Gulls eliminate AMCATS in semifinal round of TCCC Championship

Beverly, Mass. – Senior Tyler Hitchcock (Abington, Mass.) tossed a complete-game shutout, junior Danny Mello (Peabody, Mass.) drove in a game-high three runs, and sophomore Eric Lemke (Southington, Conn.) scored three times as the Endicott baseball team advanced to the TCCC Championship with an 11-0 win over Anna Maria on Saturday afternoon.

Hitchcock's standout performance on the mound was the third straight complete-game win for an Endicott starter in the conference tournament.  The righty scattered eight hits and struck out four to improve to 5-2 on the year.  The Gulls jumped out to a 7-0 lead through the first three innings and never looked back, earning their program-record 30^th win in the process.

The Blue and Green will await the winner of Western New England and Wentworth – who will be forced to beat the Gulls twice – on Sunday. 

Mello was hit by a pitch to lead off the bottom of the first before stealing second and advancing to third on an infield single from Chris Dominguez (Braintree, Mass.).  A perfectly-executed double steal plated Mello and moved Dominguez to second.  After a walk to Lemke, TCCC Rookie of the Year Jake Northrup (Boxborough, Mass.)delivered an RBI single.  Colin Sitarz (West Hartford, Conn.) followed with an RBI of his own to give the hosts an early 3-0 advantage.

A two-run second inning stretched the lead to five thanks to RBIs from Mello and Dominguez. 

Freshman Tad Gold (Martha's Vineyard, Mass.) struck a two-out, RBI double to right-center in the bottom of the third to drive in Lemke from first and make it 6-0.  Endicott's next batter, sophomore Mike Griffin (Arlington, Mass.) plated Gold with an RBI single to extend the advantage.

After a scoreless fourth, the Gulls added four runs on four hits in the bottom of the fifth as the lead ballooned to 11.  Lemke led off the inning with a single and later scored on an error while Griffin chipped in with a sacrifice fly to the right field wall.  Mello capped the scoring with a two-RBI double to right-center.

Anna Maria never seriously threatened the rest of the way, failing to reach third base thanks to stellar pitching and solid defense.

Senior Brendon Tivnan (Worcester, Mass.) took the loss for the AMCATS after 4.2 innings of work.  Tivnan struck out three but allowed 11 runs (seven earned) on nine hits.

Michael Galvin (Rutland, Mass.) and Mike Gaurnieri (Wallingford, Conn.) each went 2-for-4 at the plate for Anna Maria (24-19). 

Northrup finished 3-for-5 with a run and an RBI while Gold mirrored the performance in addition to scoring twice.

The Gulls will make their tenth conference championship appearance and will look to raise their sixth banner. 

Release Courtesy of Endicott Sports Information

Photo Courtesy of David Sheridan for AMC Sports Information