Endicott baseball – Endicott’s first appearance for a DIII national title pushed all the way to a winner-take-all Game 3, but Denison walked it off in extra innings to win 4-3 after Endicott’s 3-0 start.
Endicott jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the winner-take-all Game 3, but the Gulls couldn’t turn the early momentum into the Division III College World Series National Championship.
Denison came back to tie things up in the sixth inning against starting pitcher Evan Scully, then waited until the 10th to finish the game. The Big Red ultimately walked off Brady Stuart, who had started Game 2 just hours earlier.
The run to that heartbreaking ending started fast for Endicott. In the deciding contest, the Gulls scored their first three runs on a John Fusco RBI single and a TJ Liponis two-run home run. Those were the only runs Endicott would get in Game 3.
After that, Denison chipped away. The Big Red scored its way back in the sixth inning, tying the game off Scully, a Maynard native. Denison’s bats stayed quiet for longer stretches before finally breaking through again late. In the 10th inning, Stuart—of Hudson—was the one Denison found, ending the series.
For Endicott, reaching this moment was historic. The baseball program became the school’s first varsity team to play for a national title and the first to compete for a national championship. This year’s National Championship appearance also came as the Gulls made four consecutive College World Series runs and won five straight NCAA Regional Championships.
Even with Game 3’s outcome. head coach Bryan Haley framed the series as something the program will carry for a long time. “I just feel like what you guys got to see on the field was some of the best baseball that you’re gonna watch at our level. ” Haley said. He added that the effort his team showed was “something special that you don’t get to see very often. ” and he said he couldn’t be more proud of what the players poured into the field.
He spoke about the sting, too, even as he tried to keep his players grounded in what they accomplished. “The sting I feel is like a mosquito bite compared to the love and the pride and joy that I have for everything [the players] did for us. ” Haley said. He pointed to the team’s run to the semifinals and then competing all the way to the end. saying he couldn’t imagine a better group to reach the World Series four consecutive times.
Haley also addressed what comes after a loss like this. “They know how I feel about them. It will never change. I just hope the confidence they have in what they did together carries with them the rest of their lives. ” he said. “There’s nothing to hang your heads about. It’s amazing what you guys did. So, just extremely proud.”.
Game 2 was where the series turned into something almost impossible to predict. Endicott forced Game 3 in thrilling extra-inning. walk-off fashion after winning 11-10. overcoming a 6-2 deficit through five innings and preventing Denison from sweeping. In the process, Endicott dealt Denison just their third loss of the season, including the playoffs.
Endicott was the home team in Game 2, and it found new life in the sixth inning. The Gulls scored four runs to tie the game. led by an Adam Regan sacrifice fly. a bases-loaded walk drawn by Kyle Grabowski. and a two-run double by Cade Bernardo. Denison answered with two more runs in the seventh to take an 8-6 lead. but Endicott struck again in the eighth with another four-spot to go ahead 10-8.
That push into the late innings featured a Grabowski RBI knock, a bases-loaded hit-by-pitch off Brenden Walsh of Reading, and a throwing error by the Big Red that ended up costing them two runs.
Denison forced extras with two runs in the top of the ninth, but Endicott kept fighting. Fusco delivered the final blow with a walk-off sac fly in the bottom of the 10th, sealing the 11-10 win and keeping the season alive.
Haley said the series’ best stretches were powered by leadership inside the dugout. He singled out Liponis. a senior and a Scarborough. Maine native. calling him one of the most positive people you’ll come across. “They’re just tough,” Haley said. “They have a ton of heart. They don’t stop. They’re gonna keep fighting. Whatever happens doesn’t really bother them. They stay positive. They’re led by an amazing leadership group… It’s a testament to the leadership. I’ve never seen anything like it, honestly.”.
For all the late heroics and the comeback that carried Endicott through Game 2, Game 3 belonged to Denison. But the Gulls’ climb to the national stage—ending with a loss in extras—was still a first for the program and a finish that will linger long after the scoreboard turns off.
Endicott baseball Denison University DIII College World Series National Championship Series Game 3 Evan Scully TJ Liponis John Fusco Brady Stuart
So Endicott was up 3-0 and still lost??? Baseball is wild.
I didn’t even know they had a DIII title run like that. 3-0 start then “only runs they would get” is brutal. Sounds like pitching just got tired or something.
Wait they said Denison tied in the 6th off their starting pitcher, but then it says Scully is from Maynard so like… Maynard caused the comeback? /s But for real, walking it off in the 10th after that Fusco single and Liponis HR, that’s like 100% drama. Why bring in Brady Stuart if he started earlier like hours before? Seems kinda backwards.
Extra innings to end the season and they only scored in the first part… that’s heartbreaking. Also I swear every time it says “national title” these teams make it sound like it’s basically the MLB or something. Denison walked it off though, good for them, I guess.