LYNN — The North Shore Navigators’ three-game losing streak came to an end Friday night at Fraser Field as three runs over the first two innings were more than enough for a 6-2 win over the visiting Bristol Blues in Futures Collegiate Baseball League action at Fraser Field.
North Shore improved to 14-22 with the victory in the second game of its current three-day homestand. Bristol slipped to 20-17 after entering the day on a three-game win streak.
Center fielder Sal Frelick (Boston College) went 3-for-4 with two runs scored and one RBI to lead North Shore’s offense, while right fielder George Sutherland (Cochise) and first baseman Corey DiLoreto (Northeastern) each had two hits. Shayne Audet (New England College) pitched five innings of shutout ball for his third win of the summer.
Despite striking out four times against Bristol starter Emmet Sheehan (Boston College) in the first inning, the Navs took a 2-0 lead as Frelick continued his All-Star summer with a leadoff triple deep into the left field corner and scored as Sutherland ripped a two-run double to center field four batters later.
That would be all the offense North Shore would need to support Audet, who dealt five innings of four-hit ball after also being selected to play in next Tuesday’s FCBL All-Star Game earlier in the day. Audet pitched with runners aboard in four of his five frames but worked around trouble to hold the Blues scoreless and strike out seven.
The Navs added another run in the second as Frelick hit an RBI single through the right side to score shortstop Andrew Olszak (Southern Maine) after drawing a leadoff walk. Thus, Sheehan was tagged with his second loss of the summer despite striking out seven over his four innings of four-hit, three-run work.
Sheehan faced the minimum over the third and fourth before the Navs scored three times against Bristol reliever Casey Elbin (WVU Tech) in a fifth inning that began with a Frelick walk and second baseman Joey Murphy (Saint Joseph’s of Maine) being hit by a pitch.
After third baseman Elias Varinos (Tufts) laid down a sacrifice bunt that resulted in the inning’s first run, designated hitter JP Knight (Tufts) hit a two-run double and DiLoreto added his first run-scoring hit in five games with a single through the left side two batters later.
Reliever Matt Demma (St. Joseph’s of Maine) worked through two innings of two-run ball despite allowing Bristol’s first run of the game to score on a balk in the seventh.
Beverly native Spencer Brown (Northern Essex CC) made a scoreless Navs pitching debut in the eighth, but the Blues cut into their deficit again on center fielder Richard Brereton’s (Emory) single to right in the following frame. Brock Riley (Salem State) allowed three hits and the one run but finished the game without any further damage, striking out one.
For Bristol, third baseman Alex Loparco (Western New England) went 3-for-5, and shortstop Ian Ostberg (Quinnipiac) had a 2-for-5 night and scored.
Earlier today, Audet, Frelick, and outfielder Michael Wynne (Wofford) were selected as FCBL All-Stars. Murphy, who entered the day with the eighth-best average in the FCBL, is North Shore’s All-Star Fan Vote representative. Links to vote through this weekend can be found on the Navs’ Facebook and Twitter pages.
The same teams return to the same place to play a pair of seven-inning games on Saturday. First pitch of a doubleheader between the Navs and Blues is set for 5 p.m.