BEVERLY, Mass. - The Nichols College baseball team was swept in a doubleheader by Endicott College in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) action Sunday afternoon at North Field.
 
The Bison dropped Game 1, 5-0, before turning around and falling to the Gulls, 4-2, in Game 2.
 
Game 1
 
The Gulls used a five-run fourth inning to power their way by the Bison in Game 1 of the doubleheader.
 
Junior StigErik McElhinney (Dracut, Mass.) took his first loss of the season after allowing five runs (all earned) through six innings (complete game) on eight hits while walking two and striking out a pair. The Gulls saw five of the team's eight hits come in that five-run fourth inning after the Bison got the first two outs of the inning.
 
The Gulls were led by junior Nick Berno (St. Albans, Vt.) who had two hits including a two-RBI triple in the fourth inning to cap the scoring for the game. Freshman Joseph Deutsch (Fairfield, Conn.) also picked up a pair of hits for the gulls while scoring a run and driving in a run.
 
Sophomore Kevin Gould (Rollinsford, N.H.) moves to 4-0 on the year after tossing the complete-game shutout for the Gulls. He only allowed four hits while striking out six Bison.
 
The Bison were outhit in the game 8-4 – with junior Nick Roy (Middletown, Conn.) and senior Tim Ford (Stafford Springs, Conn.) picking up two hits apiece.
 
Junior Cam Cook (Phoenixville, Pa.) saw his hitting-streak come to an end at 14-games – however, he extended his on-base streak to 23 games through both games of the doubleheader.
 
Game 2
 
The Bison outhit the Gulls 12-6 in Game 2 of the doubleheader but saw the Gulls rally to score all of their runs over the final three innings to take the win, 4-2.
 
Senior Adam Rigney (Niantic, Conn.) pitched 6.0 innings for the Bison – allowing four runs (three earned) on six hits while walking four and striking out one.
 
The Gulls pitched by committee with senior Colby Morris (Newburyport, Mass.) giving up two runs on six hits over the first four innings. Graduate student Corbin Hyde (Lewiston, Maine) took the win after pitching a scoreless fifth inning and freshman Alexander Mandrus (Acton, Mass.) earned his first save after closing the book on the Bison in the seventh.
 
Freshman Christian Naccari (Ossining, N.Y.) and Roy paced the Bison with three hits each while Naccari also scored a run.
 
The Bison got on the board first in the second inning when sophomore Andrew Doll (Plantation, Fla.) doubled to the left centerfield gap – bringing home Naccari.
 
They added to their lead when Ford came up and blasted his second homerun of the season in the third inning to give the Bison a 2-0 lead through three innings.
 
Senior Mike Kochiss (Fairfield, Conn.) paced the Gulls with a pair of hits – including the ultimate game-winning RBI-single in the fifth inning that brought home Berno.
 
All-Time Series
The Bison have been swept by the Gulls five of the last seven seasons and Endicott is now 30-7 in the all-time series.
 
Next Games
Nichols (12-11, 4-4 CCC) – Tuesday, April 11 vs Lasell, 3:30 p.m.
Endicott (11-9, 4-4 CCC) –Tuesday, April 11 vs Saint Joseph's (ME), 4:00 p.m.