Navs Beat Nighthawks, Extend Home Win Streak

By Jason Glick

LYNN, Mass. — Saturday morning, right-handed pitcher Ismael Borrero awoke with a huge day ahead. It wasn't just that he was starting for the North Shore Navigators that evening. He also had a big announcement to make. 

Borrero, who was in the transfer portal after three seasons at Chipola College and one at Mercer University, announced his commitment to Marshall University. That accomplishment wouldn't be the last that garnered some congratulations Saturday.

That's because Borrero earned the win by pitching a season-high six innings with three strikeouts in the Navigators' (16-14) 5-2 victory over the Upper Valley Nighthawks (15-14-1) in New England Collegiate Baseball League action at Fraser Field. In relief, left-hander Bobby Finn (Villanova) struck out four across two innings, and Cam Freeman (Longwood) earned the save. 

Offensively, North Shore scored four runs through its first two innings, including shortstop Jack Rickheim's (Harvard) three-run homer. Second baseman Tyler Shulman (Harvard) and Byfield native center fielder Hunter Kingsbury (Bryant) had two hits apiece.

Borrero erased Upper Valley's first four batters he faced. The Navs generated offense in the first, beginning with designated hitter Hudson Ellis' (Oral Roberts) walk. He reached second thanks to Peabody native first baseman Danati Fronduto's (San Jacinto) infield single. The leadoff pair stole second and third before right fielder Grant Hunter (Binghamton) drove Ellis home for a 1-0 lead.

In the second, North Shore extended the lead. Left fielder Lane Allen (High Point) drew a leadoff walk and reached scoring position on Shulman's hit. That teed up his Crimson teammate, Rickheim, who whacked a ball over the left-field fence for a three-run homer and a 4-0 Navs advantage.

Upper Valley trimmed its deficit to three during the third, as catcher Nick Quagliato's sacrifice fly (Boston College) scored right fielder William Hurt (Virginia Tech). The Navigators ended with two runners in scoring position, as Kingsbury and catcher Daniel Leikus (Rhode Island) singled.

Borrero continued his strong outing with a four-batter fourth frame and threw his best inning yet in the fifth, striking out a pair in a 1-2-3 frame. Then, Hunter notched the Navs' sixth hit with a single up the middle. Kingsbury moved him to second on his second single. Third baseman Simmi Whitehill (Monmouth) was hit by a pitch, loading the bases, and an Allen walk rotated the bases with Hunter coming home for a 5-1 advantage. 

The Nighthawks made it 5-2 during the sixth inning, in large part due to shortstop Tim Dickinson's (St. Joseph's) ground-rule double. He scored on first baseman Jonathan Holt's (St. Joseph's) RBI groundout.

Finn relieved Borrero for a scoreless seventh and struck out the side in the eighth. That teed up Freeman in the ninth to claim his second save this season and extend the Navigators' home win streak to eight.

The Navs return to action on Sunday at 5 p.m. when they visit Muzzy Field to meet the Bristol Blues for the first time this summer.