Beverly, MA --- The Endicott baseball team defeated Worcester State College 11-5 in non-conference regional action Tuesday afternoon. The Gulls (11-6) are winners of four of their last five games, all of which have been played at home.
The Lancers held a 4-1 lead in the third inning, but the Gulls exploded for five runs in the bottom half of the inning and took a lead they would not relinquish.
Worcester State struck first in the top of the first with a Corey McDonald (Hudson, MA) RBI single that brought in Kyle Wilson (Norwich, CT) from third base.
Endicott evened the score in the bottom of the second after Jake Northrup (Boxborough, MA) reached on a walk, then scored on an inside-the-park homerun bid by Tad Gold (Martha's Vineyard, MA). Gold was thrown out at the plate but the triple made the score 1-1.
The Lancers used a two-run double by Tyler McElman (Marlboro, MA) and an Endicott balk to score three runs in the top of the third to take a 4-1 lead.
The Blue and Green responded in a big way in the bottom of the third by scoring five runs with two outs in the inning. A single by Danny Mello (Peabody, MA) and a double by Chris Dominguez (Braintree, MA) put two runners on for Eric Lemke (Southington, Conn.), who cracked a double to plate both runners. Northrup followed with an RBI single, who later scored on an error by the centerfielder. Gold's RBI double produced the final damage of the inning, bringing in Colin Sitarz (West Hartford, CT) from third base.
The Gulls then relied on freshman Drew Dumas (Holden, MA) to pitch five 2/3 innings of one-run baseball on four hits, a walk and two strikeouts to keep the Worcester State offense at bay. Dumas earned the win, his first of the season and of his collegiate career. Fellow freshman Connor McLaughlin (Clinton, MA) pitched the final inning with a strikeout in the win.
Junior Kyle St. Thomas (Bridgewater, MA) was dealt the setback in his second start of the season. St. Thomas allowed seven runs (six earned) on eight hits in four 2/3 innings with one walk and five punchouts.
Endicott tacked on a run in the fifth inning on a Sitarz RBI single, then two more runs on a bases loaded walk by Northrup and another RBI by Sitarz, this time on a sacrifice fly. Dominguez drove in Endicott's final two runs on a two-RBI single in the seventh.
Worcester State's Chris Creen (Worcester, MA/St John's) finished the game 3-for-5 with a run scored. Five different Endicott batters had two RBI each.
Worcester State (8-5) will play UMass Boston on Thursday at 3:00 PM before finally beginning their MASCAC schedule this weekend against Westfield State on Saturday.
Release Courtesy of Endicott Sports Information