NEWS

Javon Hernandez (Jacksonville State) homered twice, including a walk-off blast in the bottom of the ninth to lead Danbury past Ocean State in the first full slate of games of the 2023 NECBL season.

 

Danbury Westerners 7 - Ocean State Waves 6

 

DANBURY, CT - The Danbury Westerners (1-0) walked off on Opening Day in fashion, defeating the Ocean State Waves (0-1) at Rogers Park. 

 

Hernandez delivered on a 3-2 pitch with two outs in the ninth to extend Danbury’s Opening Day winning streak to seven in a row since 2015. His three-run blast in the second highlighted a five-run inning for the Westerners, but the Waves responded with two runs on a Brodey Heaton (Belmont) double in the third and three runs on singles from Drew Holderbach (Rice) and David Mershon (Mississippi St) in the fourth.

 

Billy Gerlott (Penn St) doubled for Danbury in the fifth and Matthew Graveline (Ohio St) scored for Ocean State on a fielder's choice in the eighth, to knot the game at six.

 

Both teams will be back in action on Thursday, as the Westerners will play a doubleheader against the Vermont Mountaineers (4:30 pm and 6:30 pm), while Ocean State will host the Upper Valley Nighthawks at Old Mountain Field at 6:30 pm.

 

Keene Swamp Bats 6 - Upper Valley Nighthawks 4

 

KEENE, NH - The Keene Swamp Bats (1-0) defeated their Northern Division rival Upper Valley Nighthawks (0-1) at Alumni Field on Wednesday night.

 

The first hit of the season for the Swamp Bats was a grand slam by Garrett Rice (Missouri Southern), who cleared the bases after three straight walks allowed by Nighthawks starting pitcher Jacob Lapham (Hudson Valley CC). 

 

Swamp Bats starter Cole Stallings (Stetson University) finished an impressive outing with four scoreless innings and only allowed a single hit on the night. 

 

In the sixth, an RBI single by Kevin Bruggeman (Hofstra University) and a two-run homer by Stephen Harrington (Hofstra University) cut the Upper Valley deficit to one, but Keene added two insurance runs and escaped a seventh inning jam.

 

The Swamp Bats will host Sanford at 6:30 p.m. while the Nighthawks head to Old Mountain Field to face the Ocean State Waves at 6:30 p.m on Thursday night.

 

Vermont Mountaineers 5 - Mystic Schooners 2

 

NORWICH, CT - The Vermont Mountaineers (1-0) handed the Mystic Schooners (0-2) their second straight loss to start the season Wednesday night.

 

The Mountaineers tagged Mystic starter Dominic Baratta (Belmont) for two runs in the first on a two-run single by Luke Cantwell (Fairleigh Dickinson Teaneck).
 

Mystic responded with a run of their own in the bottom of the inning, with Bobby Marsh (Penn State) scoring on a sacrifice fly by Anthony DePino (URI). Vermont extended their lead to 4-1 with runs in the fourth and the fifth, and added another in the ninth to send Mystic to 0-2 with a 5-2 final score. 

 

Vermont starter Nathan Knowles (William and Mary) went four innings and Baratta lasted three.

 

Vermont travels to Danbury to face off against the Westerners on Thursday, while Mystic travels to the Shark Tank to face off against the defending NECBL champion Martha’s Vineyard.

 

Martha’s Vineyard Sharks 12 - North Shore Navigators 5

 

OAK BLUFFS, MA - The defending NECBL champion Martha’s Vineyard (1-0) opened their 2023 season with a win at home in the Shark Tank, defeating Coastal Division rival North Shore Navigators (0-1).

 

Jayden Hylton (Stetson) homered twice and went 3-4 with four RBIs and three runs scored to lead the Sharks, who had 13 hits. 

 

The Sharks were able to respond to every run scored by the Navigators, putting up runs in every inning after the first. Nolan Nawrocki (Clemson) went 4-4 with two runs scored and Caden Shapiro (Princeton) also homered in the win.

 

The Sharks host the Mystic Schooners Thursday, while the Navigators go on the road for a showdown with the North Adams SteepleCats. 

 

Newport Gulls 3 - Bristol Blues 1

 

NEWPORT, RI - The Newport Gulls are 2-0 to start the year, downing the Bristol Blues in their 2023 home opener at Cardines Field. 

 

Newport scored two runs in the first, one on a Slate Alford (Mississippi State University) putout and another on a Michael Anderson (University of Rhode Island ) single. 

 

Ryan Andrade (University of Rhode Island) pitched five no-hit innings for the Gulls. The Blues did not get a hit off Gulls pitching until the sixth, when Vincent Bianchina (Northwestern University) singled off Wyatt Danilowicz (Louisville). 

 

Bristol scored in the top of the eighth on a Cal Parrilo (Rhode Island College) single to cut the deficit to 3-1. In the end it was too little too late as Newport hung on to win 3-1, winning two in a row to start their 2023 season. 

 

Bristol will hit the road to face the Valley Blue Sox at McKenzie Stadium on June 8, while Newport will host the defending champions Martha’s Vineyard Sharks on June 9.

 

North Adams Steeplecats 6, Valley Blue Sox 4

 

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. – The Steeplecats (1-0) defeated the Blue Sox (0-1) in the season opener for both teams. More information about this game is unavailable at the moment.