BEVERLY, Mass. – Junior third baseman Chad Adams (Ware, MA) hit his team-leading third home run of the year to break a tie in the top of the fifth inning and All-New England junior righty Adam Merritt (Seymour) gained his second save in as many days when the Eastern Connecticut State University baseball team won its fifth straight game with a 5-4 victory over Endicott College Tuesday afternoon at North Field.

Ranked in a tie for seventh in New England, Eastern (6-5) moved over the .500 mark after starting the season with losses in its first four games. Endicott (8-7), which reached the championship game of last year's NCAA Division III New England Tournament, is ranked No. 6 in New England.

Eastern never trailed after Adams and junior leftfielder Andrew Scully (Stratford) had consecutive RBI singles to put the Warriors up 3-2 in the third. After Endicott tied the game in the bottom of the fourth, Adams followed a one-out walk by senior second baseman Corey Keane (Tolland) with his third home run of the year to left in the fifth.

Merritt struck out two in recording the final four outs of the game to save senior righty Tyler Cyr's (Bristol) first win of the year after two losses. Cyr made his first relief appearance of the year while Endicott was scoring twice in the first. Cyr stranded two on base in the first  and pitched into the eighth before giving way to Merritt after the Gulls scored once on a leadoff home run by Anthony Serina and had the tying run aboard following a two-out triple. Merritt, who has not given up an earned run in 36 2/3 innings, ended the threat with an infield popup.

In the ninth, Merritt allowed a leadoff single and stolen base to Cam Farnham, but  junior catcher Tim Budd (Cheshire) erased Farnham attempting to swipe third for the first out. Merritt sandwiched a pair of swinging strikeouts around a hit-by-pitch to end the game.

Cyr surrendered only six hits and two runs in seven innings, fanning five with just one walk.

Adams was 4-for-4 with three RBI and two runs scored and Scully added three hits and two RBI and senior leadoff hitter Joe Perez (North Branford) reached three times with two hits and a walk and scored two runs.

Eastern faces Wesleyan University Wednesday at Central Connecticut State University at 4 p.m. The Cardinals are ranked fifth in New England.