COURTESY PHOTO
BY JOSHUA KUMMINS
Watching a summer collegiate baseball team come together in less than three months’ time is special.
However, having familiar faces within the group helps strengthen that bond.
The North Shore Navigators have plenty of familiar faces, including three players whose high school careers came under the tutelage of North Reading legend Frank Carey.
Catcher Keith Linnane, outfielder Colby Maiola (UMass Lowell) and infielder R.J. Warnock (Ave Maria) have been reunited for one final summer playing at Fraser Field.
“It does (enhance chemistry in the clubhouse) because it’s a group of kids who have known each other for a long time,” Navs manager John Zizzo said. “It creates a cohesiveness, but it’s also just a really good group of players.”
The connection runs even deeper for the aforementioned trio as Linnane, Maiola and Warnock are three of six current Navigators who continued their baseball careers at Northern Essex Community College, joining pitcher Evan Glew and outfielder MacDaniel Singleton (Salem State).
Maiola has been a massive spark to the Navs’ offense, becoming just the sixth player in Navigators history to hit four or more home runs in a season through just his first 10 games.
Playing together for one final summer ― as Linnane and Maiola move on from Northern Essex this fall ― is an opportunity even the players themselves did not really expect, but they are happy to help the team continue to build.
“The team all year had a great chemistry at Northern Essex, and the same thing last year with MacDaniel and R.J. there,” Maiola said. “Having a lot of those guys here has just helped build the chemistry a little more. I could tell the chemistry was good on this team the first day, so it’s just that extra boost.”
Glew, who pitched the Knights to nine wins as a freshman this spring, has picked up right where he left off as a Navigator.
The North Andover native, Glew has not allowed an earned run over his first 20 innings of work, earning a win on June 28 and a two-inning save with four strikeouts in Sunday night’s 3-0 win at Seacoast.
“It’s made it a lot easier for me to come in and get to know everybody else too,” said Glew, who has had Linnane behind the plate during each of his appearances this summer. “I’ve loved having them around.”
The former Knights just could not get enough, so a sixth addition to the group ― Lynnfield native Jordan Roper ― joined the fold this past week.
Roper was also part of this year’s Knights team that advanced to the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) World Series, hitting .330 with 22 RBI and 34 stolen bases.
Joining a team with so many familiar faces has been easy for Roper, who will continue his career at Marist College this fall.
“Smooth transition, even the guys that aren’t familiar. It’s just a bunch of good guys to be around,” Roper said. “I think it says a lot about Northern Essex, the character and guys they’ve got coming out of there. It’s a second chance for a lot of kids and gets us back on board to where we want to go.”
The collective chemistry of the Northern Essex sextet and some outstanding pitching have led the Navs right back into the playoff picture as the club enters the Futures Collegiate Baseball League all-starbreak with a 16-19 record.
The team, which won just once in its first 13 games, now stands in third place in the FCBL’s East Division. Zizzo, too, points to his club’s character.
“To be able to fight back through that adversity, I’m just so proud of them,” Zizzo said. “We were just hoping to win 20 games at one point. But now, we’re in the hunt and it’s a good feeling.”
It’s also a good feeling for Zizzo to send five Navigators to Wednesday’s FCBL All-Star Game at Hanover Insurance Park in Worcester.
Swampscott native Brian Burke (Curry) joins fellow relief pitcher Jake Dexter (Southern Maine), catcher Mike D’Acunti (Southeastern), infielder Joey Pena (St. Thomas Aquinas) and outfielder Singleton (Salem State) on the East squad.
“Five deserving picks, for sure,” Zizzo said. “The two relievers are under two runs a game and thrown some great innings. Mike D’Acunti has carried us and been a great leader, Joey Pena has just played tremendous on defense, gotten some big hits and stolen some bases. When MacDaniel and Joey are hitting 1-2 in the order, they’re pretty quick out there.”
Additionally, pitcher Quinn DiPasquale (Stevens Institute of Technology) was the East Division Fan Vote winner, while first baseman Alex Brickman (Siena) will compete in the Home Run Derby.
Names and Notes
- Speros Varinos (Tufts) and DiPasquale combined on the first no-hitter in team history in Friday night’s 7-1 victory over Worcester. Varinos allowed just three walks and hit one batter over the first eight innings, including four 1-2-3 frames.
- Navs starting pitchers threw at least six innings in five of team’s first eight July games, helping drop its collective ERA to 3.38 for the summer.
- Varinos has allowed just four unearned runs over his first 21 innings, spanning three starts, this summer. He and Glew have combined for three wins, a save and 41 consecutive innings without allowing an earned run.
- Pena saw his season-opening, 29-game on-base streak end in Thursday’s 9-2 loss at Wachusett. It remains the longest in the FCBL this summer and the second-longest in Navigators history.
Joshua Kummins can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @JoshuaKummins.
