Baseball Endures Two Losses in League Opener at Endicott Saturday

BEVERLY, Mass.- The Eastern Nazarene baseball team dropped a pair of conference tilts Saturday afternoon at Endicott, falling 16-3 and 4-3 in extra innings.

The Lions dip to 5-5 overall and 0-2 in the Commonwealth Coast Conference with the results. The Gulls improve to 9-2 on the season and 2-0 in league games.

Anthony Berroa (Teaneck, N.J.) paced Eastern Nazarene offensively with five hits, two runs scored and an RBI. David Manning (Yorktown Heights, N.Y.) picked up three base knocks, three RBIs and a run scored on the day. Jake Koch (Dayton, Nev.) and Joey Napolitano (Millerton, N.Y.) each recorded one RBI in the doubleheader.

In the first contest of the twinbill, Eastern Nazarene seized a two-run lead in the bottom of the second inning. Koch worked a bases-loaded walk to get the Lions on the board, 1-0, as Manning jogged home. Napolitano followed with a sacrifice fly to right, allowing Max Pugh (San Diego, Calif.) to tag up and score from third.

Endicott produced nine runs in the third to claim a 9-2 advantage. Harry Oringer laced a two-run double to right-center to tie the game at 2-2. Brett Holmgren and Tad Gold each followed with RBI singles to push the Gulls ahead 4-2. EJ Martinez doubled Endicott's run total with a grand slam to left-center. Michael Cahill scampered home with the Gulls' ninth run of the inning on a passed ball.

The Gulls added a pair of scores in the fourth frame to widen the gap to nine, 11-2. Martinez singled up the middle to drive in Gold from second base. Matthew Paola scored on a groundout by Cahill to the third baseman.

The Lions got a run back in the home half of the fifth to cut the deficit to 11-3. Berroa and Manning raked back-to-back doubles as Berroa came around to score Eastern Nazarene's third run of the game.

Endicott capped off the scoring with five runs in the seventh. Oringer and Taylor English each landed RBI singles in the inning before Paola launched a three-run homer.

Brandon Wells (Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.) tossed two-plus innings in his second start of the spring and struck out one. Rookie Frank Fusco (Yorktown Heights, N.Y.) worked 4.2 innings in his first relief outing of the season and registered one strikeout. Alex Alcantara (Bronx, N.Y.) entered the game with two outs in the seventh and induced the final out of the frame.

In the nightcap, the Lions broke up a scoreless tie in the bottom of the third as Manning flared an RBI single to the gap in left-center to score Berroa from second.

Endicott responded with three runs in the top of the fourth to capture a 3-1 lead. Josh Drew, Cody Hall and Martinez all recorded RBIs in the inning for the Gulls.

Eastern Nazarene sliced the deficit in half in the fifth, 3-2. With runners on first and second, Berroa singled to centerfield to drive in Justin Wagner (Oklahoma City, Okla.).

The Lions evened the ballgame at 3-3 in the bottom of the seventh to force extra innings. Jeremy Wagner (Oklahoma City, Okla.) rounded third and crossed the plate as Manning ripped a single back up the middle with no outs.

The Gulls chalked up the go-ahead run in the eighth as Holmgren belted a solo shot to leadoff the frame.

Berroa hurled six innings and allowed four hits while fanning three batters. Doug English (Myrtle Beach, S.C.) and Quentin Moore (Sheridan, Calif.) each pitched one inning of relief.

Up next, Eastern Nazarene is scheduled to host its first home tilt of the season as it welcomes UMass-Boston to Bradley Field April 1.