WORCESTER – The North Shore Navigators season came to an end on Tuesday night in Game 2 of the FCBL Semifinals in Worcester. The team fought valiantly against the Bravehearts, but they ended up dropping the game by a score of 5-4. The Bravehearts won the series 2-0 and will advance to the Futures League Championship to be played later this week.
The first Navigators run came in the bottom of the third. With the team trailing 4-0, Nick Falkson (Tufts University) looped a two-out double into no man’s land in left center field. Joey Pena (St. Thomas Aquinas) would then notch a walk that would bring up MacDaniel Singleton (Salem State). Singleton delivered a single that brought Falkson in from second and got the Navigators on the board.
The Navigators comeback became a reality in the fourth inning in a single plate appearance. After a Colby Maiola (UMass Lowell) walk, a Christian Cabrera (Broward CC) single, and a fielder’s choice for Nick DiBenedetto (Trinity College), Alex Brickman (Siena College) came up to the plate.
With the Navigators trailing 4-1, Brickman hit an absolute shot to left field that cleared the fence and brought home Maiola and DiBenedetto. The three run shot completed the comeback for the team as it tied the game up at 4-4. The home run was Brickman’s third of the season in Worcester and his fourth overall.
On the mound, the Navigators got a stellar effort out of their relief pitcher Conor Bawiec (Elmira College). Bawiec came into the game midway through the second inning and he was lights out for the Navigators. He worked six innings during the game and struck out four Bravehearts batters. He shut out the Bravehearts until the eighth inning when he gave up a run on a single. Bawiec’s effort kept the Navigators in the game and allowed them to make the come back from four runs down.
The Navigators ended up finishing the regular season on a 28-15 streak after beginning the year 1-12. They won their FCBL Wild Card matchup over the Brockton Rox before being eliminated by the Bravehearts. The team also set a franchise record for single season home runs with 22, and Maiola set an individual record with eight on the season.
