Sharks Snap Newport's Streak, North Shore Rolls in Thursday NECBL Action
North Adams, MA – Thursday night across the NECBL featured the end of Newport's nine-game winning streak as Martha's Vineyard rallied for a key South Division victory. North Shore broke open a close game late to defeat Vermont, Ocean State erased an early deficit to top Bristol, Upper Valley earned a road win over Mystic, and Keene held off a furious ninth-inning comeback from Danbury.
Ocean State Waves vs. Bristol Blues
Final Score: Waves 6, Blues 3
South Kingstown, RI - The Ocean State Waves notched a 6-3 victory over the Bristol Blues on Thursday night. A wicked fifth inning gave the Waves the lead, and they never looked back.
A Brodey Bitove (Indiana) RBI groundout gave the Waves a 1-0 lead through three innings. Jack Balcer (Quinnipiac) snatched it right back for Bristol with a two-run bomb in the top of the fourth. A bases loaded hit by pitch brought in another run to make it 3-1 Blues in the fifth.
The bottom of the fifth saw the Waves get bases loaded with no outs, and they took advantage. An RBI single from Bitove, an RBI groundout from Max Farrell (San Diego St.), a Gabriel Milano (Miami) sac fly and an RBI triple from Jack LaRose (Rhode Island (U of)) put the Waves up 5-3 through five innings. Liam Flynn (Nichols) added an RBI single in the ninth as insurance.
Elliott Eaton (Princeton) got the win with four shutout innings out of the pen with eight strikeouts. JD Costanzo (West Virginia) allowed four runs in his pair of innings pitched, giving him the loss. Bryant Yoak (West Virginia) got his first save of the year.
The Waves have themselves a Friday night matchup with the Newport Gulls at their barn. The Blues will try to bounce back at home against the Martha's Vineyard Sharks.
Danbury Westerners vs. Keene Swamp Bats
Final Score: Swamp Bats 7, Westerners 6
Danbury, CT - The Keene Swamp Bats hold on for a narrow 7-6 victory over the Danbury Westerners on Thursday night. Despite the Westerners scoring three runs in the final inning, a costly mistake took the bats out of their hands with a chance to tie or take the lead.
Griffin Enis (Virginia) kicked the scoring off with a two-run homer in the top of the second inning. Ryan Martin (Dallas Baptist) got one back for Danbury with an RBI double in the bottom half.
A fifth inning error from Westerners third baseman Ronan Donohue (Sacred Heart) brought in two unearned Swamp Bat runs to make it 4-1. Donohue slightly made up for his gaffe with an RBI double in the bottom half of the inning. Charlie Meglio (Rutgers) followed that up in the top of the sixth with Keene's second two-run bomb of the game, Meglio's first homer of the season.
Collin Anderson (Duke) added an RBI double in the ninth inning to make it 7-2. Danbury attempted a comeback, scoring a run from a fielder's choice from Kyle Garbowski (Quinnipiac) and a two-run double by Donohue. A walk right after put the go-ahead run at the plate. Jack Lutte (Denison) delivered an infield single to drive in one run and make it 7-6. However, Danbury got greedy and sent Link home, who got gunned at home by Anderson at shortstop.
Keene will be back at home for a matchup against the Sanford Mainers on Friday. The Westerners have Friday off, before they face off against the Ocean State Waves for some 4th of July baseball.
Vermont Mountaineers vs North Shore Navigators
Final Score: Navigators 10, Mountaineers 5
Lynn, MA- Late game insurance helped secure the win for the Navigators in Thursday night's game.
David Alvarez (Eastern Kentucky) started off the scoring with an RBI single for the Mountaineers in the top of the third. The Navigators were quick to respond, following with four runs in the bottom of the inning. Three singles from Hunter Kingsbury (Bryant), Danati Fronduto (San Jacinto Col North), and Anderson French (Dallas Baptist) put the Navigators up. It was a good day at the plate for Kingsbury, going two for five with his singleton the third as well as an RBI in the bottom of the fourth and an RBI double in the bottom of the eighth.
The Mountaineers scored again in the top of the fifth and seventh on a few defensive miscues followed by another RBI by Alvarez, this time a double.
Maddix Simpson (Ohio State) crushed a two run homerun in the bottom of the seventh and it was the Navigators game from there. Kingsbury and Fronduto added extra insurance in the bottom of the eighth.
Cameron Keaveney (Southern New Hampshire) earned his first win of the season, going 0.2 innings allowing no runs with two strike outs. Thomas Mahoney (Northeastern) earned his third save going 1.2 innings allowing no hits on only one run with two strike outs.
Both teams will have the day off tomorrow as they prepare to play on Saturday for some Fourth of July baseball. North Shore will head to Goodall Park on Saturday to take on the Sanford Mainers while Vermont prepares to host the Upper Valley Nighthawks on the fourth.
Upper Valley Nighthawks vs Mystic Schooners
Final Score: Nighthawks 5, Schooners 3
Groton, CT- The Upper Valley Nighthawks outlasted the Mystic Schooners 5-3 on Thursday, powered by a balanced offensive effort and a strong bullpen performance to secure the victory.
Tim Dickinson (St Joseph's U) provided the biggest blow of the night, going 1-for-3 with a double and a team-high three RBIs. Nick Quagliato (Boston U) reached base twice and scored twice, while William Hurt (Virginia Tech) went 2-for-3 and swiped a stolen base. Alejandro Puig (Dartmouth) chipped in with an RBI and a sacrifice fly, and Alex Kelsey (Kentucky U) added a hit and a run scored to keep the offense humming.
On the mound, starter Anthony Bubba (Quinnipiac) worked four innings, allowing two runs, before Jackson Caldwell (UNC Wilmington) earned the win with two scoreless innings in relief. Joey Young (Xavier) followed with two more clean frames, and Brendan Walker (Bryant) slammed the door in the ninth, striking out two to earn his first save of the season.
For the Schooners, Joel Collado (URI) homered and doubled, driving in one run, while Anthony Ruggiero (Northeastern) also went deep and finished with an RBI. Jamie Zee (Notre Dame), Camden Righi (UConn), and Justin Best (Manhattan) each recorded stolen bases to keep the Mystic offense active, but left fielder Zev Salsberg (Bryant) surrendered four earned runs in two innings of relief to shoulder the loss.
Upper Valley Nighthawks will face the North Adams SteepleCats Friday night at home. Mystic Schooners will play against the Valley Blue Sox Friday night.
Marthas Vineyard Sharks vs Newport Gulls
Final Score: Sharks 9, Gulls 5
Martha's Vineyard, MA – A battle between the top two spots in the South division resulted in a 9-5 victory for the Marthas Vineyard Sharks over the Newport Gulls on Thursday night, snapping the Gulls' nine game win streak.
The Gulls built an early lead powered by the long ball, starting in the second when Ryan Novak (UMiami) launched a solo home run.
Newport extended the lead to 4-0 in the fourth by hitting three solo home runs in the frame, courtesy of Cole Johnson (Austin Peay), Caeden Cloud (Kentucky), and another from Novak.
The Sharks answered in the bottom half with a Will Hampton (Vanderbilt) RBI double and a Jack Kamin (Tufts) sacrifice fly.
In the fifth, Hampton struck again with a clutch two-RBI single to tie the game. After an error helped the Sharks take a 5-4 lead in the sixth on a Wesley Scott (Louisiana Tech) bases-loaded walk, Newport tied it in the eighth on a first-pitch solo homer by Tristan Salinas (Rutgers).
The Sharks bats erupted in the bottom of the eighth to secure the win. Will Shaheen (Duke) hit a leadoff triple, Jackson Taylor (Clemson) drove him in with an RBI single, and Scott crushed a two-run home run to cap the scoring.
The Sharks travel to Muzzy Field to face the Bristol Blues tomorrow night, while the Gulls host the Ocean State Waves.
---
The New England Collegiate Baseball League is a wooden bat collegiate summer league featuring teams across all six New England states. Since its founding in 1994, the NECBL has produced more than 230 Major League Baseball alumni, including nearly 30 first-round MLB Draft selections. For continuing coverage of the NECBL, visit NECBL.com and follow the league on X, Instagram, and Facebook.
