The Endicott College Gulls jumped out to an early lead and then were aided by their bullpen for a 9-7 victory on Tuesday afternoon over the Suffolk University Baseball team.
Freshman Matthew Paola (Middlebury, Conn.) was 3-for-5 with four RBI to pace a 14-hit attack for the Gulls who move to a 19-10 overall record on the season.
Suffolk jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead as junior Mac Jacobson (Norfolk, Mass.) led the bottom half of the first inning off with a single to left field. After stealing second base, Jacobson would come around to score on a bloop single to right field off the bat of senior Mike Cunningham (Syosset, N.Y.).
Endicott would answer with three runs in the second inning as senior Colin Sitarz (West Hartford, Conn.) led the inning off with a double. He would come around to score as Paolo followed him up with a single to right to even the game. Freshman Cody Hall (Middlebury, Conn.) would drive in a pair of runs later in the inning with a two out single to left off freshman reliever TJ Fearon (Colchester, Conn.) to make it a 3-1 Gulls lead.
The Gulls would stake themselves to a 7-1 lead in the third as Paolo once again connected on a base hit this time driving in a pair of runs before he come around to score later in the inning on a balk.
Suffolk would begin to chip away at Endicott as senior Chris Stanley (Placentia, Calif.) drove in a pair of runs in the fifth inning with a single to right to make it a 7-3 deficit.
Freshman Jon Lapolla (Providence, R.I.) would draw a bases loaded walk in the sixth, and sophomore Justin Knight (Great Meadows, N.J.) knocked in two runs with a single to make it a 7-6 game after six innings of play. Suffolk squandered a golden opportunity as they loaded the bases with one out in the inning but freshman reliever Mike Walkowicz (Amherst, Mass.) would work out of the jam preserving the Gulls' lead.
Endicott would answer Suffolk with a run in the top of the seventh inning to put themselves back up by a pair of runs when junior Conor Ressel (Rockport, Mass.) drove in junior EJ Martinez (Brooklyn, N.Y.) with a single. Martinez doubled earlier in the inning to right center after a single by senior Eric Lemke (Southington, Conn.). Lemke was thrown out at the plate on the relay for the inning's first out.
Both teams traded runs in their next at bats.
Sophomore Adam Johnson (Georgetown, Mass.) singled in sophomore JC Collette (Amesbury, Mass.) who doubled to left center with one out in the seventh.
Paola capped off his big game for the Gulls with an insurance run in the eighth as his third single of the contest plated senior Brett Holmgren (Middleboro, Mass.).
Senior Kevin Dupras (Belchertown, Mass.) worked a perfect ninth, striking out a pair for his fourth save of the season.
Endicott senior starter Mike Nich (Orange, Conn.) improves to 3-1 on the hill for the Gulls as he went 5 1/3 innings pitched allowing three runs on seven hits.
Suffolk used five pitchers in the game. Junior Steve Chamberland (Bristol, Conn.) took his first loss on the mound as he allowed three runs in one plus inning of work.
Ressell finished the day 3-for-6 with a run scored as five players in the Endicott lineup recorded multi-hits in the game. Holmgren, Sitarz and Paola each score twice.
Cunningham finished the day 3-for-5 for Suffolk as they knocked out a dozen hits in the contest. Jacobson, Johnson and Knight each had two hits, while Collette scored a pair of runs.
The loss drops Suffolk to a 21-6 mark on the year as they now extend a season-high losing streak of three games.
Endicott will be back in action on Wednesday afternoon as they travel to the University of Southern Maine for a 3:30pm non-conference matchup.
Suffolk will be back on the diamond on Thursday as they travel to Babson College at 3:30pm to take on the Beavers.