BEVERLY, Mass. – The first-seeded Endicott baseball team defeated fourth-seeded Nichols, 7-0, in Conference of New England (CNE) Tournament quarterfinal round action on Thursday afternoon at North Field.

WP (7-0): Brady Stuart (Hudson, Mass.) – 9 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 12 K
LP (5-6): Clark Churchill (Windsor, Conn.) – 8 IP, 10 H, 7 R, 7 ER, 3 BB, 3 K

Stuart was the difference for the No. 11/12 nationally ranked Gulls, as the senior righty tied his career-high for strikeouts (March 21, 2024 vs. Cobleskill) in his fourth career complete game.

He also tossed four 1-2-3 frames (1st, 3rd, 6th, 7th), only allowed two runners to reach second base (4th, 8th), and induced an inning-ending double play (3-6-1) in the second.

Stuart filled up the strike zone, at a nearly 70% rate, throwing 85 of his 127 pitches across the plate.

Offensively, Brenden Walsh (Reading, Mass.) and Paul Armstrong (Windham, N.H.) notched back-to-back RBI singles in the first, providing more than enough scoring for Stuart's playoff gem.

The Gulls also tacked on three more runs in the sixth (sac bunt, HBP, SF) before TJ Liponis (Scarborough, Maine) ambushed an inside fastball for a two-run home run over the left center fence in the eighth, slamming the punctuation mark on the win.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• Endicott is 48-10 in the all-time series (winners of 11 straight).
• The Gulls are 15-2 at home this spring.
• Liponis cranked his 20th career home run.
• Liponis also finished the contest with three RBI (sac fly in sixth), marking his fifth game with three or more this season.
• Stuart improved to 20-2 overall on the bump in his career.
• He is the ninth member of the 20-win club in program history.

WHAT'S NEXT

No. 11/12 Endicott (32-8) hosts third-seeded Western New England tomorrow at 11 AM. Nichols (23-18) plays Hartford (21-14-1) later tonight at 6:55 PM, with the winner advancing to tomorrow's portion of the double-elimination bracket format.