Navs Readying for 2025 NECBL Opening Day in Postseason
Tournament play underway in college baseball
LYNN, Mass. — Opening Day in the New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL) is two weeks away, but postseason baseball is still the first order of business for many of the players scheduled to come to Fraser Field to make up the 2025 North Shore Navigators.
Conference tournament action takes up the Division 1 schedule this week, while other levels are already into national tournament play.
Here are the latest college baseball highlights for North Shore's incoming players:
In NCAA Division 3 Championship action, Nahant native Nick Reiser (Bridgewater State) pitched three shutout innings of relief in the Bears' season-ending loss to Oswego State on Saturday. Reiser struck out one and allowed just two hits in the outing. He finished the season with 10.1 consecutive scoreless frames for the MASCAC champions, giving up just five hits during that span. Trey Yesu earned the Friday start against top-seeded Endicott and worked 4.2 innings of three-run ball in an eventual 5-2 setback. A second-team All-MASCAC righty, Yesu was a five-game winner with a 4.30 ERA and 50 strikeouts in 67 innings.
Jack Gold's Pomona-Pitzer club played for a regional title before falling short to McMurry on Sunday. The SCIAC Player of the Year started the four-game run with a 2-for-5 showing including a triple and a run scored on Friday, and he wound up hitting in each of the first three contests for the Sagehens. Gold also had a double and an RBI in a 10-9 Saturday win over Whitworth. For the season, Gold hit .346 with a 1.257 OPS, 15 home runs and 54 RBI in 43 games.
With Division 1 conference tournament action ongoing throughout this week, Jesse Jaconski (Penn State) is the leading North Shore run producer at that level with 52 RBI after going 3-for-4 with both a two-run double and two-run single in a 7-6 Nittany Lions win over Xavier on Friday. It was his 15th multi-RBI game of the spring. Jaconski was one of five incoming Navs players hitting .300 or better for their schools as of Monday.
Stonehill will play NEC postseason baseball for the first time after posting a come-from-behind Thursday win over Long Island in which Sam Parks went 2-for-5 with a double, two RBI and a run scored, and All-NEC catcher Aidan Sengenberger notched a hit and scored during a late 13-run rally to win 16-14. Parks also homered in the series finale and finished the series with four hits, three RBI and four runs scored, as he carries a five-game hit streak into the conference tournament. He has also walked a whopping 30 more times than he has struck out this season, lifting his on-base percentage to .473.
As the regular season came to a close, Ethan Wilson (Winthrop) continued to stay hot. The junior outfielder had a great week entering the Big South Tournament, as he tallied six hits including a home run against South Carolina last Tuesday and a double against High Point over the weekend. He also scored seven runs acros the four games, drove in six and stole two bases to help secure Winthrop a playoff spot. The Eagles will face Radford on Wednesday in search of making a run for the NCAA Tournament.
Continuing a strong run of relief pitching, Oisin Lee (Notre Dame) pitched the final two innings of the regular season for the Fighting Irish in an ACC series-clinching victory against Miami. The Newton native did not allow a baserunner and struck out one in his effort, which was his third straight scoreless outing and fourth in the last five. Lee and his Notre Dame team will take on Boston College in its first conference tournament game on Tuesday. John Whitney (Samford) threw another scoreless frame against Mercer. Whitney has not allowed a run since April 22, pitching five total innings during that stretch. Opponents are hitting .178 against the junior.
Joseph Hauser (Northeastern) pitched for the second time in as many weeks since being added to the North Shore roster, dealing a scoreless inning in a 12-0 Saturday win over North Carolina A&T. It was the 24th straight win for the Huskies, who are now ranked No. 19 in the D1Baseball Top 25.
The Navigators will return to historic Fraser Field and the NECBL for their 18th summer collegiate season in 2025, with first pitch set for Tuesday, June 3 against the Northern Division rival Upper Valley Nighthawks. Stay up to date on the latest Navs news by visiting nsnavs.com and following the team on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.