.@benmalgeri (@GoNUbaseball) stopped by to chat after his 7 RBI performance for @NSNavigators in a 16-3 win over @NewBritainBees this afternoon!

His 7 runs batted in are a franchise single-game record.#FuturesLeague pic.twitter.com/3PRdDLeGZT

— The Futures League (@FuturesLeague) August 9, 2020

By Joshua Kummins

NEW BRITAIN, Conn. -- The North Shore Navigators posted their second straight win in Futures Collegiate Baseball League action, scoring 15 of their season-high 16 runs over the last four innings on the way to a 16-3 triumph over the New Britain Bees at New Britain Stadium.

The Navs improved to 14-15 on the season, while New Britain fell to 11-19 after its fourth loss in five games.

Center fielder Ben Malgeri (Northeastern) led North Shore’s 13-hit attack, going 3-for-6 with a franchise-record seven RBI, three runs scored and a pair of home runs including a ninth-inning grand slam.

Boston College shortstop Sal Frelick and third baseman Cody Morissette also had three hits apiece. Frelick scored a franchise-record five runs himself, while Morissette crossed the plate twice and drove in four more runs. Right fielder Jack Whorf (UMass) also had a multi-hit game for the Navs, going 2-for-4 with a run scored and two RBI.

New Britain used solo home runs in each of the first two innings to take a 2-0 lead. Shortstop Danniel Rivera (Southern New Hampshire) got the scoring started with a one-out jack out to left-center in the first inning before designated hitter Noah Martinez (Central Connecticut State) started the following frame against Navs starter Cedric Gillette (Merrimack) with a shot to right.

Gillette settled down after the homers and got out of the third inning in just three batters after Navs catcher Dylan January (Franklin Pierce) caught Rivera stealing second base following a two-out walk. The Swampscott native backstop threw out two potential base stealers during the afternoon.

After New Britain pitcher Ben Casparius (UConn) retired the North Shore side in order in each of the first three innings, the Navs cut their early deficit in half with a single run in the fourth. Frelick ripped a leadoff single into right for the first North Shore hit of the game before coming around to score after Morissette’s sacrifice fly to left.

Gillette put up two more zeroes before his offense broke out for three runs in the sixth inning to put him in line for his second win. Frelick reached base on an error to begin the inning before Malgeri launched his first homer out to right. After Morissette tripled to deep center, Whorf lined a base hit to right to extend the lead to 4-2.

New Britain made things interesting in the sixth, drawing a pair of walks in between right fielder Griffin Arnone’s (Elon) one-out single before Gillette was pulled from the game. Max Meier (Stanford) was summoned from the bullpen and struck out the first two batters he faced to escape the jam.

The Navs broke the game wide open over the final three innings, continuing the stretch of four straight run-scoring frames with five in the seventh.

After second baseman Jonathan Luders (Seton Hall) was hit by a one-out pitch, Frelick walked, Malgeri brought home a run on a double inside the third-base line, and Morissette kept the line moving with a two-run single past a drawn-in infield into right. First baseman Logan Bravo (Harvard) capped the frame with a knock through the middle before Whorf added his second hit in as many frames with a double into the right-field corner.

Pinch-hitting infielder Jake McElroy’s (Holy Cross) one-out free pass started North Shore’s offense in the eighth, but Frelick brought him home quickly on a triple to center. Morissette laced his second straight hit into right to make the score 11-2.

Whorf and January walked within the first three batters of the final frame before Frelick hit a single through the right side and Malgeri ripped a grand slam off the scoreboard in left to cap off North Shore’s scoring for the night.

Meier allowed just two hits and struck out four over 2.2 innings in relief of Gillette, while Nick Reiser (Franklin Pierce) fanned a pair during the final inning. New Britain did scrape across a ninth-inning run as left fielder-turned-relief pitcher Kyle Brennan (Endicott) tripled and scored on a wild pitch.

Gillette saw his record improve to 2-1 after he allowed two runs on four hits and four walks while striking out two over 5.1 innings.

For New Britain, Jagger Duquette (Wagner) suffered the loss in relief of Casparius, who tossed five innings of one-hit, one-run ball and struck out seven. Duquette allowed North Shore’s next eight runs on six hits while recording just four outs.

The Navs continue their four-game road trip on Monday night against the Nashua Silver Knights. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. from Historic Holman Stadium.