DUDLEY, Mass. – Sophomore Nick Roy (Middletown, Conn.) hit a three-run inside-the-park home run to help the Nichols College baseball team rally back from a game one loss to Endicott College and score a 10-7 win in the nightcap in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) action at the Nichols Baseball Field.
Game One: Endicott 5, Nichols 4 (9 inn.)
Freshman Evan Lumpinski (Woodbridge, Conn.) poked a two-out single up the middle to score the go-ahead run in the ninth and give the Gulls an extra-innings win in the opener.
Freshman Chris Seidl (Dracut, Mass.) drove in a pair of runs in the first for the Gulls (one unearned) to stake EC to an early 2-0 lead. The Bison got one back in the sixth on a sac fly off the bat of freshman Joe Assenza (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) in the fifth, but Endicott junior Mike Kochiss (Fairfield, Conn.) dropped in a two-out single down the right field line to bring in another in the sixth and make it 3-1.
Nichols had a great chance to score in its half of the sixth when the first two batters of the inning reached base. Roy hit into a fielder's choice for the first out and senior Benjamin Harrow (North Reading, Mass.) tapped back to the mound before sophomore Spencer Madden (Nashua, N.H.) struck out swinging to end the threat.
Following a 1-2-3 top of the seventh, Sophomore Nick Osma (Babylon, N.Y.) and Brendan Martin (Nashua, N.H.) opened the inning with back-to-back singles. Sophomore Cam Cook (Phoenixville, Pa.) followed with a two-run double over the head of the centerfielder to bring in both and tie the game at three.
Endicott grabbed a 4-3 lead in the eighth, scoring the go-ahead run on a throwing error. Once again, the Bison fought back to tie the game in the bottom half of the frame, this time on a sac fly by Osma that brought in Harrow. The Gulls went on to score the winning run the following inning.
Sophomore Will Ferreira (Nantucket, Mass.) started and pitched six-plus innings, giving up six hits and one run. He did not walk a batter and struck out four. Junior Colby Morris (Newburyport, Mass.) worked two scoreless innings to earn the win, his third of the season.
Senior Joe Nicolace (Cranston, R.I.) started on the bump for Nichols and allowed seven hits and four runs (two earned) in 6.1 innings of work. He walked one and fanned two. Freshman Chris Dipilato (Worcester, Mass.) worked the final 1.2 innings and gave up two hits and one run in defeat.
Game Two: Nichols 10, Endicott 7
Roy's homer in the bottom of the first turned a 1-0 deficit into a two-run lead. The Gulls threw up a crooked number in the second as junior Mike Hochkiss (Fairfield, Conn.) and sophomore Nick Berno (St. Albans, Vt.) each had two-run singles.
Nichols rallied back to score four in the fifth and three in the sixth to lead back at 10-5. Roy's two-run single in the fifth was followed by RBI singles from Harrow and Osma. In the sixth, junior Matt Hardy (North Attleboro, Mass.) recorded an RBI single before two more scored unearned.
Junior Adam Rigney (Niantic, Conn.) worked his way out of trouble early and went on to toss six innings of six-hit ball to even his record at 3-3. He allowed five runs (four earned) with three walks and four strikeouts. Sophomore Kevin Kirley (Clinton, Mass.) gave up two in the seventh but held on and recorded his ninth save.
Sophomore Owen Bautze (Sudbury, Mass.) gave up six hits and five runs with one walk and two K's in 4.1 innings of work for the Gulls. His record fell to 2-2.
Quotes
"The guys did a good job competing. The same thing happened last weekend. We came out and lost game one, but came back and won game two. It says a lot about our team and the makeup of our club. We still need to execute better, but we compete as well as anybody." –Nichols head coach Nick Puccio
"Our guys are tough. They have that blue-collar mentality and a lot of fight. You can't teach that and we're lucky to have it. Once we get it all going, it could be something special." –Puccio, on his team resiliency
"It's big to come back and get a split, especially after such a hard-fought game one. It showed that we can compete with one of the best teams in the conference, that we're going to keep coming at you even when we're down." – Nichols junior Matt Hardy
Next Games
Nichols (17-13, 6-4 CCC) – Sunday, April 24 @ Western New Eng., 12:00 p.m.
Endicott (20-10, 8-2 CCC) – Sunday, April 24 vs Salve Regina, 12:00 p.m.