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Navs Pitchers Rack Up Strikeouts, Bats Continue to Rake

04/08/2024 11:45 AM

Until the North Shore Navigators assemble at Fraser Field to begin the 2024 New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL) season in early June, the team will be highlighting its incoming players’ top performances each week on nsnavs.com and social media.

Below is the seventh installment of the Navs' College Baseball Report, which will appear weekly on Mondays.

LYNN, Mass. — Strong performances on the mound and continued hot hitting were the themes of the eighth week of college baseball action for incoming North Shore Navigators, who will descend on Fraser Field to begin the NECBL schedule in less than two months. 

Returning Navigator Sawyer Duarte (Middlebury) earned his first win of the season on Sunday, leading the Panthers to a NESCAC sweep of Bowdoin. Duarte tossed five innings against the Polar Bears, racking up five strikeouts — his third-highest game total of the season — while allowing just five hits. He leads all Navs pitchers with 30 strikeouts in 30.2 innings this spring.

Staying on the mound, Brett Dunham (Northeastern) posted his second straight shutout performance, striking out two in two innings of relief against UMass in the Baseball Beanpot last Tuesday. The North Andover native allowed just one hit to the Minutemen while raising his season strikeout total to 15 over six outings.

Infielder and fellow returnee Brendan Jones (Holy Cross) went on a tear against Patriot League foe Army West Point, going 5-for-11 with one RBI and one walk in the four-game series. Jones closed his week by going 4-for-6 across the final two games against the Black Knights, hitting a double in Saturday’s 3-2 win for the Crusaders. Jones’ batting average broke back above the .300 mark and now sits at .324 through his first 18 games this season. 

Catcher Matt Chatelle (Merrimack) went 4-for-7 with four RBI and three runs scored across the final two games of his team’s series sweep of Northeast Conference rival Central Connecticut. The Stoneham native drove in two of his runs on sacrifice flies, helping the Warriors extend leads in each game. Eight of Chatelle’s 16 RBI have come over the last five games.

As for newcomers, Kyle Wolff (Boston College) stepped up for another big week for the Eagles, going 5-for-13 with three RBI while reaching base 10 times across four games this week. He was 3-for-5 over the final two games of a weekend series against Florida State after a 2-for-4 showing with two walks and two RBI in last Tuesday’s Beanpot clash against Harvard. Wolff leads the Eagles with a .350 average and 34 RBI on the season.

Back on the mound, Owen Tross (Middlebury) put up another solid outing for the Panthers, earning himself a win with five strikeouts over five innings on Saturday. Tross allowed just five hits while walking just two batters, as he pitched his third consecutive game with at least five innings of work and posted his third win in six starts for Middlebury.  

Truman Pauley (Harvard) turned in four shutout innings across two relief appearances for the Crimson this week. After tossing one inning without allowing a hit or an earned run against Boston College last Tuesday, Pauley turned in a great outing with three hitless and scoreless frames against Ivy League foe Cornell on Saturday. His three strikeouts against the Big Red were his second-highest strikeout total of the season, as he fanned four Brown batters the previous weekend.

Anthony Ehly (Seton Hall) also struck out three for the Pirates, doing so across two shutout innings in Saturday’s 1-0 win over Georgetown. Ehly allowed just two Hoyas to reach base en route to closing the game for his first career save. Each of Ehly’s last four outings have come in victories for Seton Hall, and he has racked up 20 strikeouts in 25.2 innings this season. 

Another bullpen arm who had a strong outing was Zane Coppersmith (Stetson), as he pitched his seventh shutout performance in nine games this season. He threw a clean final inning in the Hatters’ 7-2 win on Sunday over Kennesaw State. 

Coppersmith’s Hatter teammate Kyle Jones went 5-for-14 with three doubles and four runs scored in that series, hitting safely in each of the three games. Jones’ highlight day of the weekend was Saturday when he went 3-for-5 with two doubles and two runs scored. Jones, who currently leads Stetson and all North Shore batters with a .360 average, is the only Hatter with over 40 hits and 10 doubles. 

Mason Dobie (Dayton) contributed another solid weekend for the Flyers, collecting four hits with four RBI against St. Bonaventure. Dobie’s highlight came on the back end of a Sunday doubleheader, going 3-for-5 with three RBI and a walk while swiping his fifth bag of the season in a Dayton win. Over the Flyers’ last five games in Atlantic 10 conference play, Dobie has racked up seven hits with seven RBI.  

Fellow infielder Reece Moroney (Rhode Island) walked six times against UMass this weekend, with four of them coming on Sunday. Moroney took full advantage of his four walks, stealing three bases in the Rams’ 5-3 win over the Minutemen to clinch the series. Moroney’s actions on the basepaths gave him the lead for Rhody players with seven thus far, along with currently holding the team lead in walks with 14 and batting average at .295. 

Sunday was also a big day for Alex Luccini (UMass Lowell), who went 4-for-8 in an America East doubleheader with Binghamton. Luccini drove in four with two doubles while scoring six of his own runs, including slugging his sixth home run of the River Hawks’ season. Luccini’s four RBI brought his season total to 22, which currently leads the team along with his six home runs and nine stolen bases. 

The Navigators will return to historic Fraser Field and the NECBL for their 17th summer season in 2024, with first pitch set for Tuesday, June 4. Stay up to date on the latest Navs news — including further updates on current and former players — by visiting nsnavs.com and following the team on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.