LYNN — What a turnaround from last season.
The North Shore Navigators finished the summer of 2018 at the bottom of the Futures Collegiate Baseball League standings and missed the playoffs. But at the halfway point in the 2019 season, the Navs stand atop the FCBL with a 23-17 record and are poised for a run at the postseason.
“I think the record kind of speaks for itself, we’ve been playing some good baseball this year,” said Navs manager Mike Odenwaelder. “We’ve got a lot of young guys who are playing well, and hitting has definitely been our strong suit. But we’ve been a pretty balanced team overall, and I don’t think we have any glaring weak spot.”
Odenwaelder isn’t the only new addition this year. The Navs brought in a number of talented players — several of them local — both in the field and on the mound. Players such as Lynn’s Sean Lawlor, Danvers product Andrew Olszak, St. John’s Prep graduate Tyler MacGregor, and Swampscott’s Louis Olivieri have all made significant contributions at the plate, while Marblehead’s Beau Dana and Swampscott’s Gavin Sullivan have pitched well. Another local face is recent Saugus graduate Todd Tringale, who signed with the Navs just two weeks ago after a stellar senior year with the Sachems.
The dividends are already showing, especially on offense. The Navs have nine players with at least 15 RBI this season, and 12 players who have at least 10 RBI. Lawlor leads the way statistically, batting .328 with five home runs and a team-leading 26 RBI. MacGregor (.384) and Olszak (.318) each have 22 RBI, while Bravo (.237), Kade Kretzschmar (.333), Ben Malgeri (.323) and Dominic Freeberger (.284) each have 19.
“One through nine, we’ve got guys who can put the bat on the ball and go gap-to-gap,” said Odenwaelder. “Each of the guys is kind of unique in his own way at the plate, but they’re all getting the job done. To not have to rely on one or two guys for our run production is huge for us, and it’s led to some big numbers as a team.”
On the mound, the Navs have ridden the solid starts of Sullivan and James Flood at the top of the rotation. Flood is 5-1 with a 3.52 ERA in 38 1/3 innings, while Sullivan is 4-1 with a 4.13 ERA in 32 2/3 innings. Dana and Cam Seguin have been great options as well, as Dana has a 1.56 ERA in 17 1/3 innings at closer and Seguin has a 1.69 ERA in 21 1/3 innings as a starter.
“Gavin and Cam have been really good with their efficiency, just going up there and working the zone, which has been great,” said Odenwaelder. “James has a great curveball and is putting up some better strikeout numbers, and then Beau has done a great job for us at the closer spot.”
With all of those great stats, it’s no wonder that there were seven Navigators elected to this year’s FCBL All-Star Game. Olszak, Lawlor, Malgeri, Dana, MacGregor, Seguin and Colin Wetterau were all selected to play, while Odenwaelder was selected as a coach.
“It obviously means a lot for all of us, and I think it’s really well-deserved for these guys,” Odenwaelder said. “Every one of them has worked hard all summer, and it’s not easy playing a 55-game schedule right after your college or high school season and keeping up that level of play. I’m proud of how all the guys have handled themselves so far this year.”
But now it’s time to turn the page and look ahead to the second half of the season. Odenwaelder knows that it’s going to take the same amount of focus and execution, if not more, to continue to play well late in the year.
“I really like where we’re at as a team right now,” Odenwaelder said. “If we can just stay healthy, I think we can keep up this level of production and have a good chance going into the playoffs.”
The Navs return to action Thursday night (7) against the Westfield Starfires at Fraser Field.
Mike Alongi can be reached at [email protected].