Baseball Captures First CCC Victory, Downs Endicott in Game 1, 6-4

BEVERLY, Mass. – Suffolk baseball managed to maintain its composure as Endicott threatened in the seventh to grab a 6-4 win over the Gulls at North Field. The victory marks the Rams first in the Commonwealth Coast Conference.    

THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 6 | Endicott 4
RECORDS: Suffolk (4-3, 1-2 CCC) | Endicott (4-3, 2-1 CCC) 

HOW IT HAPPENED
Suffolk's scoring started from the get go as the Rams took advantage of a Gulls error to put a pair of runs on the board. With one dead, Rich Gilbride wore a pitch and moved to third when Blase Cormier barreled a double down the left field line. Tim Brigham put the ball into play and Endicott's second baseman couldn't get a handle on it, which allowed Gilbride and Cormier both to score for the early 2-0 edge.  

Two innings later the blue-and-gold extended the distance. Luke Harder opened the inning with a single up the middle and turned on the wheels on Marc Birbiglia's triple to right center to tact on the Rams' third run of the day. Gilbride collected an RBI on a sac fly to right field that brought in Birbiglia and the Rams runs didn't stop there. With two outs Brigham kept the inning alive with a double and then switched spots with Christian Seariac, who recorded a double of his own, to give Suffolk a 5-0 cushion. 

Endicott threatened in the bottom of the fourth. The Gulls traded singles with outs to have two ducks in the pond. Pinch hitter N. Notarange looked to get the offense going to for the hosts. Steven Rossi quickly took care of the new addition to the line-up as the righthanded retired the batter swinging to keep Endicott off the board. 

Suffolk looked to stretch things even further as it loaded the bags on three straight walks. Endicott pulled Noah Therrien out of the pen to take over for Patrick Crowley. The fresh arm was what the Gulls needed to keep the Rams quiet as Shane Lake lined into a double play and Harder grounded out to the pitcher.  

The Gulls attempted to eliminate the shutout in the home half of the sixth and had a chance when the Rams found themselves in dangerous territory. Rossi registered the first two outs of the frame with a swinging strikeout and an unassisted ground out to Cormier at first. Jake Nardone singled to keep things going before Rossi walked Joh Mulready and an error by Harder allowed Gulls to reach the corners. Suffolk met at the mound to settle down. The huddle helped as Brigham caught Liam Crovo's fly out in left to keep zeros on Endicott's side of the board.  

Insurance came with two down in the seventh for Suffolk. Cormier drew a base on balls to keep the Rams at the plate and Brigham knocked his second double of the day. The graduate student's deep hit to left center pushed the gap to six.  

Endicott was determined to get on the board and it did in the bottom of the seventh. Pinch hitters Michael Bonnollo and Bradley Baldinger put together a single to center and a hit by pitch to give Joseph Millar base runners. The right fielder singled to right center to plate Bonnollo and erase the shutout. 

The host's runs did not stop there as Caleb Shpur's sac fly to center trimmed the Rams' lead to four. It looked to be the end of Rossi's day as Ryan Prosser pushed a single to center and Anthony Del Prete went to the hill. The skipper just talked things through with the blue-and-gold though anduUnlike two innings prior, the meeting didn't help. Kyle Graboswki doubled down the left field line to cut the deficit in half and make it a two-run game, 6-4.  

Del Prete came out of the dug again and that would be it for Rossi as EJ Birch came in to take over. The sophomore entered the action with a runner on second and quickly retired the next two batters for the final two outs of the day, which secured the victory.  

PITCHERS PICTURE

• Rossi secured the win despite giving up four runs on 10 hits and one walk over 6.2 innings. The junior sat down nine hitters. 
• Birch retired both batters he faced for the save. 
• Michael Kozlowski suffered the setback after allowing five runs, three earned, on five hits over 3.0 innings with a pair of Ks to his credit. 
• Therrien (1R, 1 H, 1 BB, 1 K) and Crowley (1H, 3 BB) each threw 2.0 frames for Endicott. 

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

• Brigham went 2-for-4 with both of his hits good for two bags. He added two RBI and one run scored. 
• Harder had a 2-for-3 effort with one run scored. 
• Cormier chipped in two runs and one hit, a double. 
• Birbiglia notched one run, one hit and one RBI. 
• Seariac added one hit and one RBI.
• Gilbride brought in one run and scored one himself.  

NOTEWORTHY

• The victory is the Rams first CCC triumph 
• Suffolk defeated Endicott for the first time since April 11, 2018 (3-2).
• The Rams moved to 12-17 all-time against the Gulls. 
• In Beverly Suffolk improved to 10-14 against Endicott. 
• The Rams have secured at least a doubleheader split with the Gulls for the third time. Suffolk and Endicott met in a twinbill for the first time since 2019 and sixth time overall. 
• Under Del Prete, Suffolk is now 5-8 all-time against Endicott. 
• Birbiglia hit the first double of his collegiate career. 
• Brigham tied a career-high two doubles. 
• Birch notched his first career save. 
• Harder matched a personal-best two hits.  

POST-GAME PIC
  

SUFFOLK'S SCHEDULE
The Rams and Gulls conclude the mid-week twinbill under the lights tonight.