Five games were played between eight teams on Sunday night, exactly one week from the All-Star break. Vermont and Upper Valley split their doubleheader, while an excellent pitching performance in North Adams powered the Steeplecats over the Navigators. The Blues fought off a Schooners comeback to stay within .5 games of Newport in the South Division, and Sanford’s pitching allowed just 4 hits in their win over Vermont.

North Division

North Shore Navigators vs. North Adams SteepleCats

Final Score: North Adams 1, North Shore 0

North Adams, MA - The North Adams SteepleCats shut out the North Shore Navigators 1-0 behind a nine-inning shutout pitching performance by Nick Hunkele (Merrimack College). 

Hunkele entered the game with a 1-2 record on the NECBL season, last pitching in relief against Vermont on July 6th. Hunkele held a 5.2 ERA with 17 strikeouts and 12 walks. At Merrimack, he posted a 2-2 record with a 7.71 ERA and 28 strikeouts in four games started for the Warriors. 

Hunkele started his night with five strikeouts, two in the first inning, and then three in the second. This set the tone for the Steeple Cats as the team gave up a total of five hits in the game.

The solo run was scored in the bottom of the eighth. North Adams’ Alex Mendes (Mt St. Mary’s) singled to the North Shore shortstop to drive home JT Thompson (Rutgers New Brunswick).

The North Shore pitcher Gus McGill (Cornell) was given the loss on the season, while Hunkele was given the win.

See Box Score Here 

Vermont Mountaineers vs. Sanford Mainers 

Final Score: Sanford 3, Vermont 1

Sanford, ME- The Mainers hosted the Mountaineers for a Sunday night matchup dominated by pitching in the early innings. Alfred Mucciarone (UMass Lowell) and Oliver Ellison (Coastal Carolina) battled it out, with Mucciarone collecting seven of Sanford’s eight strikeouts, and Ellison counting for five of Vermont’s seven. 

Bats showed up in the top of the fourth, when David Alvarez (Northwest Florida St) drove in Sam Gates (George Washington), with an RBI single to put Vermont up 1-0. 

Sanford wouldn’t strike until the bottom of the sixth, which was kicked off when Brendan Sencaj (Bentley) hit a solo home run to tie the game at 1-1. It didn’t stop there, as in the bottom of the seventh, Zack Kent (SUNY Binghamton) drove in Charlie Jones (Georgia) on a fielder’s choice, putting the Mainers up 2-1. Ryan Kolben (UMass Amherst) added on to that when he scored on a wild pitch, finalizing the rally for a 3-1 lead. 

That was all Sanford would need, as they’d take the victory 3-1. Sanford improves to 15-15, an even .500 record, to hold the number two spot in the North Division. Meanwhile, Vermont falls to 11-20, holding the last spot in the division. 

You can view the box score here

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The New England Collegiate Baseball League is a wooden bat college summer league that fields teams in all six New England states. Partially funded by Major League Baseball, the New England League started play in 1994 and has sent over 230 alumni to the Major Leagues with nearly 30 alumni taken in the first round of the MLB Draft. For continuing coverage of the NECBL, visit NECBL.com and follow the league on Twitter, Instagram and on Facebook.