NORWICH, Conn. — The North Shore Navigators dropped a pair of close, low-scoring games to the Mystic Schooners in a Tuesday doubleheader at Senator Thomas J. Dodd Memorial Stadium.

The results drop the Navs’ New England Collegiate Baseball League record to 18-22, and moves Mystic to a 24-15 mark. 

In the opener, the Navs stormed back to force extra innings, but ultimately suffered a 3-2 loss after Mystic walked it off with a base hit in the eighth. 

Starter Brett Dunham (Northeastern) was sharp from the start, striking out the side in the bottom of the sixth and allowing just one run with six strikeouts. His outing marked the fourth consecutive time a North Shore starter has thrown at least five strikeouts. 

Left fielder Stan DeMartinis III (Bentley) notched a hit and a pair of clutch RBI to lead North Shore, and second baseman Luca Trigiani (William & Mary) reached base three times — on a pair of base hits and a walk.

The Schooners broke through first in the bottom of the fourth, when Landon Moran (Stetson) drove home Danny Melnick (Rutgers) on a sac fly to earn Mystic a 1-0 advantage. 

That score held until the top of the sixth, when DeMartinis belted an RBI double down the left field line, scoring third baseman Jake Berger (Harvard) and knotting the game at 1-1. 

Meanwhile, North Shore’s bullpen locked things down. Ryan Bradley (Bryant) tossed a scoreless fifth, Jake Needham (Holy Cross) took care of the sixth — including a key strikeout to strand runners on second and third — and Nick Davis (Northeastern) pitched a scoreless seventh and escaped a bases-loaded jam with a clutch strikeout to send the game to extras.

DeMartinis came through once more in the top of the eighth with a go-ahead sacrifice fly that scored center fielder Peter Messervy (Harvard) and gave the Navs a 2-1 edge, but Mystic struck back in the bottom half of the frame. 

Moran hustled home on an error to tie the game at two, and Tim Callahan (Lasell) walked it off with a base hit to right-center. 

North Shore enjoyed outstanding pitching once again in the nightcap, but struggled to push runs across in a 2-0 loss. 

Tristan Ciampa (Northern Essex CC) allowed just one run in five innings on the bump, striking out three in his second start of the season. Lynn native Anthony Mateo (Alabama A&M) pitched the sixth, notching a strikeout. 

Catcher Jacob Jarrell (Clemson) cranked a triple in the top of the sixth, and right fielder Jake McElroy (Holy Cross) added a fourth-inning base hit to pace North Shore’s bats. 

Mystic took a 1-0 edge when Sam Kirkpatrick (Belmont) reached on an error in the third, scoring Drew Kron (UConn) from second base. Then, the Schooners added an insurance run in the sixth after Maddix Dalena (UConn) lifted a sacrifice fly to right field, which drove home Caleb Shpur (Endicott).  

The Navs will return home to face off against the Ocean State Waves in a pivotal Coastal Division matchup. Both teams are vying for the final wild card berth into the NECBL playoffs. First pitch is set for 6:35 p.m.