Four-Run Eighth Secures Navs' Sunday Win vs. Waves

By Jason Glick

LYNN, Mass. — On an 0-2 count, Tyler Shulman remained calm. It's the bottom of the eighth inning, and the North Shore Navigators trail the Ocean State Waves 3-2. The third baseman held a tall posture with Hudson Ellis in scoring position. Easing his shoulders, Shulman ripped a ball into shallow center field for a go-ahead RBI.

Shulman's (Harvard) late single secured the Navigators (12-13) a 6-4 win over the Waves (8-17) in Sunday afternoon's New England Collegiate Baseball League action at Fraser Field. His key hit completed a comeback that started down 3-1 in the bottom of the seventh. 

The leadoff-hitting second baseman, Ellis (Oral Roberts) went 2-for-4 with two RBI and a season-high five stolen bases, as North Shore stole a franchise-record 11 on the day. Danvers native right fielder Danny Flynn (Northeastern) and Shulman both swiped multiple bags.

Revere native Jack Zimmerman (Dayton) started and tossed four strikeouts across 4.2 innings of one-run ball. North Shore caught Ocean State swinging on eight of its nine strikeouts as a pitching staff, with Koby Seelig (Columbia) earning the victory after two scoreless, one-hit innings. Thomas Mahoney (Northeastern) struck out one and induced a game-ending double play to record his fourth save of the season.

The Navs took out the Waves' first three batters, with one falling to a Zimmerman strikeout. North Shore then earned the game's first hit, courtesy of left fielder Grant Hunter (Binghamton). The Navigators rinsed Ocean State's first four batters in the second, as Zimmerman notched his second strikeout.

The Waves rebounded an inning later for a lead, as catcher Kalen Applefield (Long Beach State) singled to left, scoring center fielder Adonis Medina (Rhode Island). Zimmerman still recorded a strikeout for the third straight inning.

North Shore recorded its first extra-base hit in the third, as center fielder Lane Allen (High Point) doubled to left for his first hit of the summer. Ocean State was hitless during the fourth, and Zimmerman notched another strikeout. On the flip side, shortstop Michael Brown (Hofstra) singled and stole second. 

After securing two outs and not conceding a hit in the fifth, Zimmerman was relieved by Lynn native and former St. Mary's High School teammate Josh Doney (UMass Lowell), who ended the frame with a strikeout.

In the bottom half, three of the Navigators' first four batters reached base. Catcher Daniel Leikus (Rhode Island) singled to left center and Flynn reached first on an error to advance Leikus to second. Then, Ellis singled to left to score Leikus and knot the scoreline at one apiece.

Ocean State responded in the sixth with two runs. Third baseman Justin Hackett (Bryant) doubled home first baseman Samuel Fernandez (Stetson) before designated hitter William Mahala (Virginia) scored left fielder Brodey Bitove (Indiana) to go up 3-1. Still, Doney dealt another strikeout to help limit the damage.

At the bottom of the inning, Leikus and Peabody native designated hitter Danati Fronduto (San Jacinto) reached first. That was followed by Seelig's 1-2-3 seventh inning, featuring a strikeout.

After being hit by a pitch, Ellis stole three consecutive bases, including home, to trim the Waves' lead to 3-2. Shulman, Fronduto and Brown all walked to load the bases to nearly tie things. Seelig blanked Ocean State with a strikeout in the eighth. 

Offensively, Flynn walked, stole second and scored an RBI single into a left-field gap by Ellis to knot the game at three. The runs didn't stop there, as Shulman knocked Ellis home with the game-tying RBI. Then, off a wild pitch, Hunter scored to go up 5-3. Fronduto and Brown walked, and an Ocean State miscue scored Shulman.

Down to their final three outs, the Waves notched their final run off right fielder Gray Eubanks' (Southern Mississippi) homer to center, but it wasn't enough to change the outcome.

The Navs return to action Monday when they face the Mystic Schooners for the first time this summer at Ed Harvey Field in Groton, Conn. First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m.