LYNN, Mass. 一 A three-run rally over the final two innings was not enough for the North Shore Navigators as they fell 10-7 to the Coastal Division rival Ocean State Waves 10-7 in Saturday’s New England Collegiate Baseball League action at Fraser Field. 

The Navs fell to 13-22 following their second straight loss, while Ocean State bounced back from a Thursday loss in the season series to improve to 15-20 and keep sole possession of fourth place in the division standings.

Shortstop Reece Moroney (Rhode Island) paced the North Shore offense, going 3-for-4 with a triple, one RBI and two runs scored en route to his third multi-hit performance in six games. It was a strong night for the bottom of the lineup, as third baseman Tim McGuire (Sacred Heart) added a double and two RBI of his own.

Despite the two recent losses, the Navs have piled up 36 runs across their last four games.

“We have swung the bats better this week, starting at Martha’s Vineyard (on Tuesday),” North Shore manager Bob Macaluso said. “I can see it in BP, they’re starting to get a little stronger (and more comfortable) swinging the wood bats even though some guys are tired. … Reece smashed a couple balls today. He was ready to go.”

North Shore got the scoring started for a fourth consecutive game, plating a first-inning run after first baseman Sonny Rao (Northwestern) dunked a two-out RBI single into shallow left. Right fielder Ryan Gerety (Northeastern) sparked the inning with a one-out walk and then stole second.

After stranding three runners against Navs starter Jack Iannibelli (Stonehill) across the first two innings, Ocean State knotted the score when left fielder Logan Hughes (Texas Tech) scored on an error following third baseman Donovan Cash’s (Kennesaw State) stolen base in the third. 

Iannibelli allowed just one hit and one run in a three-inning start.

“Other than a few walks, he was good, he competed,” Macaluso said of Iannibelli. “They didn’t make hard contact off him. They didn’t barrel him up. … He knows how to pitch.”

Catcher Rob Butler (Rhode Island) doubled and first baseman Zach Plasschaert (Arizona) singled him home for the Waves’ first leading run in the fourth. Plassschaert provided the Waves with insurance in the sixth, hitting a one-out solo home run just inside the right-field foul pole.

North Shore got back all of the first three runs it allowed in a single swoop, jumping on Ocean State reliever Ryan McHugh (Harvard) for a three-run sixth inning to take a 4-3 lead.

In the Navs’ big inning, left fielder Danny MacDougall (Endicott) drew a leadoff walk before catcher Will Burns (Maine) reached on an error to put two runners aboard. Burns scooted into scoring position on a stolen base, and Moroney knocked an RBI single up the middle to make it a one-run game. 

Back-to-back hit batters allowed North Shore to tie the game, with second baseman Brendan Jones (Holy Cross) getting plunked with the bases loaded. Center fielder Kyle Jones (Florida) kept the line moving with a sacrifice fly to right that produced the go-ahead run. 

The visitors flipped the score right back in their favor in the seventh on an RBI single by center fielder Eric Genther (Rhode Island) and a sac fly by Butler, while a five-run eighth on just a pair of base hits flipped the score for good. 

North Shore was unable to convert on a Kyle Jones triple in the fifth, but Moroney’s own three-bagger down into the right-field corner helped jump start a two-run inning. McGuire followed Moroney with an RBI double down the right-field line, and first baseman Isaac Kim’s (UC Santa Barbara) knock up the middle brought the Navs a run closer three batters later.

“(Ocean State) put up a big spot in the seventh. The way we were hitting, being down five or six runs is a lot,” Macaluso said. “But we bounced right back, smashed some balls and got right back in it. We had a chance there at the end.”

The Navs continued to make it interesting in the ninth. MacDougall drew a leadoff walk and scored after Burns singled before grounders by Moroney and McGuire advanced him 180 feet home. However, reliever Logan Bevis (USF) was able to close down the victory for Ocean State.

North Shore will have the next two days off, with the NECBL All-Star Game scheduled for Sunday at Muzzy Field in Bristol, Conn. Navs designated hitter Jesse Jaconski (Penn State) and pitchers Will Jones (Northeastern), Truman Pauley (Harvard) and Ryan Buckler (Florida Atlantic) are all set to represent the Navigators on the East Division squad.

Following the break, the Navs will begin a divisional-heavy stretch with a Tuesday trip to face the Mystic Schooners at Fitch High School in Groton, Conn. First pitch from Fitch High School will be at 6:30 p.m.

“I want us to continue to improve (over the final stretch),” Macaluso said. “I’d like us to score more runs, bang more balls and just clean up our defense a little bit.”