CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – MIT twice held a lead and Endicott College twice came back to tie the game before scoring a run in the ninth that gave the Gulls a 5-4 win over the Engineers in non-conference baseball action. Senior Nate Rodman (Corvallis, Ore.) drove in a pair of runs for MIT, while sophomore Michael DeDonato (Simsbury, Conn.) drove in a pair for Endicott.

MIT (4-8) put a run on the board first, pushing one across in the bottom of the second on an RBI single by sophomore David Heller (Fair Lawn, N.J.) that went down the line in left. Endicott (9-5) came right back to tie things up in the third when senior Cody Hall (Rutland, Mass.) drove a pitch over the fence in left for a solo home run.

In the top of the fifth the Gulls took their first lead of the day when DeDonato stroked a two-out double to right that scored junior Mike Kochiss (Fairfield, Conn.) who had led off the inning with a walk. The lead was short-lived as freshman Alec Kushner (Cooper City, Fla.) led off the MIT half of fifth with his second home run in as many games. With two down sophomore Austin Filiere (Chandler, Ariz.) doubled and the Engineers proceeded to load the bases for Rodman, who singled to left to bring in two and put MIT back on top, 4-2.

MIT starter, freshman Zeke Long (Albuquerque, N.M.), turned in a solid outing by going five innings and giving up two runs on five hits. For Endicott it was junior Luke Morse (Westford, Mass.) that started on the hill, giving up all four MIT runs on five hits over 4.2 innings.

Endicott came back to tie things up in the seventh, getting things started with a one-out double by Kochiss. He then came around on a base hit by senior Josh Drew (Intervale, N.H.). An error on the throw home allowed Drew to take second, where he was run for by junior Dan Cacciola (Saugus, Mass.). He then came in to tie the game on a DeDonato hit.

Junior Victor Molle (Peabody, Mass.) then wrapped things up for the Gulls, throwing a 1-2-3 ninth to notch his second save of the season. Freshman A.J. Hendrickson (Meriden, Conn.) picked up the win for Endicott, going 3.1 innings and allowing just three hits.

Endicott picked up the winning run in the ninth, with freshman Evan Lumpinski (Woodbridge, Conn.) leading off with a pinch-hit single. Freshman Matt Bald (De Pere, Wis.) ran for Lumpinski and moved up on a sacrifice and then a passed ball, scoring on sac fly by senior Anthony Serina (Portsmouth, R.I.).

Filiere and Kushner both had a pair of hits to lead MIT, while DeDonato had three hits in four trips to lead Endicott.

MIT will move back to New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference play on Saturday, traveling to Clark University for a doubleheader starting at Noon. Endicott will also play a doubleheader on the road on Saturday, traveling to Curry College for a Noon start.