Lynn, MA- The SteepleCats headed east yesterday in the battle of northern Massachusetts to play the North Shore Navigators at Fraser Field. The southpaw Cooper Omans (Nova Southeastern) took the ball for North Adams as Jake Gigliotti (Northeastern) got the start for the Navs.

In the bottom of the opening frame, Omans retired the first two batters quickly. The number three hitter, Max Viera (Northeastern), smacked a double into the left-center gap. The next batter, Connor Bertsch (Dartmouth), hit a broken-bat RBI single up the middle, and North Shore took the lead. 

For most of this season, the key for the SteepleCats has been keeping the opposition off the board in the first inning. This team has not displayed the ability to come back in games. The fact that North Shore pulled ahead early did not exactly provide optimism moving forward. 

The SteepleCats loaded the bases with two out and seemed poised to at least tie the game, but Hunter Pasqualini (Central Connecticut State) hit a sharp ground ball to the shortstop Jonathan Luders (Seton Hall), and he went the short way to second, and the threat ended right there. 

The Navigators scored a run in the fourth and the fifth bringing their lead to 3-0. Austin McKinney (Pacific) relieved Omans in the fifth. McKinney pitched a scoreless frame and then loaded the bases in the seventh.

Manager Austin Straub decided McKinney's night was done, and he brought in 6'8 Cohen Nies (Defiance). Nies came into the worst situation a manager can put a relief pitcher into; bases loaded with no outs.

Nies proved that Straub's decision was the right one. After a strikeout and 5-3 double play, the Cats were out of trouble, but they still had some work to do. 

The SteepleCats, for whatever reason, couldn't get the offense going. North Shore shut them out. It's not like they didn't have chances to score. They had at least one runner on base in every inning. The team just couldn't get that big hit.

One positive that did come out of this game was Justin Sierra. He started in the right field and came away with two hits. For a player that sported an average under 100 coming into the game, that's a big night.

Ultimately the SteepleCats fell to North Shore 4-0. They head to Valley tonight to face the Blue Sox. Cole Zaffiro (UPenn) takes the mound for the SteepleCats. First pitch is at 7:05 p.m.

You can stream tonight's game through this link: https://necblnetwork.com/?B=395009.