Box Score

Salem, Mass. -- The Salem State Vikings earned their tenth straight win, holding off the Gulls of Endicott College, 12-11 at the Central Campus Baseball Field on Thursday afternoon. Trailing 11-7 entering the ninth, Endicott rallied for four runs to tie the game before losing in the bottom of the ninth on an RBI base hit by Brett Cahill (Gloucester, MA). The Vikings are now 17-10 on the year while Endicott slips to 16-5.
 
Salem State jumped on top 2-0 in the third. Burgess drove in Kevin Carens (Northborough, MA) with the first run. A double steal attempt plated the second run, as Richard Fecteau (Newbury, MA) came home from third base on a throw-out to second to give the Vikings a two-run lead.
 
Gulls' starter Eric Nagle (Manchester, CT) was lifted in the fourth in favor of Adam Blake (Mansfield, MA).  Kyle McElroy (Newburyport, MA) greeted Blake with a double that just stayed inside the left field foul line. Mike Lamothe (Beverly, AM) followed with an RBI single that made the  score 3-0. Lamothe scored on an error by the pitcher, and Carens blasted a ground-rule double to deep right center for another run to chase Blake. Patrick Donohoe (Woburn, MA) came on for Endicott and was struck for a two-run home run by Matt Burgess (Kingston, MA) that made the score 7-0.
 
Vikings' starter Tim Woods (Wilmington, MA) was in control, stifling the Endicott batters until the fifth when Harry Oringer  (Dartmouth, MA) hit an RBI double to make it a 7-1 game.  Ed Deren (Westford, MA) came on in relief for Salem State in the sixth inning as the Gulls scored three times to draw within 7-4.  Brett Holmgren (Middleboro, MA) hit an RBI double and EJ Martinez (Brooklyn, NY) followed with a two-run single.  The Vikings answered with two in the bottom of the inning to increase their lead to 9-4. Endicott, which used nine pitchers in the game, went to Tyler Hill (Las Vegas, NV) in the sixth.
 
Mike Richardson (Belmont, MA) replacEd Deren for Salem State in the seventh and gave up a sacrifice fly to Matthew Paola (Middlebury, CT). In the eighth, Martinez cut the deficit to 9-7 with a home run for Endicott. 
 
Corbin Hyde (Lewiston, ME) relieved Steve Morganelli (Milford, MA) in the eighth as Salem State extended their lead to 11-7. Fecteau doubled and scored on a base hit by Cahill, and after loading the bases off Endicott's eighth pitcher Nick Quattro (Canton, CT), Lamothe was hit by a pitch to score another run.
 
Trailing by four to begin the ninth, Harry Oringer (Dartmouth, MA) led off with a walk, and Mike Kochiss (Fairfield, CT) doubled to put runners on second and third. Matt Abrain (Northbridge, MA) replaced Davis for Salem State, and gave up a sacrifice fly to Gold. Following a walk, Ben Kendrew (Lynnfield, MA) came in for Abrain and was greeted by an RBI double by Conor Ressel (Rockport, MA) that made the score 11-9. Brett Holmgren (Middleboro, MA) added an RBI groundout before Martinez singled in the game-tying run. Pete Gonski (East Lyme, CT) came on in relief, and after hitting a batter to put runners on the corners, Gonski got the final out on a fly ball to right.
 
Connor McLaughlin (Clinton, MA) pitched the ninth for Endicott and gave up a leadoff single to Alex Toomey (Beverly, MA). A sacrifice bunt and intentional walk to Fecteau put runners on first and second. A wild pitch advanced the runners, and Cahill delivered the game-winning hit to secure the 12-11 victory.
  
Vikings' starter Woods went five innings, allowing two hits, two runs, and four strikeouts.  Eric Nagle (Manchester, CT) pitched three innings for the Gulls, allowing three hits and two runs. Gonski picked up the win to go to 3-0 on the year, While McLaughlin (1-2) took the loss pitching two thirds of an inning.
 
Salem State's next game is a double header on Saturday at 1:00pm at Bridgewater State.  Endicott next plays at home on Saturday at 1:00pm against Amherst College.