League Leaders Keep Rolling in Saturday NECBL Action
North Adams, MA – Saturday night across the NECBL featured another win for the league-leading Sharks, a strong pitching performance from Sanford, and several tightly contested matchups. Martha's Vineyard extended its winning streak to six games with a road victory over Ocean State, the Mainers defeated Vermont behind a four-run sixth inning, and North Shore continued its hot stretch against Upper Valley. Elsewhere, Mystic rolled past Bristol, Danbury held off North Adams, and Valley edged Keene in a one-run battle.
North Shore Navigators vs. Upper Valley Nighthawks
Final Score: Navigators 5, Nighthawks 2
Lynn, MA - The North Shore Navigators earned a 5-2 victory over the Upper Valley Nighthawks on Saturday evening.
Grant Hunter (Binghamton) drove in the opening run with a groundout to third base in the first inning. However, Jack Rickheim (Harvard) blew the game open with a three-run bomb in the second to give the Navs a 4-0 lead.
A sac fly from Nick Quagliato (Boston College) broke the shutout in the third inning. However, Lane Allen (High Point) got that run right back with a bases loaded walk in the fifth. Outside of an RBI groundout from Jonathan Holt (St. Joseph's), the Nighthawks couldn't mount much for a comeback effort.
Ismael Borrero (Portal) pitched six innings of one-run ball while striking out three, earning him the win. Nick Tamburro (College of New Jersey) got the loss, allowing four runs in three innings. Cam Freeman (Longwood) notched his second save of the season.
North Shore has a trip to Connecticut on the docket, as they take on the Bristol Blues. Upper Valley has Sunday off, before they take on the North Adams Steeplecats in their barn at Joe Wolfe Field.
Vermont Mountaineers vs. Sanford Mainers
Final Score: Mainers 4, Mountaineers 1
Montpelier, VT - After both teams combined for a mere four hits in the first five innings, both teams broke through on the scoreboard in the sixth.
Sanford broke the scoreless tie with a solo home run from Albert De La Rosa (UMaine).
Brian Connolly (Rhode Island (U of)) added a two-run shot, before Jack Tate (St. John's) added a solo shot of his own to cap off a four-run sixth inning.
Vermont got one back in the form of an RBI single from Elliot Miles (UMass Boston) but it was not enough to mount a comeback, as the Mainers won 4-1.
The Mainers host the Mystic Schooners tomorrow, while the Mountaineers face the North Adams Steeplecats at home.
Mystic Schooners vs Bristol Blues
Final Score: Schooners 7, Blues 1
Bristol, CT- Despite only having a few more hits, the Schooners walked away with an easy win Saturday night.
The Schooners' pitching staff had a phenomenal game, allowing no earned runs. Mike Poncini (Georgetown) earned his second win of the season allowing only four hits with no walks and two strikeouts in 4.2 innings of work. Calvin Gregory (Oregon State) came out of the bullpen, throwing two innings allowing no hits with two walks and two strikeouts. Connor Lane (UConn) threw the final 2.1 innings allowing only one hit with no walks and three strike outs.
On the other side, Casey Wensley (Bryant) led the Schooners at the plate going three for four with an RBI in the top of the sixth. Anthony Belisario (Portal) and Joel Collado (URI) both went one for three at the plate with two walks each.
Pitching hurt the Blues in tonight's game, giving up ten walks as a staff and allowing two runs to score on the free passes. Scott Gell (Stony Brook) had the lone RBI for the Blues today, on a single to the right side that scored Thomas Zwirecki (Rutgers).
The Blues look to bounce back as they stay at Muzzy Field to host the North Shore Navigators tomorrow. The Schooners will stay on the road as they head to Goodall Park to take on the Sanford Mainers.
Ocean State Waves vs Marthas Vineyard Sharks
Final Score: Sharks 8, Waves 5
South Kingstown, RI – The Marthas Vineyard Sharks defeated the Ocean State Waves 8-5 on Saturday night, moving to a league-best 22-5 record.
The Sharks wasted no time jumping ahead in the top of the first inning when Will Bavaro (Florida State) laced a two-RBI double to drive home Jack Kamin (Tufts) and Wesley Scott (Louisiana Tech).
Scott extended the cushion in the second frame, launching a two-run home run to right field to score Jailen Watkins (Miami).
Ocean State answered in the bottom half as Owen Morgan (Tulane) ripped a two-RBI single to cut the deficit to 4-2, and Max Farrell (SDSU) pulled the Waves within a run in the fifth with a solo shot. However, the Sharks capitalized on dynamic baserunning in the sixth, using double steals and outfield errors to score unearned runs from Bryan Sornas (Holy Cross) and Bavaro.
Small ball in the seventh sealed it, as Will Hampton (Vanderbilt) and Rylen Stockton (UMD) crossed the plate on a wild pitch and a groundout.
Alex Grant (Northwestern) earned the win in relief, while Hudson Barton (Vanderbilt) took the loss. Angel Cruz (Northeastern) tossed two hitless frames to secure the save.
The Sharks hope to tack on a seventh win tomorrow at home against the Danbury Westerners, while the Waves travel to Alumni Field to face the Keene Swampbats.
Danbury Westerners vs North Adams SteepleCats
Final Score: Westerners 6, SteepleCats 4
Danbury, CT – The Danbury Westerners rode a pair of early home runs to a 6-4 victory over the North Adams SteepleCats on Saturday night.
The Westerners offense ignited in the bottom of the first inning. Aidan Stern (Trinity) opened the scoring with an RBI double down the right field line to drive in Kyle Garbowski (Quinnipiac), and Gavin Donohue (Sacred Heart) immediately followed with a two-run shot to left field to establish a quick 3-0 cushion.
The SteepleCats chipped away at the lead as Nicolas LoBello (Towson) launched a solo home run in the third and Owen Arias (Central Connecticut) delivered an RBI single in the fourth.
However, the Westerners answered back in the bottom of the fourth. Peter Link (Sacred Heart) reached on an error to score Ryan Preisano (Wake Forest) before Ryan Martin (Dallas Baptist) crushed a two-run home run to push the advantage to 6-2.
North Adams staged a late rally, scoring on a wild pitch in the sixth and using a Matt Colella (Lafayette College) RBI double in the eighth to pull within two.
Cole Gibson (New Haven) earned the win, while Jake Foster (Rhode Island College) took the loss. Aidan Vargas (Marist) pitched a hitless ninth inning to earn the save.
The SteepleCats hope to break their four-game losing streak tomorrow as they travel to Montpelier to face the Vermont Mountaineers, while the Westeners take a trip to Martha's Vineyard to take on the league-best Sharks.
Valley Blue Sox vs Keene SwampBats
Final Score: Blue Sox 7, SwampBats 6
Keene, N.H. – The Valley Blue Sox edged out the Keene SwampBats in a thrilling 7-6 victory on Saturday night. Although the SwampBats got more than twice as many hits as the Blue Sox, Valley came out victorious.
Chris Cancel (UConn) ignited the Valley offense early with a two-run home run to right center in the second inning.
Keene responded with a sacrifice fly from T.J. Schuyler (Georgia Southern) before college teammate Nico Senese (Georgia Southern) launched a two-run blast in the fifth to give the Swamp Bats a 3-2 lead.
Schuyler followed with an RBI single to push the lead to two.
Valley answered with a three-run sixth inning, pulling ahead on an RBI walk from Zaid Diaz (Troy), an RBI single by Cancel, and a run-scoring fielder's choice from Nico Soul (Appalachian State).
The Blue Sox padded their lead in the seventh when Cancel knocked an RBI single and later scored on a wild pitch.
Keene staged a comeback in the bottom of the seventh, using back-to-back solo home runs from Chris Polemeni (UConn) and Senese to cut the deficit to 7-6, although it was not enough to beat the Blue Sox.
Andrew Oppenheimer (Trinity) earned the win for Valley, while Jake LeFrancois (UMass Lowell) collected the save. Anakin Underhill (Sacred Heart) suffered the loss for Keene.
Keene looks to snap their six-game losing streak tomorrow as they host the Ocean State Waves, meanwhile the Blue Sox host the Newport Gulls at Mackenzie Stadium.
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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.
