Late Heroics Help Navs Sweep Schooners Monday

By Jason Glick

LYNN, Mass. — The North Shore Navigators and Mystic Schooners showcased their defensive prowess on Monday, holding each other to five runs or less in two games decided by one run or less

Ultimately, the low-scoring affair saw the Navigators (20-21) sweep Monday's New England Collegiate Baseball League doubleheader action at Fraser Field against the Schooners (22-19). The Navs took a 2-1 win in the opener thanks to a tiebreaking RBI in the seventh inning.

Game two fell into North Shore's hands late, trailing 4-0 in the bottom of the seventh and stringing together an impeccable comeback that saw it win 5-4 in eight innings.

Game 1: North Shore 2, Mystic 1

In a defensive-heavy opening game, the Navigators rode the heels of just two pitchers — lefties Bobby Finn (Villanova) and Justin Fryer (Northwestern), who combined for five strikeouts. After Finn worked the first 4.2 innings, Fryer tossed the final 2.1 en route to the victory.

While Mystic's pitching proved difficult to solve, a seventh-inning double from third baseman Tyler Shulman (Harvard) and RBI from left fielder Grant Hunter (Binghamton) propelled North Shore to a 2-1 lead it would not relinquish.

The Navs, who played as the designated road team, led off the first inning with three straight batters reaching base — Shulman, Hunter and first baseman Daniel Leikus (Rhode Island). The Schooners went out through four batters in the latter half, as they did for the first three innings.

North Shore repeated their trend in the second with a triad of walks by catcher Aidan Sengenberger (Seton Hall), shortstop Jack Rickheim (Harvard) and designated hitter Simmi Whitehill (Monmouth). Sengenberger broke the scoring open on a wild pitch to go up 1-0. After scoring the opening run, second baseman Joey Bazydlo (Eckerd) made a diving catch up the middle to save a hit and end the bottom half of the inning.

In the latter half of the third, Finn retired the side with his second strikeout of the inning. Sengenberger was hit by a pitch during the top of the fourth and was advanced by second baseman Joey Bazydlo (Eckerd) with his first hit of the season on a single up the middle.

The Navs continued their defensive dominance in the bottom of the frame, retiring Mystic through five batters, while Fryer entered in relief. Shulman walked and Hunter was hit by a pitch again in the fifth, while the Schooners couldn't garner a hit, still down 1-0. 

In the sixth, Sengenberger reached base for the third time on another walk, but in the latter half of the inning, the Schooners tied things at 1-1, as catcher Joel Collado (Rhode Island) scored following left fielder Jack Andrews' (Merrimack) single.

The tie wouldn't last long, as North Shore reclaimed the driver's seat, which they were in for over four innings. Shulman grazed the left-field line for a double and took third off a wild pitch. The Navs reclaimed their advantage at 2-1, as the third baseman scored on Hunter's single into shallow right.

Leikus and Byfield native center fielder Hunter Kingsbury (Bryant) nearly tacked onto the advantage, later reaching base. A one-run advantage proved to be plenty, as Fryer retired the side in the seventh to put North Shore back in the win column.

Game 2: North Shore 5, Mystic 4 (8 innings)

Just three outs away from shutting out the Navigators, as they led 4-0, it seemed that the Schooners had locked down the finale and a doubleheader split. 

Slowly but surely, the Navs, who only had one hit through six innings, flipped a switch to tie the game in the seventh. Rickheim, Kingsbury and Hunter all had RBI that reversed the game on its head, forcing extra innings. Rickheim delivered again in the eighth with his second RBI to complete an improbable comeback.

Mystic went up 3-0 through two innings, but North Shore's relief pitching remained stout. Lynn native left-hander Josh Doney (UMass Lowell) threw three strikeouts across his five innings of work, four of which were scoreless frames.

Mystic, which was the actual road team, began with a first-inning run, where third baseman Bryce Detwiler (UConn) scored shortstop Jack Harley (Stetson). The Schooners extended their lead to 3-0 in the second.

First, second baseman Daniel Rice III (Sacred Heart) singled home first baseman Gavin O'Brien (Northeastern), and designated hitter Thomas O'Connell (Virginia) later crossed home on a bases-loaded walk. Nonetheless, Brock Bullinger (Central Alabama Community College) struck out three across the two stanzas.

Doney entered in the top of the third, when he retired the side in a 1-2-3 inning with two strikeouts. He limited Mystic to three batters in the fourth. Offensively, Leikus, who switched to catcher in the nightcap, walked, and Kingsbury singled through the right side.

Doney and Co. erased the Schooners through four batters in the fifth, which culminated with a successful pickoff attempt, and three in the sixth. Mystic scored again to go up 4-0 in the seventh, as left fielder Anthony Ruggiero (Northeastern) scored catcher Troy Reader (Notre Dame).

With the Navs down to their final three outs, they got the firepower they needed. Kingsbury notched his second hit of the game with a ringing triple to deep center field. That scored Leikus, who singled up the middle on the previous at-bat.

The Navs weren't done, as right fielder Danny Flynn (Northeastern) singled, putting runners on the corners. He stole second and later advanced to third, as Rickheim singled to right. More importantly, the hit scored Kingsbury to make it 4-2. 

A Whitehill walk loaded the bases, which rotated to score Flynn on a wild pitch. The Navigators stayed alive, reloading the bases, as Shulman was hit by a pitch. Hunter was hit by another pitch on the ensuing at bat, bringing Rickheim home to knot things at four.

That sent the game to extra innings, when North Shore took out Mystic through four batters despite the automatic runner on the second. Left-hander Michael Cobb (Johnson & Wales) retired the side in his summer debut.

With Bazydlo pinch running as the automatic baserunner and Kingsbury intentionally walked, the Navigators converted. Rickheim split the infield gap up the middle for a walk-off RBI single to score Bazydlo, completing the sweep in miraculous comeback fashion.

The Navs continue a home-heavy final week of the regular season on Tuesday night, hosting the Upper Valley Nighthawks for a 6:05 p.m. first pitch.