BOSTON — Coast Guard Cutter Seneca is scheduled to return to its homeport in Boston, Saturday following a 68-day deployment to the Pacific Ocean.

The Boston based cutter transited through the Panama Canal and spent several weeks combating transnational crime in the Eastern Pacific Ocean with a deployed armed Coast Guard helicopter from the Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron.

Seneca intercepted five smuggling vessels carrying cocaine from South America bound for the United States, including the first of a new type of Low Profile Vessel interdicted by U.S. forces in the Pacific.

Low Profile Vessels are unique in that they are fully enclosed, camouflaged and specifically designed to smuggle large quantities of narcotics by decreasing their probability of detection.

The interdictions during this patrol resulted in the apprehension of 15 suspected narcotics traffickers and 4.6 tons of cocaine with a street value of $154 million dollars.

This was the third deployment Seneca has made to the Pacific in the past year.

Coast Guard Cutter Seneca is a 270-foot Medium-Endurance Cutter that was commissioned in 1987. Nearing its 30th year of service, Escanaba and the other 26 aging medium endurance cutters are slated for replacement by the new Offshore Patrol

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North Shore Navigators Come Up Just Short In 13 Inning Battle Against The Seacoast Mavericks

The North Shore Navigators battled hard with the Seacoast Mavericks in their fifth home game of the season, but they were unable to come up with the win in the end. After a long 13 inning match, the Navigators ended up losing by a final score of 2-1.

The story of the game for the Navigators was the amazing effort given by their pitching staff over the course of the contest. Starter Cole O’Connor (Dartmouth) set the tone for the team by delivering one of their best starts of the season. O’Connor pitched six innings of shutout baseball and struck out nine batters over the course of his outing.

Following his efforts, the Navigators got a solid showing from Alex Brickman (Siena) who went three innings on the mound. Brickman surrendered only one run, and  he picked up three strikeouts and saw his ERA on the season hit 2.08. Brickman also hit a long blast in the bottom of the ninth that came just a few feet from leaving the yard before it was caught by Seacoast center fielder Michael Hart (UMass).

In extras, Jake Dexter (Southern Maine) pitched a gem as well. Though he picked up the loss due to the one run he gave up, Dexter allowed only 2 hits on the day and mowed down one batter. Dexter came into the game late and also played left field for the Navigators.

On offense, the Navs just could not get enough to put them over the top. Their lone run came in the seventh inning. After Mike D’acunti (Southern of Florida) doubled to start the inning, the Navigators loaded the bases with nobody out. Mack Nathanson (Wofford) managed to plate D’acunti by grounding in to a double play, which gave the Navs a 1-0 lead at the time.

However, the Mavericks were able to rally in the ninth to score a run. And later in the 13^th, they got back-to-back hits that resulted in the team scoring the winning run. Regardless of the result, the Navigators still played a terrific game and had a chance to win late.

The Navigators will return to action on Friday, June 17 when they travel to Seacoast for a rematch with the Mavericks. The game will start at 6:35 p.m. The team will return to Fraser Field on Sunday, June 19 when they host the Torrington Titans. That game will be the New Angle Glass Father’s Day Game, where every father in attendance will be allowed to throw a first pitch. First pitch is scheduled for 5:00 p.m.