Baseball Earns Split at Endicott Saturday to Open CCC Play

BEVERLY, Mass.- The Eastern Nazarene College baseball team split the first league twinbill of the spring at Endicott Saturday, dropping game one 4-0 before bouncing back to earn a 4-2 victory in game two.

The Lions move to 5-6 on the season and 1-1 in the Commonwealth Coast Conference with the results. The Gulls progress to 6-4 overall and 1-1 in league action with the outcomes.

Andrew Santora (Middle Village, N.Y.) paced the squad with three base knocks, two runs scored, and a stolen base on the day. Zachary Carmody (Babylon, N.Y.) landed a pair of hits and drove in one RBI in the doubleheader. Devin Haberstumpf (Forest Hills, N.Y.) chipped in with one hit, one run scored, and an RBI while Connor Simpson (Haverhill, Mass.) registered a base knock and swiped a base.

In the opening tilt, Endicott posted its second shutout victory of the season.

The hosts seized a 1-0 edge in the bottom of the second inning as Michael Casciano belted a solo home run to left.

The Gulls doubled their advantage to 2-0 in the third. Michael DeDonato laced a triple to left-centerfield to drive in Nick Berno.

Endicott added a run in the fourth to extend its lead to 3-0. Joseph Deutsch singled to right to knock in Dan Cacciola.

The home side manufactured a score in the fifth to cap the scoring. DeDonato picked up his second RBI of the game with a single to left to bring home Berno.

Brent Houle (Westfield, Mass.) hurled five innings and finished with five strikeouts in his third start of the season on the hill. Cameron Fiorentino (Uxbridge, Mass.) worked one inning in his first relief outing of the year.

In the second contest of the day, Eastern Nazarene notched its first win over Endicott since 2009.

The visitors chalked up two runs in the top of the first inning to claim an early 2-0 edge. Haberstumpf laced a triple down the right field line to drive in Santora before crossing the dish as Steven Pesce (Harrison, N.Y.) reached base on an error.

The Lions tacked on a run in the second to widen the gap to 3-0. Carmody scorched a two-out single up the middle to plate Josue Basilis (Bronx, N.Y.) from second base.

Endicott got on the board in the home half of the third inning, cutting the deficit to 3-1 as Mike Kochiss drove in DeDonato.

Eastern Nazarene added a run in the fifth frame to stretch its lead to 4-1. Santora scampered home as Nick Story (Gilbert, Ariz.) reached on an error.

The Gulls trimmed the margin to 4-2 with a score in the bottom of the seventh. DeDonato crossed the dish on an infield single off the bat of Casciano.

Alex Way (Syracuse, N.Y.) improved to 3-0 on the mound as he tossed six innings and struck out five batters. Zach Zaino (Falmouth, Mass.) tossed one inning of relief and recorded one strikeout to earn his first save of the spring.

Up next, the Lions are slated to host a two-game series against Lasell March 28.