North Field tomorrow.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

  • The Gulls are now 34-24 against the Golden Bears all-time, and have won 12 straight.
  • Hale tied the single season win record (11) with his win tonight. 
  • Lauria's 11 K's were his most since March 8 against Whartburg.
  • The Gulls have not lost a conference playoff game since 2023.
  • Mulready and Hamm both logged multi-hit days for the Gulls. Both men also combined for all four of Endicott's RBI's in the game.

WHAT'S NEXT

No. 3/4 Endicott (36-4) hosts Nichols tomorrow at North Field in a 2 PM CNE semifinal matchup. WNE (22-19) faces Roger Williams at Hartford in an elimination game tomorrow at 9:30 AM.