DUDLEY, Mass. – The Nichols College baseball team scored a walk-off, 7-6 victory in game one over No. 30 Endicott College, but fell to the Gulls, 4-2, in the nightcap to earn a doubleheader split on Sunday afternoon in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) action in Dudley, Mass.
 
Nichols ends the day at 10-24 overall and 4-8 in the CCC, while the Gulls move to 18-11 and 6-6 in league games. After three doubleheaders in three days, the Bison return to action on Thursday night when they travel to St. Joseph's (Me.) for a single game at 5:00 p.m.
 
Game One: Nichols 7, Endicott 6
Junior Joe Assenza hit a walk-off two-run single in the bottom of the seventh to help the Bison rally past the Gulls for a 7-6 victory in the opener.
 
Assenza ended the game 3-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored, while sophomore Kyle Bouchard went 2-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored to lead the Bison. Senior Cam Cook extended his hitting streak to six games while going 1-for-3 with a run scored. Classmate Nick Roy went 2-for-4 with a run scored, while sophomore Christian Naccari was 1-for-1 with an RBI and two runs scored.
 
Junior Danny Hayden pitched well in the start, giving up six runs (five earned) on nine hits with a walk and three strikeouts in 6.0 innings of work. Sophomore Brodie Altiere picked up his third win of the season, allowing only one hit in 1.0 inning pitched.
 
Endicott freshman Matthew McKinley went 3-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored, while classmate Jacob Thibault was 2-for-3 with two runs scored to lead the Gulls. Senior Brad Rebello and senior Michael DeDonato each went 2-for-4, with Rebello driving in a pair.
 
Junior Liam Burke earned a no-decision while allowing two runs (one earned) on four hits in four innings. Junior Will Bryant suffered the setback, allowing two runs (one earned) on three hits with a walk and a strikeout in only 0.1 innings.
 
Nichols struck first in the bottom of the opening inning as Bouchard picked up an RBI on a groundout to give the Bison a 1-0 lead. Endicott answered with three runs in the top of the fifth on an RBI single by McKinley and a two-run single by Rebello to make it a 3-1 game. Freshman Riley Parent's first career hit drove in a run in the bottom of the fifth as Nichols trimmed the deficit to 3-2.
 
Endicott answered with three runs in the top of the sixth as freshman Kyle Brennan drove in a pair with a two-run double to right-center, and he later scored on a double steal to put the Gulls on top, 6-2.
 
Nichols started its comeback in the bottom of the six as Naccari singled through the left side with the bases loaded to plate a run before freshmen Shay Souza and Nathaniel Cormier each worked bases-loaded walks to make it a 6-5 game headed to the seventh inning.
 
After Altiere kept Endicott off the board in the top of the seventh, Cam Cook led off the frame to right center. Kyle Bouchard followed with a single up the middle, and Joe Assenza stepped in with two runners on and no outs. The junior lined the ball to left-center, allowing Cook to score from second, and the throw from the centerfield was way off target, landing in the Nichols dugout, allowing Bouchard to score from second and give the Bison the 7-6 victory.
 
Game Two: Endicott 4, Nichols 2
It was much more of a pitcher's duel in the nightcap as the Gulls were able to hold off the Bison for a 4-2 win to earn a split.
 
Cam Cook registered another hit, going 1-for-4 with an RBI, while Cormier and Roy each also went 1-for-4 on the day. Naccari and Souza each went 1-for-2, while freshman Alexander Stroshine was 1-for-2 with an RBI and a run scored. Senior Chris Anderson had the other hit for Nichols, while Kyle Bouchard scored a run.
 
Freshman Matthew Stewart suffered the setback in the start for Nichols, allowing three runs (two earned) on five hits with a walk and a strikeout. Sophomores Andrew Charbonneau and Brodie Altiere each pitched 0.2 of an inning, with Charbonneau allowing a run on two hits while both pitchers allowed a walk. Senior StigErik McElhinney went unscathed over the final 1.2, striking out one.
 
Rebello was a problem in again in game two for the Bison as he went 2-for-4 with a run scored. Senior Michael Casciano was 2-for-3 with a run scored, while Brennan went 1-for-3 with a run scored and junior Dan Cacciola was 1-for-2 with a run scored.
 
Junior Kyle Wollman picked up his first win of the season, scattering four hits and allowing one run over 5.0 innings pitched with a walk and three strikeouts. Sophomore Alexander Mandrus made his second appearance of the day and allowed one hit in an inning of work, while Will Bryant rebounded from game one's loss to pick up his ninth save of the season while giving up a run on two hits in 1.0 inning.
 
The Bison took an early lead in the bottom of the second as the bases were loaded with two outs in the frame. Stroshine stepped in and delivered an RBI single through the left side, but Anderson was gunned down at home plate to end the inning with the Bison on top 1-0.
 
Endicott took advantage of a passed ball in the top of the third to tie the game at 1-1, and later plated two runs in the top of the fourth on a sac fly by McKinley and a perfectly executed double steal that allowed Brennan to take home and make it a 3-1 advantage. The Gulls would add one more in the fifth on an RBI groundout by junior Matt Bald to pull ahead 4-1.
 
Nichols threated in their final at-bat as Stroshine reached on a hit-by-pitch, followed by two infield singles by Cormier and Roy to load the bases with one out. The Bison cut the deficit in half on an RBI by Cook, but the rally ended there as Bouchard lined out hard to second to end the game.
 
All-Time Series
Nichols and Endicott met for the 38th and 39th time in program history on Sunday and the Gulls lead the all-time series 31-8.