Game Six: #1 Endicott 7, #2 Concordia 3

By Jim Fenton

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- For the fourth straight season, the Endicott College baseball team has advanced to the NCAA Division III Super Regional.

The Gulls are once again one of 16 teams remaining in the national tournament after winning the Bridgewater Regional with three straight wins.

Top-seeded Endicott finished off its latest run with a 7-3 victory over second-seeded Concordia University of Austin, Texas on Sunday.

The Gulls, ranked No. 3 in the American Baseball Coaches Association poll and No. 4 in the D3baseball.com rankings, improved to 41-4 and are 173-27 the past four years.

Endicott will face either Wisconsin-La Crosse or Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges in the Super Regional next weekend.

The Gulls have appeared in the NCAA Division III World Series the past two seasons.

Endicott opened the regional this season by beating host Bridgewater State, 5-2, then sent Concordia to the loser's bracket, 11-0.

For the third straight game, the Gulls received strong pitching.

Senior John Connolly (Attleboro, Mass.) improved to 6-0, allowing two runs and three hits in six innings. He struck out five before junior Brady Stuart (Hudson, Mass.) picked up his second save, allowing a run and two hits in three innings.

Concordia (35-13) had an early 2-1 lead, but the Tornados managed just one run the rest of the way while being limited to five hits.

Endicott took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first when senior Zach Stephenson (Mansfield, Mass.) led with a triple to right-center and scored on a sacrifice fly by graduate student Kyle Grabowski (Westfield, Mass.).

Concordia went in front in the second, getting a home run by senior Eric Garcia (Grand Prairie, Texas) to lead off the inning while the second run scored on a wild pitch after a walk and two-base error.

In the third, Endicott scored three runs for a 4-2 lead.

After senior Danny MacDougall (Taunton, Mass.) reached on an error, he scored on a double by senior John Frammartino (North Reading, Mass.).

Grabowski was hit by a pitch and after graduate student John Mulready (Peabody, Mass.) reached on a fielder's choice, junior AJ Hamm (Shrewsbury, Mass.) walked.

Senior Robbie Wladkowski (Norwood, Mass.) then singled to left for a pair of runs.

The lead went to 5-2 in the fourth with Mulready delivering a two-out RBI single to left.

The Gulls added a run in the seventh on a homer to left-center by junior TJ Liponis (Scarborough, Maine).

A sacrifice fly by sophomore Brayden Pick (Robinson, Texas) gave the Tornados their final run in the eighth.

Endicott added a run in the bottom of the inning on an RBI single by Grabowski.

The Gulls have now won 10 straight regional tournament games since losing the opener of the NCAAs at Bridgewater State in 2023.