ITEM PHOTO BY KATIE MORRISON
The Navigators mob Bobby Tramondozzi after his walk-off sacrifice fly in the bottom of the 21st inning.
It was a wild night at Fraser Field, as the Navigators added two more wins to their record. The Navs beat the Bristol Blues, 5-4, in the completion of a suspended game, and followed that up with another 5-4 win against the Blues.
The first game was a continuation of a 17-inning game that took place on Wednesday, July 27. The team ended up playing four innings before the game ended thanks to the performance of Bobby Tramondozzi (UMass Boston).
Tramondozzi was the catalyst for the Navigators in the affair as he came on to pitch for the team in the top of the 18th, tossing four shutout innings. With the Navs running out of players after what amounted to almost two full games on the 27th, Tramondozzi hit for himself, and the Navigators are glad he did.
In the bottom of the 21st, with the bases loaded. He skied a fly ball to deep center that scored the winning run on a sacrifice to finally end the marathon game. He was credited with not only the walk-off RBI, but also with the win on the mound. The Navigators also clinched a playoff spot with the win.
In the second game, the Navigators once again turned in a solid pitching appearance. Conor Bawiec (Elmira College) got the nod for the team and he pitched very well, going 6 1/3 innings, striking out three. He only allowed two runs and was credited with the win in what was his best performance of the season.
On offense in the second game, the Navigators got a big boost in the second inning from the third batter in their order. Nick DiBenedetto (Trinity College) took the first pitch far over the left field fence for what was his third home run of the season. On the play Jordan Roper (Marist College) and Joey Pena (St. Thomas Aquinas) came in the score and gave the team a 5-1 lead. That would be as many runs as they needed to finish off the Blues.
While the Navs locked up a playoff spot with the first win of the night, the final two games of the season will help determine their seeding. The team has gone 27-14 since starting the season with a 1-12 record, and its won eight of its last 10 games.
The Navigators will return to action on Fraser Field for Firework Friday on August 5 at 7:00 p.m. They will take on the Seacoast Mavericks in the first game of a home-and-home series to close the regular season.