LYNN, Mass. — The North Shore Navigators suffered a 16-3 loss against the Coastal Division rival Martha's Vineyard Sharks at Fraser Field in New England Collegiate Baseball League action on Tuesday.

With the loss, the Navigators slipped to 3-5 at home and now fall below .500 for the first time this season at 6-7.

“They have to keep their heads up and compete and work through it,” North Shore manager Bob Macaluso said on how he wants the team to overcome the rough stretch. “Everyone goes through a tough spot. We're in a tough spot right now, and we’ve got to dig ourselves out.”

With two outs in the fourth inning, Matt Chatelle (Rutgers) broke Brian Young’s (Rider) perfect game, lacing a base hit into left field. Jesse Jaconski (Penn State) followed up in the ensuing at-bat with a double into right-center field, scoring Chatelle from first base with the Navs’ first run of the game.

The Navigators continued to score in the middle frames as Andrew Bianco (Seton Hall) recorded the team’s first home run at Fraser Field, blasting a solo home run over the right field fence.

Despite the loss, Bianco, Jaconski, Kyle Jones (Florida) and Brady Dever (Brown) reached base safely multiple times, as each went 1-for-3 while drawing a free pass.

“As the game went on, we started the swing the bats,” Macaluso said. “It just has to be more consistent. That's the way you turn it around.”

Brett Dunham (Northeastern) got the nod in Tuesday’s contest, marking the third time Dunham has pitched against an opponent from the Coastal Division. He entered his fourth start of the season tenth in the NECBL with 17 strikeouts. He continued to climb the leaderboard, striking four batters across 2.2 innings.

The Sharks wasted no time grabbing the first run as an infield hit and stolen base by Chris Hacopian (Maryland) set up William Lybrook (Harvard) for a sacrifice fly. 

Hacopian followed up in the next two innings with a pair of two-out RBI base hits, extending the Sharks’ lead to 7-0. 

Chatelle continued his excellent defensive play. He had caught five runners stealing a bag in his eight starts at catcher, and he added to that total in the third inning, catching Mason Zambo (Louisiana Lafayette) stealing second.

The Sharks added a solo homer by Zambo in the fourth before scoring twice in the seventh, four times in the eighth and once in the ninth.

Griffin Green (Wake Forest) provided a strong inning of relief in the fifth, finishing with two strikeouts in his perfect season debut.

The Navigators will look to put their two recent games behind them as they face a crucial stretch in the season. Six of their next eight games are against division opponents, and they’ll look to get back into the win column as they travel to Connecticut to take on the Mystic Schooners at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday.

“I feel our division is strong,” Macaluso said on the team’s upcoming stretch. “So we have our work cut out.”