LYNN, Mass. (July 26, 2025) 一 The North Shore Navigators fell to the North Division rival Sanford Mainers 5-2 in Saturday night’s New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL) game at Fraser Field.
North Shore fell to 15-24 on the summer, while Sanford won its second straight since a three-game losing streak to improve to 20-20.
After Sanford overcame an early deficit to lead 5-1 after six innings, Stefano Yozzo (Middlebury) and Swampscott native Pierce Friedman (Maine) each dealt two scoreless innings out of the North Shore bullpen. Yozzo struck out four across his pair of one-hit frames before Friedman struck out three as he tied a NECBL franchise record with his 44th career appearance.
Friedman, a third-year Navigator, has now pitched five consecutive scoreless outings and worked in eight games in a row without allowing an earned run.
The Navs broke the scoreless deadlock in the third, taking a 1-0 lead when shortstop Jack Rickheim (Harvard) drew a leadoff walk and scored all the way from first on an errant throw following second baseman Conor Moriarty’s (Bowdoin) bunt single towards first base.
After North Shore starter Joseph Hauser (Northeastern) began the game with four shutout, two-hit innings, Sanford batted around and scored three runs on four hits to take the lead in the fifth. Center fielder Peter Keblinsky (Southern Maine) punctuated the inning with a two-run double into the left-center gap.
The visitors added to their lead in the next inning, which began with right fielder Sam Miller (Binghamton) drawing a leadoff walk and scoring on center fielder Brendan Sencaj’s (Bentley) RBI double in the following at-bat. Sencaj advanced on a wild pitch and then scored on a sacrifice fly by second baseman Zack Kent (Binghamton).
After drawing a leadoff walk in the eighth, Navs center fielder Ethan Wilson (Winthrop) stole second and third en route to scoring on an error following third baseman Davis Baker’s (Penn) fly ball.
Keblinsky went 3-for-5 with two RBI and left fielder Kellan Strohmeyer (Iowa) had two hits to lead Sanford. Jason Libby (Maine) pitched two shutout innings in relief of starter TJ Curley (Stonehill).
The Navs conclude their weekend-long homestand when they entertain the Vermont Mountaineers for the final time this summer at 1:35 p.m. Sunday.