MILTON, Mass. – In a battle of two top teams in the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC), Curry College and Endicott College split a baseball doubleheader Wednesday afternoon in Milton. The Gulls took the opener in eight innings by the score of 9-7, while the Colonels bounced back in the nightcap, 10-2. Both teams remained tied for second place with 10-4 marks in CCC play.
GAME ONE
Endicott (21-14) jumped out to an early lead in the top of the first when sophomore Tad Gold (Martha's Vineyard, Mass.) singled scoring senior Danny Mello (Peabody, Mass.) from second base. One out later, freshmen Harry Oringer (Dartmouth, Mass.) singled to leftfield driving in both Gold and junior Eric Lemke (Southington, Conn.) giving the visiting Gulls a 3-0 lead.
In the bottom of the inning, Curry (14-20) would jump on the scoreboard when junior Sam Barron (Florence, Mass.) singled to left field driving in junior Shayne McDonald (Cambridge, Mass.) from third base. Barron would then advance to third on a single from senior David Stevens (Deerfield Beach, Fla.). Stevens then got caught in a rundown between first and second base which allowed Barron to steal home for Curry’s second run of the game.
In the top of the second, junior Ralph Fidaleo (Fairfield, Conn.) hit a solo home run over the centerfield fence to extend the Gulls lead to 4-2. The score would stay the same until the fourth when Fidaleo once again hit a solo shot over the fence in center to put the Gulls up by three.
In the fifth, Gold would work the count for a walk, steal second, advance to third on fly out to right by senior Colin Sitarz (West Hartford, Conn.) and steal home to make it a four-run Endicott lead.
In the bottom of the inning, Curry would mount a two-out rally that would allow them to tie the game at 6-6. Senior Carlos Cornejo (Lake Forest, Calif.) and junior Matt Rodriguez (Quincy, Mass.) would both record RBI, scoring sophomore Matt O'Neill (Milton, Mass.) and leftfielder McDonald, respectively.
Both teams went scoreless in the sixth and seventh frames, sending the game into extra innings. In the top of the eighth, second basemen Oringer singled to center for his game-high third hit, and sophomore EJ Martinez (Brooklyn, N.Y.) drove him in with a two-run home run. Mello would later reach on a fielder’s choice and record an RBI to put the Gulls up 9-6.
With one out in the bottom of the inning, right fielder Barron would hit a double down the leftfield line off of Gulls’ sophomore John Morrison (Ridgefield, Conn.), scoring catcher Rodriguez from first base to trim the Gulls lead to two runs.
Despite surrendering the run, Morrison (Ridgefield, Conn.) would finish off the game for his first victory of the year, pitching three innings giving up only the one hit in relief.
Curry senior Matt Drew (Waltham, Mass.) went seven innings giving up nine hits on eight runs and took the loss for the Colonels as his record fell to 4-2 on the season.
GAME TWO
In the nightcap, Curry senior Alex Sammons (Irvine, Calif.) would go the distance, pitching seven innings giving up six hits, while issuing five walks and striking out seven. The right-hander would improve his record to 2-3 on the season as the Colonels won 10-2.
Along with the solid pitching performance, the Colonels bats were potent, scoring five runs by five different players in the first inning. The RBI came off the bats of Sam Barron (Florence, Mass.), senior Matt Drew (Waltham, Mass.), senior David Stevens (Deerfield Beach, Fla.), sophomore Brandon Lewis (Barrington, R.I.) and sophomore Matt O'Neill (Milton, Mass.).
In the second and third innings, the Colonels would pick up a run in each frame to increase the lead to 7-0. In the bottom of the fifth, Barron singled, Drew singled and Stevens singled scoring Barron from third.
In the sixth, Barron would single to right field driving in sophomore Kyle Connors (Stoughton, Mass.) for his third RBI of the game making the score 8-0.
Sammons shutout bid was spoiled when senior Colin Sitarz (West Hartford, Conn.) doubled to right centerfield scoring freshman Matthew DeVaux (Farmington, Conn.) and sophomore Taylor English (Barre, Vermont). Freshman Tad Gold (Martha's Vineyard, Mass.) would try to score and was thrown out at home plate by second basemen Stevens to end the late Gulls’ rally.
Junior Brendan Pittsley (Plympton, Mass.) would take the loss for the Gulls giving up four runs on four hits in just 1/3 of an inning of work as his record fell to 1-3.
Both teams are back in action in non-conference play tomorrow with Curry hosting Framingham State at 3:30 p.m. and Endicott heads to Westfield State for a 4:00 p.m. start.
