LYNN — With the Futures Collegiate Baseball League’s 10th season scheduled to begin next month, the North Shore Navigators are excited to celebrate their chapter of Lynn’s storied baseball history at soon-to-be 80-year-old Fraser Field by unveiling the organization’s first-ever All-Decade Team.
The top players in the North Shore franchise’s Futures League history ― dating back to 2012 ― earned spots on the All-Decade rosters. The All-Decade First and Second Teams both include a nine-man starting lineup, one utility player and nine total pitchers.
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Five members of last summer’s 30-win club landed on the First Team including the outfield trio of Sean Lawlor (Flagler), Ben Malgeri (Holy Cross/New Mexico JC) and Kade Kretzschmar (Dartmouth). Lawlor became the first Navigator to earn FCBL Most Valuable Player honors after hitting .351 with 40 RBI and setting a team record for total bases (111), while his two teammates were All-FCBL Second Teamers in 2019. Peabody native and St. John’s Prep product Tyler MacGregor (Columbia) took the starting nod at third base.
On the pitching side, Marblehead’s Beau Dana (Dickinson) anchors an outstanding bullpen along with fellow former FCBL All-Star and Relief Pitcher of the Year Speros Varinos (Tufts, 2015-16). The rotation includes two more of North Shore’s most recent aces in Austen Michel (Dartmouth, 2017) and Shayne Audet (New England College, 2018), who were, respectively, the FCBL’s Pitcher of the Year and strikeout leader during their summers in a Navs uniform.
Peabody’s Joe Gruntkosky (Saint Joseph’s of Maine, 2011-13), Derek Dubois (Clark, 2013) and St. John’s Prep grad Rob DiFranco (Bates, 2013-15) also represent Division 3 schools on the First Team pitching staff. Multi-year veterans Steve Xirinachs (UMass Lowell, 2013-15) and Miles Landry (Baylor, 2011-12) round out the top group of nine hurlers.
Landry, DiFranco, Varinos and Gruntkosky all finished multi-year Navigator careers with a 1.89 ERA or lower. Gruntkosky and Landry both played one season in the New England Collegiate League before the Navs made their Futures League debut in 2012.
While the entire outfield joined the Navs just last season, catcher Mike D’Acunti (Southeastern, 2016) and the infield consisting of first baseman Tyler Kapuscinski (Marist, 2017), second baseman Richie Fecteau (Salem State, 2015), shortstop Brandon Fischer (St. Thomas Aquinas, 2015) and MacGregor played at Fraser over four of the last five seasons.
The positional lineup also includes former FCBL Top Pro Prospect Sal Frelick (Boston College, 2018) as a utility player. Frelick hit .361 while splitting his time between the infield and outfield. Designated hitter Alex Brickman (Siena/St. Petersburg/Dayton, 2016-17) has more home runs (11) than any multi-year player in franchise history and his 41 RBI from 2017 still stands as the team’s single-season record. Frelick and Brickman both debuted as rising college freshmen.
The All-Decade Second Team includes two-time FCBL All-Star Joey Pena (St. Thomas Aquinas, 2016-17) at shortstop as well as a pair of 2012 teammates in UNC Charlotte catcher Pat Raley and second baseman Brad Elwood. The rest of the infield consists of Peabody native first baseman Chad Martin (Bowdoin, 2014-15), third baseman Ryan Muno (San Diego State, 2012), former Danvers standout Andrew Olszak (Southern Maine, 2018-19) as the utility player and Lynnfield’s Jordan Roper (Marist, 2016+18) as the designated hitter.
Leading the outfield is Tim Hendricks (Benedictine, 2012-14) who played in a team-record 130 career games and logged 147 hits over three seasons for North Shore. Saugus native Tony Serino (UMass, 2012) and MacDaniel Singleton (Salem State, 2015-17) join the two-time FCBL All-Star on the grass.
Four of the nine pitchers began their careers as rising college prospects including current UMass Lowell teammates Henry Funaro (2017) and Cam Seguin (2019). Funaro held opponents to a .177 batting average over 32.2 innings and earned a perfect 4-0 record as a Nav while Seguin was named the Most Outstanding Pitcher at last summer’s FCBL All-Star Game.
Seguin’s fellow left-handers Thomas Crispi (Columbia, 2013) and Tim Superko (Tufts, 2015) join multi-year starters Cole O’Connor (Dartmouth, 2015-16) and Ryan McAuliffe (St. John’s, 2014-15) on the staff. O’Connor posted five victories in back-to-back seasons and remains the club’s all-time winningest pitcher.
Swampscott’s Brian Burke (Curry, 2016) and Trevor Massey (2014-15) both earned All-Decade pitching nods. Rounding out the Second Team is Jake Dexter (Southern Maine, 2016) who spent a year pitching in the Los Angeles Angels organization after developing into one of the top closers in Division 3 history.
The Navs are now preparing for the 13th season of collegiate ball at Fraser Field and their ninth in the Futures League. The 2020 opener is scheduled for Wednesday, May 27. Until then, stay up to date on the latest Navs news by visiting nsnavs.com
