It was a very successful weekend for the North Shore Navigators, as the team broke the .500 mark for the first time this season and extended their season-long win streak to seven with a pair of close wins.
Sunday, the Navs improved to 26-24 with a 4-2 win over the Wachusett Dirt Dawgs at Fraser Field.
The Navigators got a superb effort out of starting pitcher Nick Malatesta (St. Joseph’s College of Maine). Malatesta worked seven innings dominated the Dirt Dawgs, allowing just five total baserunners.
Alex Brickman (Siena College) came in to close it out and looked good in his two innings of work, allowing one hit lowering his ERA to an even 3.00 on the season. He was credited with the win, thanks to the late-game offense from the Navigators.
In the eighth inning, the game was tied at one when the Navigators got their offense going. MacDaniel Singleton (Salem State) and Jordan Roper (Marist College) got on base to start things off via a walk and a hit by a pitch respectively. Colby Maiola (UMass Lowell) continued the rally with a walk.
Christian Cabrera (Broward CC) came up to the plate and worked the count to 2-1. The fourth pitch sailed past the catcher, allowing the runners to move up and Roper to score. Following that, Cabrera launched a sacrifice fly, scoring Singleton and giving the Navs a 3-1 lead.
The Navigators would put up one more run in the inning thanks to a single by Nick Falkson (Tufts University). That brought in Nick DiBenedetto (Trinity College) to extend the lead to 4-1 and ultimately give the Navigators the cushion that they needed to win the game.
Saturday, the Navigators managed to squeak by the Pittsfield Suns, 3-2, earning their first winning record of the season.
Maiola provided most of the offense for the Navigaters. Maiola crushed two solo home runs from the cleanup spot in the order, his first putting the Navs on the board and giving them a 1-0 lead.
His second home run was his seventh of the season, which tied the franchise record held by former Salem State Viking and current Los Angeles Angels minor-leaguer Richie Fecteau.
Maiola is also the second Navigator this season to have a multi-homer game. Brickman completed the feat earlier in the season in a trip to Worcester.
All of the Navigators’ offense came by way of the long ball. In the top of the eighth, DiBenedettotook the first pitch deep to left center field. It was his second homer of the season and it made the score 3-0 at the time.
Bobby Tramondozzi (UMass Boston) got the start for the Navigators and was effective. He pitched four shutout innings, notching a couple of strikeouts. He worked out of a couple of jams, including a bases-loaded situation at the end of the fourth inning.
Brian Burke (Curry College) came in to relieve Tramondozzi and he did a stellar job of keeping them in the game. He worked 4 1/3 innings, allowing only four baserunners and striking out two batters. Burke kept the Suns offense in check and gave the Navigators a chance to build on the 1-0 lead they had when he entered the game.
The Suns threatened late in the game, as they score twice in the ninth, but Quinn DiPasquale (Stevens Institute) got a key bases-loaded strike that end the game.
The Navigators will return to Fraser Field on Wednesday, August 2 when they play host to the Martha’s Vineyard Sharks. First pitch is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.