LYNN — The North Shore Navigators are a week into their season in the newly-refurbished New England Collegiate Baseball League and, thus far (and excluding last night’s game against the Bristol Blues), have only one win to show for it.
The Navigators, who play their home games at Fraser Field, are in their second stint in the NECBL after spending several years in the Futures League. The league itself has been split into three divisions, with the Navs in the Coastal Division, along with Martha’s Vineyard, Ocean State, Mystic, and Newport. In the West are Bristol, Danbury, North Adams, and Valley. The North Division consists of Keene, Sanford, Upper Valley, Vermont, and Winnipesaukee.
There will be a six-team post-season playoff consisting of the three division winners and the teams with the next three best records.
The Navigators are owned by the Swampscott triumvirate of Derek, Jeff, and Don January. Both Derek and Jeff were athletes at Swampscott High while Don, their father, is a member of the Saugus High Hall of Fame and played in the Red Sox minor league organization.
Three players from the North Shore are part of this year’s roster: pitchers Luke Marshall and Todd Tringale of Saugus; and infielder Brady O’Brien of St. John’s Prep.
This will be Marshall’s third season with the Navs as he prepares for a postgraduate season with Stonehill College. Last year, Marshall led Stonehill in strikeouts with 57 in 523.1 innings.
Last summer, Marshall struck out 50 as a member of the Navigators, the most ever by a North Shore pitcher in the NECBL.
Like Marshall, Tringale is coming back for his third season with the Navigators, after pitching in two games with the team last summer. While at Saugus High, Tringale was the Northeastern Conference MVP in 2019 while leading the Sachems to a state tournament spot.
After a successful junior college stint at Northern Essex, Tringale is headed to the University of Dayton. He pitched the Knights to a regional title in a game played at Fraser Field.
O’Brien, who lives in North Andover, is in his second season with the Navs.
