Division Leaders Fall as Waves and Nighthawks Score Upset Victories on Friday Night
North Adams, MA – Friday night across the NECBL saw both division leaders suffer defeats as Ocean State handed Martha’s Vineyard just its second loss of the season and Upper Valley rallied past Sanford with a three-run seventh inning. Elsewhere, Keene topped Vermont, Newport rode a big offensive night to a win over Danbury, and strong pitching carried Bristol and Valley to victories.
Valley Blue Sox vs. North Shore Navigators
Final Score: Blue Sox 4, Navigators 3
Holyoke, MA - The Valley Blue Sox notched a narrow 4-3 victory over the North Shore Navigators on Friday night. Despite Dylan Reid (Brown) allowing three runs in five innings, the rest of the team rallied around him.
Danati Fronduto (San Jacinto) put the Navigators up in the top of the first with an RBI single off Reid. However, the Blue Sox bats responded back in the bottom half. A Trevor Harmon (San Francisco) RBI double tied the game, before Chris Cancel (UConn) drove in both Harmon and Anthony Grabau (Fordham) with a two-run single.
Maddix Simpson (Ohio St.) brought North Shore one closer with an RBI double in the third. A fifth inning sacrifice fly ball from Hudson Ellis (Oral Roberts) tied the game at 3-3. A bases-loaded walk from Matt Wolfe (Middle Tennessee) gave the Blue Sox a 4-3 lead, which they never relinquished.
Jacob Mulvehill (Lehigh) got the win, pitching one shutout inning in relief. Michael Geissler (Portal) took the loss, allowing one run on a hit and three walks in his inning out of the bullpen. Jack Ensell (Barry) got his third save of the season.
North Adams Steeplecats vs. Bristol Blues
Final Score: Blues 2, Steeplecats 0
North Adams, MA - The Bristol Blues shutout the North Adams Steeplecats 2-0 on Friday evening. The Blues pitching staff put together a near immaculate performance, allowing only five baserunners the entire game.
Both teams remained scoreless through four innings, as Bristol left multiple people on bases in the second and third. Christopher DiPrima (Yale) notched the first run of the contest with a sacrifice fly in the fifth inning to put Bristol up 1-0.
Westin Boyle (Purdue) came through with an RBI single in the eighth for some insurance. However, that run wasn't needed, as starter Ty Davis (Bryant), along with Alex Hwang (Yale) and James Mulvaney (Fairfield), shut the door on North Adams repeatedly. This included Hwang and Mulvaney not allowing any baserunners in their four combined innings of work.
Davis got the win, throwing five shutout innings, while giving up two hits and two walks. Liam Riordan (Rensselaer Polytechnic), despite not allowing a run in his 1.2 innings, took the loss. Mulvaney captured his second save of the season.
Bristol looks forward to a Saturday night matchup against the Danbury Westerners in their barn. North Adams gets to stay home as they head up against the Keene Swamp Bats.
Upper Valley Nighthawks vs Sanford Mainers
Final Score: Nighthawks 6, Mainers 4
The Upper Valley Nighthawks rallied late to defeat the Sanford Mainers, 6-4, on Sunday night, using a three-run seventh inning to erase a one-run deficit and secure the victory. After trading runs through the middle innings, the Nighthawks capitalized on timely hitting and patient at-bats to improve to 6-6-1 on the season.
Sanford struck first in the opening inning and carried a 4-3 lead into the bottom of the seventh. The Mainers were led offensively by left fielder Brendan Sencaj (Bentley), who collected two hits and drove in two runs, while designated hitter Steven Kraus (Binghamton) added two hits and an RBI. Brooks Perez (Duke U) and Brian Connolly (URI) each scored a run, helping Sanford tally six hits despite striking out 13 times.
Upper Valley answered throughout the game before delivering the decisive rally in the seventh. Jacob Harring (Salve Regina U) played a key role at the top of the lineup, scoring twice, drawing four walks, and stealing a base. The Nighthawks also received clutch production from the middle of the order as they totaled 10 hits and worked four walks against Sanford pitching.
On the mound, Sanford starter Andrew Middleton (Portal) was effective early, allowing just one run over four innings while striking out four. Keegan Antelman (Bentley U) followed with 1.2 innings, but the Nighthawks broke through against the bullpen. TJ Curley (Stonehill College) was charged with the loss after allowing three runs in two-thirds of an inning during Upper Valley's game-changing seventh inning.
The Nighthawks' pitching staff held Sanford in check late, preserving the lead over the final two frames. Despite Sanford's effort behind multi-hit performances from Sencaj and Kraus, Upper Valley's balanced offense and late-inning execution proved to be the difference as the Nighthawks earned a 6-4 comeback victory over the Mainers.
Sanford Mainers will play against the Vermont Mountaineers Saturday night at home. The Upper Valley Nighthawks will compete against the Ocean State Waves at home field Saturday night.
Martha's Vineyard Sharks vs Ocean State Waves
Final Score: Waves 11, Sharks 6
South Kingstown, RI- The Waves hand the Sharks their second loss of the season on Friday with offense being the name of the game.
The Waves rode to victory with the help of two explosive offensive innings, a four run second inning and a five run fifth. After a couple walks started the scoring, Gavin Marchese (Monroe) hit a two RBI single to left, followed by an RBI by Blaize Ward (Mizzou). The fifth got off to a hot start with a three run home run by Charlie Saul (Bryant), and more walks helped add on to their lead. The Waves added on two more in the bottom of the eighth on a double by Justin Hackett (Bryant) and a single by Gray Eubanks (Southern Miss).
The Sharks offense was all thanks to the long ball tonight. Griffin Crain (Louisville) hit a huge grand slam in the top of the fifth and Ty Fredo (Mt St Mary's) added on a two run home run in the top of the seventh.
Hudson Barton (Vanderbilt) earned his first win of the season tonight for the Waves and Cooper Waddle (Southern Miss) had a great day out of the bullpen going two innings only allowing one hit and one walk with five strike outs. Angel Cruz (Northeastern) was lights out out of the bullpen for the Sharks, going three innings allowing no hits and no runs, but unfortunately it was not enough to stop the Waves.
The Waves head to Hartford, VT tomorrow to take on the Upper Valley Nighthawks and the Sharks head home to the Shark Tank to host the Mystic Schooners.
Newport Gulls vs Danbury Westerners
Final Score: Newport Gulls 10, Danbury Westerners 6
Newport, RI – The Newport Gulls defended their home field with a 10-6 victory over the Danbury Westerners on Friday night.
The Gulls used dominant scoring runs in the middle of the game to secure the win, breaking it open with a five-run third inning and added two runs apiece in both the fourth and fifth frames to build a strong lead.
Cade Brown (Georgia Tech) led the Newport offensive charge, driving in four runs and hitting a double, while Peter Mershon (Mississippi State) provided strong support by driving in three runs with a bomb in the third.
Danbury attempted to mount a comeback, powered by home runs from Collin Mowry (Louisville) and Peter Link (Sacred Heart) in the eigth, along with additional runs in the third, fifth, and eighth innings, but the Westerners could not overcome the deficit.
On the mound, Parker Rhodes (Mississippi State) earned the win for the Gulls, delivering three innings of relief, while Glenn Smith (Richmond) was charged with the loss for Danbury after surrendering six runs over 2.3 innings.
The Gulls look to tack on another win against the Valley Blue Sox at MacKenzie Stadium tomorrow, while the Westerners hope to snap their 4 game losing streak against the Bristol Blues at home.
Keene SwampBats vs Vermont Mountaineers
Final Score: Keene SwampBats 4, Vermont Mountaineers 1
Keene, NH – The Keene SwampBats secured a 4-1 victory over the Vermont Mountaineers at Alumni Field on Friday night.
The Mountaineers jumped out to an early lead in the top of the first inning when Matthew Minckler (Delaware) was hit by a pitch, stole second, and stole home on a double steal with Brayden Leonard (Villanova).
The SwampBats answered immediately in the bottom half of the frame when Jackson Smith (Cincinnati) blasted a solo home run to left center.
Keene took the lead for good in the second inning as Charlie Meglio (Rutgers) hit an RBI single to right, bringing home Michael O'Brien (Little Rock).
In the third, Chris Polemeni (UConn) padded the lead by launching a solo homer to center field.
The Swamp Bats offense added a final run in the fifth as Meglio singled up the middle to drive home Griffin Enis (Virginia).
Reliever Andrew Lepine (UCF) earned the win on the mound, throwing three scoreless frames, while Robert Gilchrist (UConn) tossed two 1-hit innings to secure the save. Vermont starter Hank Lippman (William & Mary) took the loss after giving up three runs over three innings.
The SwampBats will travel to Joe Wolfe Field tomorrow nigt to face the North Adams Steeplecats, who will be trying to snap a five game losing streak. The Mountaineers will take on the first-place Sanford Mainers at Goodall Park.
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The New England Collegiate Baseball League is a wooden bat collegiate summer league featuring teams across all six New England states. Since its founding in 1994, the NECBL has produced more than 230 Major League Baseball alumni, including nearly 30 first-round MLB Draft selections. For continuing coverage of the NECBL, visit NECBL.com and follow the league on X, Instagram, and Facebook.
