The Husson University baseball team came up short versus the number one team in the country on Sunday afternoon, falling to Endicott College of Massachusetts 4-3 in the regional championship round of the NCAA Division III national tournament.
It was Husson’s second crack at the Gulls (44-2) in three days, and the Eagles (25-12) nearly pulled off the upset.
Facing a 2-0 deficit early on, Husson plated runs in each of the third, fourth and fifth innings to retake a 3-2 lead. But the Gulls retaliated with runs in the bottom fifth and sixth, and robbed Bangor native Matt Holmes of a game-tying double at the right field wall in the seventh.
The odds were against Husson, which was playing its third game in 24 hours. Endicott, meanwhile, had already handled Husson 6-2 on Friday, and SUNY-New Paltz 19-12 on Saturday to advance to the Willimantic, Connecticut regional championship round without a loss.
Husson finished with five hits, five walks and 11 men left on base. Holmes recorded one walk, one run and an RBI, and Ellsworth native Jackson Curtis had two hits, a walk and an RBI.
With their tournament lives on the line, the underdog Eagles eliminated SUNY-New Paltz 6-2 earlier Sunday afternoon, and hosts Eastern Connecticut State (ranked 22nd in the nation) 4-2 on Saturday afternoon.
Husson didn’t play around against New Paltz, scoring three runs in the second and building a 6-0 lead through five. Six different Eagles got on base at least twice, led by Holmes (3-for-5, one RBI), junior Tanner Evans (1-for-4, one walk, two RBIs) of Old Town, and sophomore Hunter Curtis of Ellsworth (2-for-4, two runs).
Righties Alex Smith and Ryan Robb combined for 4.1 innings of two-run ball in relief, and UMaine transfer Cam Rendell of Nova Scotia went 4.2 innings (one hit, three strikeouts, no runs) to start the game.
Against ECSU, the Eagles opened the scoring, but found themselves trailing 2-1 in the bottom of the sixth. Husson promptly loaded the bases, grounded into a double play, and then took a two-run lead on a home run to left center from Holmes.
Smith and Robb came on to preserve Husson’s lead, locking down the W for junior starter Connor Abood (six innings, five strikeouts, five hits, two runs) and propelling the Eagles to day three of the NCAA tournament.
