6 days ago
The Endicott baseball team is back in the Division III World Series, and hoping to improve on past performances
'We haven't succeeded the way we want to in the World Series to this point,' he said.
Last season, Endicott lost its first game at the World Series to Lynchburg, then defeated Ponoma-Pitzer before being eliminated by Misericordia in the double-elimination bracket. Two years ago, Endicott reached the final eight, but then lost two in a row.
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Haley wants the starting pitching to set a stronger tone. Righthander Charlie Hale is leading the efforts on the mound with a 2.04 ERA, 86 strikeouts, and 13 wins. Righthander Evan Scully is 10-0 with a 2.05 ERA.
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The Gulls, who are on a 12-game winning streak, have a .453 team on-base percentage, a .343 team batting average, and have hit 70 home runs. Endicott won the Conference of New England title.
Infielder AJ Hamm leads Endicott in batting average at .377. He said the point of emphasis for the players is staying composed and focused in difficult moments.
'Last year definitely was a huge learning experience,' he said.
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This is Hamm's second time playing for a national title and he feels more prepared to compete this year.
'During our losses last year we kind of seemed to feel like we're out of the game and we didn't have a chance,' he said.
Haley has preached playing with passion all season to keep his players at their best. He tells his team to 'play like kids' down the stretch of the season.
'We don't lose a lot because we know how to play the game together and for each other,' Hamm said.
'We know exactly what we need to do this week and we're ready to go,' he added.
Endicott faces Kean at 10 a.m. on Friday, and the winner will face the winner of a first-round game between Johns Hopkins and Messiah. The Endicott-Kean loser will go into the elimination bracket.
Auzzy Byrdsell can be reached at
