Navs Shine at Dayton, Go Head-to-Head in Weekend Set

College Baseball Report #3

Navs Shine at Dayton, Go Head-to-Head in Weekend Set
March 2, 2026

Below is the third Navs College Baseball Report of the 2026 season. Weekly installments will be posted by Tuesday throughout the spring.

LYNN, Mass. — Here are the latest college baseball highlights for incoming North Shore Navigators players:

Dayton received strong performances from three incoming Navs as it won the first three of a four-game set against Ohio, with John Delgado making a memorable first start of the season in the first game of a Sunday doubleheader. The left-hander put swing-and-miss stuff on display, striking out 10 batters while giving up only two earned runs on six hits over 6.1 innings. Revere native and former St. Mary's standout Jack Zimmerman also checked in for his first two career appearances with the Flyers, which included throwing the final 1.1 innings of the game that Delgado started and earning the decision in a come-from-behind, 9-6 victory.

At the plate for the Flyers, Grayson Carpenter continued the red-hot start to his collegiate career, collecting six hits over the past week to give him the team lead with a .429 average (9-for-21). The freshman outfielder went 3-for-3 with a walk, three RBI and a stolen base in Sunday's opener against Ohio. 

There were plenty of future Navs in action on both sides as High Point hosted Binghamton in a weekend series in North Carolina. Binghamton's Grant Hunter hit his first three career home runs and scored four times in total during a 4-for-12 weekend. Though the Bearcats lost two of the three games, the sophomore transfer showed off his hit tool in a major way after taking just four at-bats at Virginia Tech a season ago. 

On the other side of the diamond, Aidan Paul was sensational in Sunday's start for High Point, allowing only two hits and two earned runs over seven-plus innings. One of those runs was a home run by Hunter. Paul gave head coach Joey Hammond significant length and was efficient in the Panthers' 4-3 victory, lowering his ERA to 3.45 over 15.2 innings this season. 

Lane Allen helped support Paul's outing with an eventual game-winning home run and finished the series with four hits and three RBI, moving his average to .356. However, his biggest play of the weekend came on Sunday when he toppled over the center-field fence to make a home run-saving catch that landed on SportsCenter's Top 10 and drew national attention on social media.

North Shore's two newcomers from the junior college level continue to rake, raising their batting averages above the .400 mark. Peabody native Danati Fronduto recorded two more multi-hit games and hit his seventh homer of the season for San Jacinto against Alvin College. Fronduto now boasts a .404 average with 20 RBI in 18 games. Chipola's Seven Alemais went 6-for-8 across a Saturday doubleheader and had eight total hits on the weekend against Grand Rapids, helping his team score double-digit runs in four straight games. 

Bowling Green's Brady Birchmeier had his best weekend against Samford, logging back-to-back games with two hits and batting in two runs during Friday's 7-1 Falcon win. The first baseman also hit his first double of the season and only struck out once in 12 at-bats. Outfielder Pauly Mancino notched at least one hit and one run in each contest, giving him nine hits through as many games this season. He earned his first triple of the season and drove in a run on Friday. 

Oral Roberts infielder Hudson Ellis went 4-for-9 with three runs scored and a stolen base over three games against Dallas Baptist and Air Force, helping the Golden Eagles beat each opponent once. Jay Slater sparked the Northwestern offense on Saturday against Georgia Tech, nabbing two hits and scoring one run.

As for returning Navigator batters, Harvard shortstop Jack Rickheim tripled his hit count from the opening weekend of his season and also doubled, scored and drove in a run in Friday's game against Rice, while Seton Hall catcher Aidan Sengenberger knocked in a pair of runs while reaching base in all three games of a weekend set at Southern Illinois. Recently re-signed infielder Simmi Whitehill (Monmouth) hit his first homer of the season in a 13-0 Sunday win and had four RBI and three runs scored across a three-game set against UMBC. Whitehill has hits in eight of his first nine games this spring.

Two pitchers from nearby colleges are coming off strong outings. Fellow returnee Cole Yennaco (Merrimack) pitched 1.2 shutout innings to keep the Warriors in a 3-2 ballgame on Saturday against Bucknell, striking out one while allowing just one hit. Northeastern closed out a 10-0 Sunday win over Grambling State with freshman Tom Mahoney on the mound for a scoreless frame with two strikeouts.

The Navigators will return to historic Fraser Field and the NECBL for their 19th summer season in 2026, with first pitch set for Friday, June 5. Stay up to date on the latest Navs news by visiting nsnavs.com and following the team on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram.