LYNN — After appearing in the New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL) Championship Series for just the second time ever this summer, the North Shore Navigators were well-represented among the league’s postseason award winners and All-NECBL Teams. Commissioner Sean McGrath made the announcements this week.
First baseman Logan Bravo (Harvard) was named the Stephen Strasburg Top Pro Prospect, taking home the highest individual honor in the franchise’s NECBL history. Bravo, a third-year Navigator who was the league leader in home runs, led a Northern Division-leading group of five North Shore players selected to the All-NECBL teams.
Pitcher Jackson Emus (Princeton) joined Bravo in being chosen for the All-NECBL First Team, which honors the best players from both divisions. The All-Northern Division squad included outfielder Joe Lomuscio (Stanford), Swampscott native and starting pitcher Luke Marshall (Stonehill) and relief pitcher James Sashin (San Diego).
Bravo enjoyed the most powerful summer in franchise history as he hit .287 and led the NECBL with 14 home runs, 91 total bases and 22 extra-base hits. The Andover native and Austin Prep graduate went on a late-season surge as he recorded nine long balls during the month of July, including seven during his team-best 15-game hit streak. Bravo led the North Shore lineup with 32 RBI and a 1.040 OPS while posting the second-most runs scored (35) and fourth-best slugging percentage (.669) in the league.
Other Top Pro Prospect honorees in the NECBL’s history include the Washington Nationals pitcher for whom the award is named, as well as another former No. 1 overall draft pick in Mark Appel.
Emus won the league-wide crown with a 2.27 ERA while holding opponents to a .180 average across 35.2 innings this summer. The righty posted a 3-1 record in seven starts, the best of which was a seven-inning shutout performance on June 24 against Winnipesaukee that earned him NECBL Pitcher of the Week honors. Emus didn’t allow more than four hits in any of his nine total appearances and had a pair of seven-strikeout games.
A Brown graduate who is headed to Stanford to conclude his college career, Lomuscio cleaned up in the Navs lineup for the majority of his second consecutive NECBL All-Star summer. The centerfielder hit a team-leading .310 with 12 extra-base hits, 18 RBI, 26 runs scored and six stolen bases. Lomuscio hit safely in 28 of his 37 games, including a 5-for-5 game on July 19 in Keene, N.H. His three homers and 10 RBI led the club during the postseason.
Marshall enjoyed an outstanding second summer with his local team, going 3-2 with a 3.07 ERA, 50 strikeouts — the most by a North Shore pitcher ever in the NECBL — and just 21 hits allowed across 41 regular-season innings. The former Swampscott standout proceeded to open the Northern Division Semifinals with a three-hit complete game at Keene, which marked the first nine-inning performance for North Shore since 2010. A two-time NECBL Pitcher of the Week, Marshall pitched scoreless ball for six complete innings in three of his eight starts.
The ultimate relief workhorse, Sashin posted a 4-2 combined record with two saves and a 3.12 ERA while appearing in 26 of the team’s 50 games between the regular season and playoffs. The 6-foot-6 righty held opponents off the scoreboard in nine of his 13 July outings. The last of his four playoff outings came during the NECBL Championship Series, where he struck out a season-high five batters in five innings of one-run, three-hit ball.
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