The Husson University baseball team lost grip of its game versus powerhouse Endicott College in the NCAA Division III national tournament on Friday, falling 6-2.
Winners of the North Atlantic Conference for the fifth straight season, Husson moved to 23-11 on the year. Endicott — the top ranked Division III team in the nation and winner of the Central Connecticut Conference — improved to 42-2.
Heavy underdog Husson struck first on Friday, plating junior Tanner Evans of Old Town on a double from freshman Kevin Connolly (2-for-4) of Brunswick in the third inning. Flash forward to the bottom of the eighth trailing 3-2, the Eagles conceded three unearned runs and couldn’t respond in the ninth.
Husson finished with five hits, three walks and two errors. Endicott tallied 10 hits, three walks and no errors. Eagle starter Matt Wallingford of Greene received the loss, pitching five innings of three-run ball with three strikeouts. Endicott starter Jordan Gottesman went 6.1 innings, giving up two runs and striking out three.
The Eagles will play for their tournament life at 11 a.m. Saturday versus the loser of host Eastern Connecticut State (29-13) and SUNY-New Paltz (29-13). Husson is the fourth seed in the Willimantic, Connecticut regional, and will need to win four games in a row to advance out of the region into the round of 16.
