LYNN — The North Shore Navigators have a way of saving their best baseball for the end of the season. For the past three Futures Collegiate Baseball League seasons, the Navigators have started slow out of the gate before bouncing back in time to compete for a playoff berth. With that said, first-year Navigators manager Todd Alford is hopeful that his team can right the ship during in the second half of the season.
North Shore wrapped the first half of its 2018 schedule at 14-25, good for sixth place in the league standings. The Navigators, following what now seems like an annual routine, started the season slow at 2-8 through their first 10 contests. Since then, Alford has seen significant improvements from his squad.
“I think we’ve showed signs of being the quality team we can be,” Alford said. “We don’t always put it together. We’ve been consistent defensively, we’re averaging around 10-11 hits per game, we’re running the bases aggressively. The thing that hurts us is our pitching. When we throw strikes, we do well and win games. When we don’t, we lose and that’s how things have rolled this season.”
Improvements in pitching will be a priority for the Navigators as they begin the second half. The key to getting pitchers to be more consistent on the mound, Alford said, is focusing on competing without allowing individual improvements to become a distraction.
“We have a lot of guys working on some things,” Alford said. “The goal this summer is to get better and improve. The majority of our pitchers have things they need to work on. They have the freedom to do that work but at the same time they have to compete. Oftentimes the mind gets in front of the body and that’s tough in a competitive situation. We’re getting past that point where our guys can compete without thinking about what they’re trying to work on.”
Despite the pitching staff’s struggles, Alford likes the level of talent in his team’s group of arms. Lynnfield’s Justin Foley leads the Navigators in innings pitched with 32 2/3. Foley, 2-1 this summer with two saves, has tallied 21 strikeouts in nine appearances and carries a 3.85 ERA.
Shayne Audet (3-1, 1.30 ERA) and Garret Keough (3-3, 6.13 ERA) are tied for the team lead in wins. Audet leads North Shore in strikeouts with 36 in his 27 2/3 innings of work. Keough, a Marblehead native, has 14 strikeouts in 22 innings.
Reliever Zach Begin has figured things out as of late, making a handful of key appearances out of the team’s bullpen. Begin has 3.76 ERA and 24 strikeouts in 28 2/3 innings.
“Garret has figured some things out,” Alford said. “He’s one of our harder throwing pitchers. He’s worked very hard at figuring things out mechanically. He’s going to help us down the stretch. Zach has stepped up big time. His first couple outings were a bit shaky. He’s stepped up and thrown quite a few solid relief inning.
Alford added, “With guys developing as they are, working on things, there’s room for improvement for the second half. We have the potential to pitch a lot better and turn things around.”
At the plate, Sal Frelick has carried the Navigators since joining the team after the end of his senior season at Lexington High School. Frelick leads the team in batting average (.385), home runs (seven), RBI (34), runs scored (28) and hits (37). The Boston College bound infielder has hit all seven of the team’s home runs.
“Sal’s a spark plug,” Alford said. “He’s a great teammate, a great kid and a great athlete. Even with Sal, there’s areas he needs to work on before going to BC in the fall. In some aspects he’s great and in some he’s still a high school baseball player. We’ve talked about that with him but he’s going to get better which is amazing. He’s a great kid and very coachable.”
Also hitting well through the first half are Joey Murphy (.326 average, 11 RBI), John Prentice (.275 average, seven RBI) and Elias Varinos (.265 average, 12 RBI).
With 14 regular season games remaining, Alford and the Navigators feel there’s still time to move in the right direction in hopes of clinching a playoff spot.
“Before the season started I said I’d take a .500 season, not really knowing the competition,” Alford said. “I’m new to this league. My expectation was to be better than .500. It’s not out of the realm of possibility. We have the potential. We’ve beaten every team in the league. It’s a matter of putting nine innings together every night.
“It takes a little more focus,” Alford added. “It takes a little more will to win. We’re not that far off. The pieces are there. We just have to put them all together.”
The Navigators visit Bristol Thursday night (7) and Pittsfield Friday night (6:30).
