What did the mothers of the Endicott College baseball and softball teams want on Sunday afternoon? A pair of sweeps.
And that’s just what these grateful moms got.
With each program needing to win twice in the Conference of New England playoffs, the Gulls’ baseball and softball teams did just that on Mother’s Day. As a result, both programs are moving on to their respective NCAA Division 3 tournaments.
The nationally ranked Endicott baseball team (35-9) is headed off to NCAA’s for the fifth straight season as the top seed took down third seeded Western New England by scores of 7-4 and 3-1 at North Field.
The Gulls’ softball team, behind CNE Tournament Most Outstanding Player Kylyn McLaren, also rallied for a two-game sweep on Sunday, defeating Roger Williams 1-0 and 7-5 to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Division 3 tournament for the first time since 2023.
Like their baseball brothers, they’ll find out their first round matchup on Monday.
After falling behind 3-0 early in Sunday’s first game, the Endicott baseball team rallied behind reliever Jake Harmony. He spun a 6 2/3 inning gem, scattering five hits, one run and one walk with a pair of strikeouts.
His offensive teammates fed off of that, twice going deep to turn things in their favor.
After Cade Bernardo’s RBI single put the Gulls on the board in the bottom of the fourth inning, Brenden Walsh launched a three-run opposite field homer to give the hosts the lead.
The Golden Bears tied the contest at 4-4 in the top of the sixth, and it stayed that way until the eighth. With two on, Adam Regan rocketed a three-rum shot over the fence in left field to give the Gulls a three-run lead, which Harmony protected in a 1-2-3 ninth.
In the ensuing CNE title game, Evan Scully allowed just two hits and a run (without a walk) and fanned six hitters to earn the 3-1 victory. He wound up winning the Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player accolades.
After Bernardo tied the game for the locals with an RBI single in the fourth inning, Kyle Grabowski put them ahead for good with an RBI base knock in the sixth. Bernardo’s RBI single in the eighth gave his team some breathing room, and Colby Correia (3 IP, 5 K) nailed down the save and the league championship.
A junior center fielder for the Endicott softball team, McLaren was 2-for-5 with three runs scored, a home run, three RBI and a walk in the championship round. For the five-game CNE playoff run, she hit .467 with six runs scored, seven hits (2 doubles, 2 HRs) and nine RBI.
In the 1-0 win to begin Sunday, senior left-hander Analise Grady gave up three hits without a walk and fanned three for the clutch win. Endicott (now 26-13) got its only run in the sixth inning when Ella Tower’s single to left scored McLaren from second base.
In the winner-take-all finale, Elyse Saccoccio (solo HR) and Caroline Cummings (RBI single) got the Gulls off to a fast start in the second inning. Tower added an RBI double in the third for a three-run lead.
After Roger Williams responded with five runs of its own, Endicott rallied behind a three-run homer from McLaren off the top of the left field scoreboard at the Softball Complex. The Gulls added an insurance run on a passed ball one inning later, and Grady proceeded to nail down her second win of the day.