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North Shore Navigators

Playoff-bound Navigators fall to Bay Sox

July 29, 2011 - New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL)
North Shore Navigators News Release


NEW BEDFORD - With a postseason berth already intact, the North Shore Navigators looked to solidify its positioning within the Eastern Division playoff picture last night against the New Bedford Bay Sox at Paul Walsh Field. But the Navigators, despite scoring four times in the eighth inning to transform a five-run deficit into a one-run game, fell 7-5 to the Bay Sox.

Down 6-1 in the eighth, North Shore's Saulyer Saxon (Oklahoma State) reached on an error before Clinton Harwick (Point Loma Nazarene), who had a four-hit night, singled to put two on with one out. After a Dario Pizzano (Columbia) single loaded the bases, Conner Mach (Missouri) emptied them with a bases-clearing double. He then moved up to third on a single by Eric Williams (Columbia) before taking home on a wild pitch to make it a one-run ballgame.

Despite a New Bedford insurance run against reliever Dan Slania (Notre Dame) in the bottom half, North Shore had an opportunity to potentially tie the game if not for some bad luck in the ninth. Harwick singled off All-Star closer Sam Dodge before being retired on a fielder's choice by Eric Jagielo (Notre Dame), although Pizzano's second single in as many innings put the tying run at first with one out.

Mach followed with what should have gone for a clean single to left, but Jagielo was forced to hold up midway between second and third to ensure the ball was not caught by left fielder Jake Berry. When the ball fell in, Berry fired to third to retire Jagielo on the fielder's choice.

"There wasn't a thing [Jagielo] could do," said third base coach Eric Pelletier. "He was caught in no man's land in that situation. If he commits and the ball is caught then he's doubled off at second and the game is over. He read it as best he could but it's just one of those plays that sometimes doesn't go your way."

Williams followed the Mach at-bat by popping up the first pitch he saw from Dodge to end the ballgame. The victory for New Bedford marked its first win of the season over the Navs, who took the season-series 5-1.

Fortunately for the Navigators, who currently maintain the second spot in the division, the third-place Sanford Mainers lost the first game of a twinbill with the Laconia Muskrats to remain 1.5 games back of North Shore in the standings. The second game of the doubleheader was being delayed by rain as of late last night.

The Newport Gulls have already clinched the East, due in large part to an eight-game winning streak, meaning the Navs will look to lock down the No. 2 spot with three games remaining in order to attain home-field in the opening playoff series, which will begin on Tuesday.

North Shore starter Crayton Bare (Baylor) was cruising until a rough fourth inning last night, in which New Bedford scored three times to take a 3-1 lead before adding three more in the seventh against reliever Dan Duval (RPI).

The Navs took a 1-0 lead in the first inning on an RBI groundout by Jagielo after a triple by Harwick. However, Jagielo finished 0-for-5 to snap a 16-game hitting streak. Harwick also scored twice on his way to his four-hit performance, while Williams and Michael Dunster (Clemson) also had two hits apiece for the Navigators.

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New England Collegiate Baseball League Stories from July 29, 2011


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