BRISTOL, Conn. (June 12, 2025) 一 The Bristol Blues pitched a 5-0 shutout of the visiting North Shore Navigators in New England Collegiate Baseball League action on Thursday night at Muzzy Field.
North Shore slipped to 2-6 on the season, while Bristol maintained its place atop the South Division with a 5-2 record.
Catcher Aukai Kea (Vanderbilt) and left fielder Michael Perazza (West Virginia) each had two hits for North Shore, which finished with a 7-6 advantage in that department. It was Kea’s second consecutive multi-hit performance.
Bristol never looked back after taking a 2-0 lead in the first inning, but North Shore starter Liam Kinneen (Princeton) held the home team scoreless for the rest of his five-inning outing. The Lexington native right-hander struck out five, allowing just the two runs on four total hits.
In the opening frame, Bristol third baseman Yeudy Ramirez (American International) lined a leadoff single to center, stole second and scored the first run on second baseman Joe Tiroly’s (Rider) double inside the third-base bag. Following a fielder’s choice, center fielder Tommy Ahlers (Keene State) walked and then executed a double steal with first baseman Jack Hopko (Rhode Island) to extend the Blues’ advantage.
The Navs were unable to cut into their deficit despite a pair of hits in the second. Kea knocked a leadoff single to left and went first-to-third on third baseman Simmi Whitehill’s (Monmouth) two-out knock up the middle, but a caught stealing at the plate ended the inning.
Kinneen settled in as his second start of the summer continued, working around a pair of two-out hits in the second inning before holding Bristol hitless across his final three innings. The Lexington native righty faced the minimum through his final 10 batters, including striking out the side in the fourth.
The North Shore defense made a stellar play to record the first out of the sixth. Shortstop Jack Rickheim (Harvard) made a diving stop on Hopko’s liner up the middle and threw across to first baseman Sean Scanlon (Holy Cross) who picked the ball out of the dirt to complete the putout.
Later in the sixth, however, Bristol doubled its lead after a pair of two-out walks set the table for shortstop Luke Nomura’s (Fairfield) two-RBI single into left-center. Hopko poked a solo homer to right-center in the seventh to conclude the scoring.
John Milewski (Lafayette) pitched a scoreless eighth inning in his Navigators debut. Bristol finished off the shutout, working around hits by Kea and right fielder Ethan Wilson (Winthrop) in the ninth. Wilson’s knock was a two-out double to left.
Bristol’s Michael Belcher (Bryant) earned the victory, tossing shutout, five-hit ball through the first five innings. Ramirez went 2-for-4 from the top of the batting order.
Before returning to Fraser Field for back-to-back games this weekend, the Navs will conclude a two-game road trip on Friday night when they visit the Sanford Mainers. First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m. at Goodall Park.