Thursday night officially marks 10 days since the start of the 2025 NECBL season, and 10 teams were in action tonight. Upper Valley rode a seven-run second inning to a dominant 12-1 win over North Adams. Keene’s pitching held Sanford to just five hits for their league-leading sixth win of the season. An early start for Mystic powered them past Martha’s Vineyard. Bristol’s pitching led to a shutout as they toppled North Shore. A seventh-inning surge gave Danbury the win over Vermont.

Vermont Mountaineers vs. Danbury Westerners

Final Score: Danbury 13, Vermont 4

Danbury, CT – The Danbury Westerners dominated the Vermont Mountaineers 13-4 behind a six-run seventh inning. The Mountaineers got on the board in the first inning when Conlon Daniel (Wright State) took a pitch deep for a solo home run. The Westerners were quick to respond in the bottom of the first when Michael Stellrecht (Binghamton) sacrificed an at-bat to score Garrett Larsen (Yale). The Westerners added to their lead in the bottom of the second, Michael Iannazzo (Maryland College Park) singled to score Gavin Donohue (Sacred Heart). The Westerners continued their streak of unanswered runs in the fourth when Teddy Cashman (Lafayette) smacked an RBI single. 

The Mountaineers were able to respond in the fifth inning with a Tank Yaghoubi (Elon) RBI single. They added to the answers in the sixth when Daniel was able to find his way around the bases again. Jack Rollo (Denison) sent a ball for a sacrifice fly, scoring Braeden Smith (Charleston). 

The Westerners added on two more runs in the sixth inning when Gabriel Tirado (UConn) sent a ball over the outfield fence for a two-run shot. The Westerners’ bats kept going in the bottom of the seventh, scoring six runs. The scoring started with a Matthew McIntire (New Haven) RBI single. Michael Steelrecth then walked home, and Gabriel Tirado knocked in two base runners with a double. The inning was capped off by a passed ball, scoring Tirado.

The Westerners added two more runs to their lead in the bottom of the eighth. Larsen and Stellrecht scored on an error and a sacrifice fly. 

Westerner’s pitcher Nick Murphy (Central Connecticut) was issued the win, and the Mountaineers’ ace Joshua Rivera (Salisbury) was credited with the loss. 

The Westerners are back in action Saturday after a break to take on cross-town rival Bristol Blues at home. The Vemront Mountaineers travel to Bristol to take on the Blues Friday night. 

Box Score

Keene SwampBats vs. Sanford Mainers

Final Score: Sanford 3, Keene 6

Sanford, ME – The Keene SwampBats added to their division lead with a 6-3 victory over the hometown Mainers, improving to a league-best 6-1 record. The win comes off a stellar pitching performance, allowing only five hits. 

The SwampBats started the scoring off early in the third inning. Jack Herring (East Carolina) grounded a ball to the shortstop, allowing Ty Mainolfi (Dayton) to cross home plate. Keene continued the scoring in the fourth inning, tacking on two runs to their lead. Mainolif singled to bring home Nicholas Romano (Florida Atlantic). Michael O’Brien (Mississippi State) hit into a sacrifice out, which scored Zach Thompson (Mercer) from third. In the sixth, O’Brien knocked in two runs with a double to center field. 

The Mainers struck back in the bottom of the sixth, cutting the SwampBat Lead to two. Jack Toomey (Boston College) singled to drive in Zach Kent (SUNY Binghamton) and Charlie Jones (Georgia). Trey King (Georgia) then crossed home plate due to a Sam Miller (Binghamton) single. Keene was able to stop the Mainers' comeback, scoring a run when Dylan Cupp (Mississippi State) crossed home plate, sealing the victory for Keene.

The SwampBats' ace, Kyle Peters (UConn), was credited with the win. Fellow SwampBat Jake Hooker (Xavier) was given the save and Mainers’ pitcher Connor Ball (Alabama Tuscaloosa) was issued the loss.

The Keene SwampBats return home to face the Upper Valley Nighthawks on Friday night. The Sanford Mainers will continue their homestand when they host the North Shore Navigators Friday night.

Box Score

Bristol Blues vs North Shore Navigators

Final Score: Blues 5, Navigators 0

Bristol, CT – The Bristol Blues blanked the North Shore Navigators 5-0 Wednesday night at Muzzy Field, thanks to a dominant team effort on the mound and timely run production early and late. The win pushes Bristol to 5-2 on the season while North Shore drops to 2-6.

Bristol jumped out to an early lead in the bottom of the first. After Yeudy Ramirez (American International) led off with a single and stole second, Joe Tiroly (Rider) doubled to left field to bring him home. Later in the inning, Jack Hopko (Rhode Island) reached on a fielder’s choice and eventually came around to score on a series of wild pitches and a stolen base, giving the Blues a 2-0 lead.

After two scoreless frames, the Blues struck again in the bottom of the sixth. A combination of walks, wild pitches, and clutch hitting helped Bristol tack on two more runs. Luke Nomura (Fairfield) drove in a run with a single, and Gianno Merlonghi (Central Connecticut State) crossed the plate on a passed ball, extending the lead to 4-0.

The only long ball of the game came off the bat of Hopko, who launched a solo home run to left in the seventh, giving Bristol a comfortable 5-0 cushion.

The Navigators struggled to capitalize on baserunners all game long, stranding 11 while managing just seven hits. North Shore threatened in the ninth after a single by Jaydon Aukai Kea (Vanderbilt) and a double by Ethan Wilson (Winthrop), but a heads-up relay from the Bristol outfield cut down Kea at home and ended the game.

Michael Belcher (Bryant) earned the win for Bristol, spinning five shutout innings and striking out five. Devin Wolff (UConn) collected the save with a clean ninth. North Shore starter Liam Kinneen (Princeton) took the loss, giving up 2 runs over five innings of work.

Bristol will look to continue their strong form on Friday night when they host the Vermont Mountaineers. North Shore will try to regroup on the road against the Sanford Mainers on Friday night.

Box Score

Upper Valley Nighthawks vs. North Adams Steeplecats 

Final Score: Upper Valley 12, North Adams 1

Hartford, VT – The Nighthawks hosted the Steeplecats on Thursday night, providing fans with an offensive show. The Steeplecats were able to get on the board first when JT Thompson (Rutgers-New Brunswick) scored on a wild pitch to quickly put North Adams up, 1-0. In the bottom of the inning, Ryan Preisano (Wake Forest) answered right back for Upper Valley when he hit a sac fly to tie the game at one apiece. 

The bottom of the second would prove to be a huge inning for the Nighthawks, as Kyle Neri (Rider) would kick things off by walking in the go-ahead run to make it 2-1. Anthony Greco (William & Mary) hit a two-run single with the bases loaded to increase the lead to 4-1. Ryan Preisano (Wake Forest) joined the rally with an RBI single, driving in run number five, followed by Michael Trommer (Bucknell) hitting a two-RBI single to make it 7-1. Cameron Boardman (Hartford) would cap things off with an RBI single of his own to make the score 8-1 Nighthawks after two. 

In the bottom of the sixth, Upper Valley kept the momentum going. Ryan Preisano (Wake Forest) grounded into a fielder’s choice to drive in a run and make it 9-1. Michael Trommer (Bucknell) walked in a run, and then Cameron Boardman (Hartford) and Anthony Brotz (Marist) both hit RBI singles to put the Nighthawks up 12-1 after six innings of play, and that’s how the game would end.

The Nighthawks’ pitching shut down the Steeplecats, tallying for nine total strikeouts with SP Joseph Chambers (Dartmouth) accounting for five. 

Upper Valley heads to Keene to take on the SwampBats tomorrow at 6:35pm, while the Steeplecats take a day off before heading to South Kingston to play the Waves on Saturday, June 14th.

Box Score

Mystic Schooners vs. Martha’s Vineyard Sharks

Final Score: Mystic 8, Martha’s Vineyard 6

Mystic, CT – The Schooners hosted the Sharks for an action-packed matchup full of offense. The Sharks got things started at the top of the second inning when Jamal George (Texas A&M) hit a sacrifice fly to put Martha’s Vineyard on the board first, 1-0. Brayden Martin (Maryland-College Park) and Jackson Miller (Mississippi) both followed with their respective RBI singles to drive in runs two and three, and quickly put the Sharks up 3-0. 

In the bottom of the inning, Scott Penny (Rhode Island) put Mystic on the board with an RBI single to make the score 3-1. In the third,