The North Shore Navigators completed their Connecticut road trip the same way they started it: with a victory, defeating the Bristol Blues on Sunday afternoon, 11-3.
The Navigators’ offense was out in full force on Sunday. In the last two games, the lineup has combined to outscore their opponents by a total of 27-3. The Navigators scored eight of their 11 runs in the last four innings.
The Navs broke a 3-3 tie in sixth inning. St. Thomas Aquinas product Joey Pena singled in a run to put the Navs up, 4-3.
After that, they continued to pile on runs. In the seventh inning, Pena was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to make it 5-3. He did damage in the eighth inning as well, when he cracked a two-run double that scored Conor Bawiec (Elmira College) and Christian Cabrera (Broward CC), making the game 9-3. Overall on the day, Pena went 2-for-5 and led the team with four RBIs.
The Navigators tacked on a couple more runs in the ninth inning thanks to an RBI single by Nick DiBenedetto (Trinity College) and an RBI groundout by Alex Brickman (Siena College). With the 11-3 lead, Sean O’Neill (Brandeis University) came on to close the game and sent the Blues down 1-2-3 to clinch the victory.
Another Navigator of note on offense was Jordan Roper (Marist College). Roper went 2-for-5, walked and scored two runs. He improved his average to a team-leading .345.
The Navigators got a superb effort out of their relief pitcher Brian Burke (Curry College). Burke went 3 2/3 innings after a solid performance by starter Bobby Tramondozzi (UMass Boston). In his three-plus innings of work, Burke was dominant. He did not allow a hit to the Blues, struck out three batters, and notched the win. He really took over after coming into a tie game, and he allowed the Navigators to build their late lead.
The Navigators will return to action on Tuesday, July 26 when they take on the Blues in Bristol once again. First pitch is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. The Navs will then return to Fraser Field on Wednesday, July 24 to take on the Blues once again at 7:00 p.m.