LYNN — What a summer it has been for the North Shore Navigators.
After returning to the New England Collegiate Baseball League this summer following a nine-year hiatus, the Navigators showed that they truly belong in one of the premier summer collegiate leagues in the country.
After an up-and-down regular season at times, North Shore caught absolute fire over the final three weeks of the season and made a run all the way to the NECBL Championship Series before falling to the Danbury Westerners.
The New England Collegiate Baseball League is a wooden-bat college summer league that fields teams in all six New England states. Partially funded by Major League Baseball, the New England League started play in 1994 and has sent over 150 alumni to the Major Leagues; it has had nearly 100 alumni drafted in each of the last 10 Major League Baseball Drafts. The league is now made up of 14 teams.
North Shore was a charter member of the NECBL’s inaugural season dating back to 1994. The Navigators began their NECBL tenure based out of Middletown, Conn., and the organization enjoyed remarkable success throughout its time in the New England League — most notably when it won three straight NECBL titles as the Middletown Giants from 1997-99.
From 2012-20, the Navigators competed in the nine-team Futures Collegiate Baseball League (FCBL). The Navs made it all the way to the FCBL championship game in 2012 before losing to the Nashua Silver Knights.
This summer, the Navs had plenty of highlights on the field. First baseman Logan Bravo blasted a league-leading 14 home runs and was one of the top power hitters in the entire league, while pitcher and Swampscott native Luke Marshall was named NECBL Pitcher of the Week two separate times throughout the year.
For their exploits, Bravo was named to the All-NECBL Team and Marshall was named to the NECBL All-Northern Division Team. Starting pitcher Jackson Emus was named to the All-NECBL Team, while outfielder Joe Lomuscio and relief pitcher James Sashin each earned NECBL All-Northern Division Team honors.
The Navigators will no doubt have a busy winter of preparation, and North Shore will look to be right in the mix for another Fay Vincent Sr. Cup once June 2022 rolls around.
