ITEM FILE PHOTO
Alex Carballo hit two home runs during the Navigators’ first-ever home run derby to decide an extra-inning game.
By EMMANUEL DEJESUS CAPELLAN
The North Shore Navigators fell to the Martha’s Vineyard Sharks on Saturday night before rebounding with a 11-8 win against the Worcester Bravehearts the next day. With this weekend’s decisions, the Navigators improve to 2-11 on the young season.
On Saturday evening, the Navigators made franchise history in the 9-8 loss as they participated in their first ever extra-inning home run derby contest to decide the winner. In the home run derby, the Sharks beat the Navigators, 7-6 to earn the full two points while the Navigators received one point.
Things started off strong for the Navigators as in the first inning Tyler Kapuscinski (Marist) drove in Joey Pena (St. Thomas Aquinas) to give the Navs an early 1-0 lead.
The Sharks came back and took the lead in the second thanks to a 4-run inning. Blake Frampton (Trinity) smacked an RBI single scoring Owen Taylor (Kansas). Later in the inning, Jack Zagaja (New Haven) laced a three-run home run scoring Frampton and Hardman, making it 4-1 after two innings.
The Navigators came right back with four runs of their own in the fourth inning. Jeff Mejia (UMass Lowell) got things started when he laced an RBI single scoring Brad Douglas (Rhode Island) to cut into the Sharks’ lead. Later in the inning, Daane Berezo (Virginia Commonwealth) crushed a three-run home run to give the Navs a 5-4 lead.
After the Sharks tied the game 5-5, the Navigators came back and took the lead in the sixth inning. Mejia again singled Douglas in to score, which made it a 6-5 game. Later in the inning Ted Leathersich (Umass Lowell) scored on an RBI groundout, increasing the Navs’ lead to 7-5. Douglas added to the lead with a sacrifice fly.
After the Sharks pushed across a run in the bottom of the eighth inning, the Navs held a 8-6 lead heading into the bottom of the ninth. After the Sharks were able to get a runner on, the Navigators surrendered a two-out, two-strike, game-tying home run to Phillip Clarke (Vanderbilt).
After a scoreless 10th inning, the Martha’s Vineyard Sharks and North Shore Navigators settled the game with a home run derby. Alex Brickman (Siena) connected with four long balls while fellow teammate Alex Carballo (Broward) added two more, but that wasn’t enough as Hunter Sheppard (Catawba) and Travis Collins (U of Albany) combined for seven long balls which propelled the Sharks to the victory.
The Navigators rebounded on Sunday with a 11-8 victory against the Worcester Bravehearts at Fitton Field in Worcester.
After Worcester grabbed an early lead in the bottom of the first inning, Brickman got the Navigators on the board with a solo home run on the first pitch of the second inning.
The Sharks continued to chip away at Navs starter Evan Glew (Franklin Pierce) as they pushed across single runs in the second and third innings to give the Bravehearts a 3-1 lead. The Navigators kept fighting back and eventually grabbed the lead in the top of the fifth inning, when Pena started the scoring for the Navs with an RBI single. Nick Falkson (Tufts) followed with an RBI walk and Brickman added an RBI grounder that gave the Navs a 4-3 lead.
The Bravehearts came right back in the bottom half of the inning as Trevor Jensen continued his big day at the plate with an RBI double. Later in the inning, Greg Kocinski (Marist) followed with a 2-run single, giving the Bravehearts a 6-4 after 5 innings.
The Navigators took the lead right back in the top of the sixth. An error from the Bravehearts shortstop allowed Leathersich to score. After a RBI single from Pena, Falkson added his own RBI single to the rally that gave the Navs a 7-6 lead.
Just as the Navigators thought they had momentum, the Bravehearts took the lead right back. In the bottom of the sixth inning, Worcester got two runs back and took the lead.
The Navigators exploded for four runs in the ninth. Brickman smacked a two-run homer to give the Navs a 9-8 lead. Not to be outdone, Kapuscinski stepped up next and launched a home run of his own. The Navs would tack on one more run and then closed the door in the bottom half of the inning to preserve the 11-8 victory.
The Navs take on the Nashua Silver Knights Tuesday night at Fraser Field. First pitch is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.