Navigators beat Pittsfield on the road

The North Shore Navigators grabbed a 6-4 win on the road Friday against the Pittsfield Suns. It was the Navigators’ ninth win in their last 11 games.
UMass Lowell’s Steve Xirinachs was dominant on the mound for the Navs, giving up just one run on one hit while striking out six in six innings of work. He improved to 3-0 on the year.
The Navs fell behind early, trailing 1-0 until the top of the third. They strung together a couple of hits, highlighted by an RBI double from Chad Martin (Bowdoin), and pushed three runs across to take a 3-1 lead.
The Navs notched three more runs in the top of the sixth. Derek Smith (UNC Ashville) and Mason Koppens (Northeastern) started the frame with back-to-back singles. The runners advanced on a sacrifice before Sheldon Brogden (Lee) lined a two-run single to give the Navs a 5-1 lead. Brogden later stole home to make it 6-1.
The score remained there until the bottom of the eighth, when the Suns were able to grab three runs and make it a 6-4 ballgame. But Navs’ closer Speros Varinos wouldn’t let them get any more, as he came out in the ninth and shut the Suns down to pick up his fifth save of the season.
The Navigators improved to 9-5 on the year. They will return to action Saturday evening when they host the Nashua Silver Knights at 6 p.m. at Fraser Field.