LYNN – The North Shore Navigators will be playing baseball this summer.
The Futures Collegiate Baseball League has formally unveiled its plans to begin the 2020 season with a six-team schedule on Thursday, July 2. Commissioner Joe Paolucci made the official announcement on Monday.
The Navs will open their season with one of the two Futures League games on the first Thursday of July, making a short trip north to Historic Holman Stadium in Nashua, N.H., to face the nearby rival Silver Knights for the first of 12 meetings between the teams this season.
“We are beyond excited to get Navs baseball back at historic Fraser Field,” Navs President Derek January said. “Everyone involved from the league from the ownership groups to front office staffs should be commended for working to get this season going. The Navs have collaborated with the City of Lynn to put together a great plan to keep everyone safe while enjoying a night at the park. We can’t thank Mayor Tom McGee, his staff and Rich Avery enough for working with us as the new ownership group of this great organization. We promise to make everyone proud both on and off the field.”
The Navs’ home opener at Lynn’s 80-year-old Fraser Field is set for Tuesday, July 7 against the defending and four-time league champion Worcester Bravehearts. North Shore will play a total of 19 of its 39 regular-season games on home turf this summer.
In a change from the summer’s original plans, all Monday-Saturday home games will begin at 6 p.m., while the start time of Sunday home games remains at 4 p.m. The lone exception at this time will be on Sunday, August 16 when the Navs host the Westfield Starfires for a 2 p.m. doubleheader.
At least initially, Fraser Field will open at 25 percent of its capacity due to COVID-19 restrictions. The team will keep close track of bodies in seats and skip rows and seats as necessary to ensure that proper distancing is enforced all throughout the ballpark. Groups and hospitality areas will also operate with reduced capacities.
Ticket information will be released shortly.
The Futures League will consist of six teams during the 2020 season as the Pittsfield Suns will not operate. While Nashua marks the Navs’ most common opponent this summer, they will play the Brockton Rox on 11 occasions and the Westfield Starfires seven times. North Shore is also set to oppose the first-year New Britain Bees five times and Worcester four times.
The 2020 regular season will run through Wednesday, August 19. Immediately following the regular season, the top two teams in the regular-season standings will move into a best-of-three series to decide the Futures League championship.
To view the full 2020 schedule, CLICK HERE.
