HARWICH, Mass. —   Colin Sitarz went 3 for 5, including a home run, with two runs scored and two RBI as the third-seeded Endicott College Gulls defeated the top-seeded University of Southern Maine Huskies, 5-2, Friday afternoon in a winners’ bracket game of the NCAA Division III New England Regional Tournament at Whitehouse Field.

The victory moves the Gulls into the championship round needing one win to claim their first regional title. The Gulls, who came through the losers’ bracket of the Commonwealth Coast Conference Tournament to win that championship, have won seven straight games and are now 35-12 on the season.

Southern Maine will face the winner of Friday night’s elimination game between Wheaton and Western New England on Saturday at noon, with the winner moving on to face Endicott needing two wins for the championship. USM had its seven-game winning streak snapped and slipped to 39-8 on the season.

In earlier elimination games on Friday, Western New England University held off Saint Joseph’s College, 5-3, and Wheaton edged Daniel Webster 3-1.

Sitarz gave the Gulls a 1-0 lead in the top of the fourth inning when he slammed a pitch from USM rookie right-hander Shyler Scates over the left field fence for his fourth home run of the season.

Endicott added a single run in the fifth as junior Tad Gold singled, moved to second on a sacrifice by senior Eric Lemke and scored on a two-out single by junior E.J. Martinez.

USM loaded the bases against Endicott freshman starter J.J. Branch  in the sixth. Senior Tyler Hitchcock came on in relief of Branch and hit USM senior Tucker White to force home the Huskies’ first run. Hitchcock got a double play ball that allowed freshman Sam Dexter to score. Hitchcock got out of the inning by striking out the next batter to escape without further damage.

The Gulls struck right back in the seventh against USM sophomore reliever Andrew Richards, who was making his school record 28th appearance of the season. Sitarz led off the inning with the first of three straight singles that loaded the bases for Lemke. Lemke worked Richards for a walk to force Sitarz across with the go ahead run. Freshman Matt Paola scored the second run of the inning on Martinez’s double-play ground ball giving the Gulls a 4-2 lead.

Hitchcock was in command, silencing the Huskies offense. After hitting White, the right-hander would only give up a walk to junior Troy Thibodeau in the seventh and a two-out single to junior John Carey in the ninth. Hitchcock, who struck out two, got the win to improve to 9-1 on the season.

The Gulls added an unearned insurance run in the eighth against Richards when Sitarz singled home sophomore Harry Oringer, who reached base on an error.

For USM, Dexter was the lone repeat hitter with a double and single. Dexter’s first-inning double was his 22nd two-bagger of the season, setting a new school single-season record. Dexter had been tied with former All-American Bob Prince who had 21 doubles in 1991. Scates went six innings allowing two runs on four hits. He did not walk or strike out a batter.

Hyde among Bates’ All-NESCAC selections

HADLEY, Mass. — The Bates College baseball team had three players named All-NESCAC, tying for the second-most such awards in team history, as the New England Small College Athletic Conference released its All-Conference Teams on Friday.

Senior shortstop Ryan Sonberg earned his second first-team All-NESCAC nod after a one-year hiatus, while sophomore catcher Mekae Hyde of Lewiston was also named to the first team. Junior third baseman and outfielder Kevin Davis (North Andover, Mass./St. John’s Prep) received second team recognition.

Following an injury-dampened junior season, Sonberg returned to form as an offensive leader for the Bobcats, batting a team-high .355, while also ranking first on the team with 50 hits and 30 runs. Sonberg chipped in with 11 doubles, two home runs and a slugging percentage of .489, all good for second-best on the team. He was 13th in the conference in batting average, tied for seventh in the NESCAc in homers, and ranked 11th in the legue in slugging.

Hyde, making his first appearance on the All-Conference team, was the clear choice as the top receiver in the conference — no other catcher was named to the all-conference first or second teams. After a solid rookie season, Hyde picked up where he left off, putting together a .324 batting average, with 33 hits, 17 RBIs and a .471 slugging percentage, while leading the team with three home runs. Hyde tied for third in the NESCAC in homers and ranked 15th in slugging percentage (.471). He appeared in 18 games behind the plate for the Bobcats, sporting an impressive .980 fielding percentage. Hyde also appeared in six games as an outfielder, where he was error-free for the season.

Davis piled up the hits, especially doubles, as the season went on, and finished just a point shy of Sonberg for the team’s leading batting average, at .354. He is the only third baseman listed on either team. Davis’s 18 doubles rank first in the conference and represent Bates’ team record, three more than any other player’s season in team history. Davis drove in 32 runs on the year, the most by a Bobcat since 2010 and tying him for fourth in the NESCAC. His team-high slugging percentage of .513 ranks sixth in the conference. Davis is a two-sport standout at Bates: he was the leading receiver on the football team in the fall, with 30 receptions for 366 yards and three touchdowns.

Bates men, Colby’s bell shine at ECACs

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. —  The Bates College men’s track and field team won its third consecutive ECAC Division III Outdoor Championship on Friday, while senior David Pless launched the seventh-farthest shot put in Division III history and junior Jarret McKallagate stablished a team record as well in the 110-meter hurdles.

The Bobcats scored 76 points to easily outdistance runner-up Oneonta State (55), with Tufts (45.33), Cortland State (43.33) and MIT (40) rounding out the top five teams.

Pless, the three-time NCAA indoor shot put champion and eight-time All-American, saw his third attempt of the day travel 61 feet, 10.5 inches, 18.5 inches beyond his own personal and team records set earlier this season. Pless’s mark stands as the seventh-best single shot put in Division III history.

Pless also won the discus throw, at 166-10. Excepting NCAA Championship meets, he hasn’t been beaten by a Division III athlete since his sophomore year.

Brittney Bell of Poland finished in fifth place in the 400-meter hurdles and Colby College’s 3,200 relay team took seventh place on the second day of competition at the ECAC Women’s Outdoor Track and Field Championships on Friday.

Bell had a time of 1 minutes, 2.94 seconds to earn four points and help the Colby women place in a tie for 20th place out of 57 scoring teams with 14 points.

Laura Duff, Ginny Keesler, Kate Connolly, and Morgan Lingar added two points as the Mules placed seventh in the 3,200 relay in 9:35.39.

For Bates, senior Bud Arens’final race as a Bobcat was a great one. In  the final event of the 2013 ECAC Division III Track & Field Championship, Arens and three teammates ran a meet- and team-record time of 9:10.28 in the 4×800-meter relay.

Arens’ run of three straight NCAA Championship appearances is ending, but it was a great way for the senior to go out. Bates passed the baton from first-year Isabelle Unger to sophomore Sarah Fusco to Arens to junior Kallie Nixon, who crossed the finish line .08 seconds ahead of runner-up Rowan. The Bobcats’ time breaks the former team record of 9:11.00, set by Fusco, Nixon, Lisa Reedich and Arens as they won the NESCAC title in 2012. Bates reset the ECAC championship record as well.

Bates’ win vaulted the Bobcats into a tie with Moravian for 15th place among 57 scoring teams at the two-day meet, held at Springfield College.