LITTLE FALLS, N.J. — The No. 9/11 nationally ranked and top-seeded Endicott baseball team outslugged third-seeded Whitworth, 19-12, to lock up its fifth consecutive NCAA Regional Championship.
WP (1-1): Kyan Bagshaw (Amherst, N.H.) — 4 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K
LP (1-2): Zach Wright (Boise, Idaho) — 4.1 IP, 7 H, 10 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 3 K
After dropping the first contest earlier in the day, the Gulls offense broke through in the latter game, and carried the team to its wild 19-12 victory.
Adam Regan (Braintree, Mass.) led the way with a two-homer performance, both of which gave Endicott a lead.
In the second inning, with the Gulls rallying after initially trailing 3-0, Regan's two-run shot to left center gave them their first lead of the contest (5-3).
Then, in a wild back-and-forth sequence, the Pirates regained a slim 7-6 lead heading into the sixth.
In the top of the sixth, Regan led the way for another five-run frame, this time via grand slam to left center, putting the Gulls back in front, 11-7.
The Gulls added an insurance run in the sixth thanks to Trevor Kamuda's (Groveland, Mass.) RBI hustle infield base-knock, and then they tacked on another pair of runs in the seventh courtesy of a John Fusco (Naples, Fla.) two-run single.
Despite Endicott's 14-7 lead through seven full innings, the game still felt within reach due to Whitworth's explosive offense they had showcased throughout the tournament.
The Blue and Green continued to stack runs onto their lead (two more runs in the eighth, three in the ninth) to gradually space themselves from Whitworth.
Brenden Walsh (Reading, Mass.) and AJ Hamm (Shrewsbury, Mass.) both lauched homers in the ninth to contribute to the late offensive efforts.
With the Pirates down to their last three outs, Derek Roberts (Wayland, Mass.) was tasked with closing the wild game out.
The Bucs refused to go quietly, snagging a pair early in the frame, but Roberts beared down to retire the last three hitters in order, clinching Endicott's Regional Championship win.
Kyan Bagshaw (Amherst, N.H.) earned the win after a heroic performance out of the bullpen. The senior southpaw tamed a Whitworth offense that seemed unbeatable, especially after its electric win earlier in the day. However, Bagshaw found some much-needed success out of the Endicott bullpen, and turned in four innings of clutch relief to provide some length for the Gulls.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- On the day, the Gulls and Pirates combined for 58 total runs of offense (19-8; 19-12).
- Bagshaw's four innings of relief was the longest outing of his career.
- Regan's two-homer, six-RBI performance set new career-best benchmarks in both of those categories.
- With his ninth-inning homer, Walsh picked up his 12th of the season (T-4th most in program single-season history; most in Conference of New England this season).
- Brady Stuart (Hudson, Mass.) came on to pitch the eighth inning, despite throwing 112 pitches just two days ago.
- James Benestad (Portsmouth, R.I.) was a tough out for the Pirates all game. In the top of the second inning, he got Endicott on the board with a two-run double, and later added two additional hits.
WHAT'S NEXT
No. 9/11 Endicott (38-10) advances to NCAA Super Regionals next weekend at Salve Regina. The site is yet to be determined by the NCAA.
Whitworth (31-16) sees its 2026 season come to a close after a brilliant run, which included a Northwest Conference championship.