LYNN– Following their first 30-win regular season since 2015, the North Shore Navigators hauled in three of the Futures Collegiate Baseball League’s major postseason honors. In advance of the league’s official announcement, Commissioner Joe Paolucci greeted the winners following the team’s playoff win over the Nashua Silver Knights at Fraser Field this week.
Outfielder Sean Lawlor (Flagler) became the first-ever Navigator to earn Most Valuable Player honors, while Beau Dana (Dickinson) was honored as the Relief Pitcher of the Year. In addition, Mike Odenwaelder was named FCBL Manager of the Year after his first season with the Navs.
“We are thrilled to see Sean, Beau, and Mike honored for their accomplishments during this special season,” Assistant General Manager Joe Gill said. “It was clear Sean and Beau were two of the best players in the entire league and that ‘Odie’ was the right man to bring a winning team back to Lynn from the very start this summer. They certainly have not disappointed.”
Lawlor finished the regular season at second in the FCBL with a .351 average and 40 RBI. The rising Flagler senior hit eight home runs to tie North Shore’s single-season franchise record. He was the league leader in hits (66), extra-base hits (26), and total bases (111) and ranked second in runs scored (44) and slugging percentage (.590). All of those numbers come thanks in large part to his team-leading 20 multi-hit and 14 multi-RBI games. Lawlor was named the FCBL Player of the Month for July and entered the postseason on a seven-game hit streak.
Dana established himself as one of the top closers in Navigators history. He becomes the first Navigator to earn the FCBL’s relief pitching honor since 2015 when former Tufts ace Speros Varinos set the franchise record of 13 saves that Dana tied this summer. The Marblehead native allowed just three earned runs and struck out 31 over his 19.1 innings of regular-season work, helping the Navs to a 16-2 record in his regular-season appearances. He then recorded a six-out save in the opening victory of the postseason.
An assistant coach at Amherst College during the spring, Odenwaelder has helped the Navs to one of their best seasons in franchise history and becomes the team’s first-ever skipper honored as Manager of the Year. His North Shore team held a winning record for the entirety of the season and returned to the playoffs for the first time since 2016. The Connecticut native earned MVP honors with the former Torrington Titans back in 2014 and becomes the first former FCBL player to become a Manager of the Year as well.
