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Sharks Slug Past Navs Tuesday in Oak Bluffs

07/18/2023 9:17 PM

OAK BLUFFS, Mass. — The Martha’s Vineyard Sharks scored in each of the first six innings on their way to defeating the visiting North Shore Navigators 15-6 in Tuesday night’s New England Collegiate Baseball League game at The Shark Tank.

North Shore slipped to 16-19 following its third consecutive loss, while Martha’s Vineyard earned its third home win over the Navs this summer to improve to 13-17-1.

First baseman Brandon Drapeau (Saint Joseph’s) and second baseman Luca Trigiani (William & Mary) each went 2-for-4 with an RBI for North Shore. Trigiani also scored a run. Right fielder DJ Pacheco (Richmond) drove in two more of the Navs’ runs.

The Navs got the scoring started as leadoff-hitting third baseman Jake Berger (Harvard) scored after being hit by a pitch in the opening frame. Designated hitter Jake McElroy’s (Holy Cross) grounder and shortstop Henry Kaczmar’s (Ohio State) foul pop to the catcher allowed Berger to reach third before scoring while combining with center fielder Evan Griffis (Stetson) for a successful double steal.

A pair of sacrifice flies helped Martha’s Vineyard take the lead in the bottom of the first, but two second-inning runs gave the Navs a 3-2 lead. Trigiani hit a leadoff single before catcher Matt Chatelle (Merrimack) ripped a double down the left-field line. Pacheco hit a game-tying sac fly to center, and McElroy dropped a single into shallow center two batters later to flip the score again.

Martha’s Vineyard broke the game open with a five-run second in which all nine men came to the plate. First baseman Carsten Sabathia (Georgia Tech) punctuated the inning with a three-run homer to right.

The home team scored twice in each of the next three innings, taking a 14-3 lead through the fifth. Catcher Max Kaufer (Texas A&M) headlined that stretch with an RBI single in the fourth.

After North Shore scored in the first two innings, Vineyard starter Bradley Gagen (Walters State CC) settled down and threw three consecutive scoreless and hitless frames to finish his outing. 

Pacheco’s second sac fly of the game got the Navs back on the scoreboard in the sixth. Left fielder Stan DeMartinis III (Bentley) reached on a fielding error to begin the inning before Drapeau’s single and a walk to Chatelle loaded the bases, setting up the RBI opportunity.

Second baseman Dimitri Diamant (Clemson) hit a two-out homer in the Vineyard half of the sixth before the Navs put together a two-run seventh to get within 15-6. After McElroy drew a leadoff walk and Kaczmar singled to lead off the seventh, Drapeau and Trigiani logged back-to-back RBI singles. 

The back end of the North Shore bullpen was strong, as Swampscott native Pierce Friedman (Stonehill) and St. John’s Prep grad Alex Erickson (Union) pitched scoreless seventh and eighth innings with a strikeout apiece.

Gagen allowed two earned runs across the first five innings to win for Martha’s Vineyard. Diamant went 3-for-4 with three runs scored, while Sabathia and center fielder Nathan Hall (Clemson) each had three RBI.

The Navs will return to Fraser Field to face the Mystic Schooners for a special 11:35 a.m. Wednesday matchup. Following the game, North Shore will hit the road twice prior to Sunday’s NECBL All-Star Game.