Navs sneak to close win over Rox

After nearly a 40-minute rain delay to start the night, the North Shore Navigators managed a crucial win in the Futures Collegiate Baseball League’s East Division race on Thursday night.
The Navs’ offense started strong with a first-inning run and held on for a 2-1 win over the division-leading Brockton Rox at Fraser Field.
North Shore managed just seven hits off Rox pitchers Andrew David (Tufts) and Eric Handelman (Miami OH-Hamilton) and committed four errors in the field, but was able to snap a two-game losing streak and improve to 27-19.
David allowed his first run against the Navigators this season in the opening frame. Left fielder MacDaniel Singleton (Northern Essex CC) got the offense moving with a one-out single and moved to third on a double by shortstop Brandon Fischer (St. Thomas Aquinas).
Fischer’s ninth two-base hit of the summer set up yet another RBI opportunity for second baseman Richie Fecteau (Salem State), who dropped a single into shallow right field to give North Shore a 1-0 lead.
Steve Xirinachs (UMass Lowell) worked a 1-2-3 first inning on the mound for the Navigators before working out of trouble with two runners on base in both the second and fourth.
Xirinachs surrendered the tying run in the fifth as Rox second baseman Shane Adams (Columbia) walked, stole second and third, and scored on left fielder Kyle Carruthers’ (UNC Asheville) double into right field.
The Navigators took the lead back just two batters into the bottom half of the frame. After third baseman MJ Brown (Lee) led off the inning with a triple, designated hitter Kyle Devin (Rhode Island) placed a single through the right side for his 10th RBI. Brown’s triple marked the Navs’ league-leading 17th of the season.
North Shore’s go-ahead run in the fifth allowed Xirinachs to pick up his seventh win of the summer, extending his franchise record mark. The River Hawks’ rising junior allowed just one run on five hits while fanning a pair over six innings.
Relievers Rob DiFranco (Bates) and Thomas Lane (Boston College) combined for a pair of scoreless innings before Speros Varinos (Tufts) allowed a hit and a walk before closing down his 11th save.
Before allowing a run to score, David had tossed 13.1 consecutive scoreless innings over his first two starts against the Navs. He wound up taking his second loss of the year, allowing seven hits over seven innings while fanning four.The Navs are set to return to Fraser Field to close a three-game homestand against the Torrington Titans on Friday night. First pitch is set for 7 p.m.