Baseball Drops Two Contests at Regionally-Ranked Endicott

BEVERLY, Mass.- The Eastern Nazarene College baseball team endured a pair of setbacks at Endicott Friday afternoon, falling 2-0 and 6-2.

The Lions move to 16-18 on the season and 1-13 in the Commonwealth Coast Conference with the outcomes. The Gulls, ranked fourth in the NCAA New England Regional Rankings, improve to 22-11 overall and 8-6 in league action.

Connor Simpson (Haverhill, Mass.) posted two hits, one RBI, and one stolen base on the day. Joshua Bombard (Rutland, Mass.) collected a pair of base knocks. Matthew Urena (Flushing, N.Y.) landed one hit and scored one run while Dylan Louviaux (Mohnton, Pa.) finished with one base knock and a stolen base.

In game one, the hosts blanked Eastern Nazarene 2-0.

Endicott snagged a 1-0 edge in the top of the fifth inning. Brad Rebello singled up the middle to drive in Matthew McKinley from third base.

The Gulls tacked on a run in the seventh to double their lead to 2-0. McKinley scored his second run of the game as Rebello picked up his second RBI of the day with a groundout.

Brent Houle (Westfield, Mass.) tossed a complete game and struck out seven batters in his ninth start of the season.

In the second tilt, Endicott clinched the doubleheader sweep with a 6-2 victory.

The Gulls tallied one run in the top of the first inning to establish a 1-0 lead. Rebello crossed the dish on a groundout by Michael Casciano.

The Lions got on the board with a pair of runs in the home half of the second to claim a 2-1 advantage. Urena scurried home from third on a wild pitch before Simpson laced a single to left field to plate Tyler Hoelzer (East Islip, N.Y.).

Endicott regained the lead with two runs in the fifth, 3-2. Dan Cacciola poked a base hit to right field to knock in Jacob Thibault and McKinely.

The Gulls chalked up three runs in the sixth to widen the gap to 6-2. Kyle Brennan and Thibault both scored on a passed ball before McKinley crossed the dish on a double-steal play.

Briley Seiter (Bellevue, Ky.) pitched six innings in his fourth start on the mound and finished with three stirkeouts. Xavier Faria (Assonet, Mass.) worked a perfect inning of relief in his team-leading 16th appearance.

Up next, Eastern Nazarene closes out the 2018 campaign on the road against Wentworth April 28.