Navs Blank SteepleCats Saturday

By Jason Glick

Halfway through play on Saturday, it was a defensive masterclass. The North Shore Navigators and North Adams SteepleCats shared just one hit, and their pitchers dealt nine combined strikeouts through four and a half innings. But a line-drive single to center by Navs catcher Aidan Sengenberger (Seton Hall) at the bottom of the fifth set the stage for an influx of runs.

Sengenberger jumpstarted a three-run fifth inning, which propelled the Navigators (8-11) past the SteepleCats (4-13) in a 4-0 victory in New England Collegiate Baseball League action at Fraser Field. He had a team-high two hits, while Byfield native center fielder Hunter Kingsbury (Bryant) had a pivotal two-RBI triple.

North Shore starting pitcher John Hegarty (Cornell) struck out four across five innings of one-hit, shutout baseball. All four relievers recorded at least one strikeout, including closer Cam Freeman (Longwood), who struck out three in the ninth.

North Shore held strong at the top of the first, retiring North Adams' first three batters, which included Sengenberger catching a runner stealing. The Navs earned two baserunners in the bottom of the frame, as right fielder Grayson Carpenter (Dayton) walked and shortstop Hudson Ellis (Oral Roberts) was hit by a pitch before stealing second.

Hegarty and the Navs rinsed the SteepleCats through four batters in the second and third innings, only allowing two runners on base throughout the span. He then retired the side in order in the fourth, including his first strikeout, and worked around a walk to strike out three in the fifth. 

With two outs, the Navigators rose to the occasion in the bottom of the fifth. Sengenberger ripped a single through the middle. Second baseman Simmi Whitehill (Monmouth) walked to give the Navs a runner in scoring position. 

Kingsbury swung at his first pitch, lofting a ball toward the right-field fence for a triple, scoring Sengenberger and Whitehill and giving himself a team-high 10 RBI this season. Carpenter also connected on his first pitch to bring Kingsbury home and secure a 3-0 advantage, finally breaking the game open.

Revere native and former St. Mary's left-hander Jack Zimmerman (Dayton) relieved Hegarty in the sixth and continued the shutout. He tossed a pivotal strikeout on a full count, and on that pitch, Sengenberger halted a stolen base attempt to close the half inning. Ellis, who entered Saturday with a team-high .367 average, reached base for the second time with a single in the bottom of the frame.

Next, it was right-hander Koby Seelig's (Columbia) turn out of the bullpen, and he also threw a strikeout during a scoreless and hitless seventh. On the flip side, Sengenberger sparked yet another scoring inning with a single up the middle. Once again, Whitehill advanced him on a double down the right-field line. Sengenberger crossed home off a balk to go up 4-0.

For the third straight inning, a Navigators reliever tossed a strikeout, and that was left-hander Cameron Keaveney (Northeastern) in the eighth, as part of a 1-2-3 frame. That teed Freeman up for a game-sealing, three-strikeout ninth inning.

The Navs and SteepleCats meet again on Sunday as they play a doubleheader at Joe Wolfe Field. First pitch in the first of two, seven-inning games is set for 2 p.m.