LIVE: After another bout with rain, Navs and Swamp Bats underway in Keene

Welcome to Keene's Alumni Field, where your first place Navs are getting ready for a key divisional battle with the Swamp Bats. We dealt with some heavy rain at about 5:30 PM, but it's moved through now, and the field looks ready for baseball.

The Navigators continue to be red hot on the hill, improving their league-best ERA to 1.97 after last night's victory over the Vermont Mountaineers. Meanwhile, the Swamp Bats have cooled off, amassing a 5-5 record since their 7-1 start to the year.

WEATHER RADAR

North Shore Navigators (13-6) @ Keene Swamp Bats (12-6)

Tonight's pitching matchup:
KEE: Sean McDermott (0-0, 2.45 ERA, 5 G, 0 GS, 7.1 IP, 4 ER, 24 K, 6 BB)
NSR: Adam Herter (3-0, 0.89 ERA, 3 GS, 20.1 IP, 2 ER, 8 K, 4 BB)

Live Updates

NSR 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 6 0 --- 7 12 2
KEE 0 3 4 3 0 0 1 1 --- 12 18 2

-9:51 PM: Graham grounds out to end the ballgame and Keene wins a wild one, 12-7.

-9:42 PM: Keene adds one on an RBI groundout in the 8th, 12-7.

-9:39 PM: Swamp Bat record attendance of 6,389 tonight - not a misprint. And based on what I'm seeing here, it's definitely accurate. What a crowd.

-9:33 PM: New Guy and UConn Husky John Folito is in to pitch for the Navs in the 8th. Folito joined the roster today after Peter Fatse left for the Holyoke Sox.

-9:31 PM: Trent's infield hit breaks the NECBL season record for hits in a game between two teams, and makes it 11-7. Costello then strikes out looking to end the threat after a big inning for the Navs.

Dark pictures 'r us.

-9:28 PM: What do you know - the Navs have a 5 run inning going. It could have been an even bigger threat, but Justin Little grounded into a 1-2-3 double play with the bases loaded and nobody out. North Shore currently has the bases loaded with 2 out for Derek Trent.

-9:24 PM: Ryan Boden is yanked from the game in favor Adam Kolarek. Booen failed to retire a single batter, is currently charged with 3 runs, and is responsible for the two men on base here for the Navs with pinch hitter McConnell at the plate.

-9:20 PM: An infield hit by Tyler Kuehl gives the Navs' their 10th hit of the game, tying an NECBL season high for total hits in a game by both teams (28). North Adams and Lowell combined for 28 on June 25.

-9:19 PM: Matt "Elvis" Costello drops a 3 run bomb to right center, and it's 10-4. Costello continues to hit .500 so far in three games this season.

-9:14 PM: The Swamp Bats have tied an NECBL season high for hits in a game with 18. Keene did it earlier in the year against Lowell on June 10, and Pittsfield dropped 18 hits on hapless Danbury on June 9.

-9:13 PM: Krull strands three, getting Westlake to fly out to end the inning. Time for the 10 run 8th inning rally.

-9:11 PM: They have air horns and everything. What is this, a Northeastern hockey game? The night of fun continues for Keene as Chester bloops an RBI single to make it 11-1.

-9:09 PM: These fans are out for blood. With a 10-1 lead, they are cheering loudly for their team to tack on even more, as they have the bases loaded here in the 7th. Great atmosphere.

-8:52 PM: Krull pitches a scoreless 6th and it remains 10-1. This place is absolutely packed tonight - all the bleachers and all the lawn chair areas are jammed. I'm told that Keene doesn't have an official town fireworks display for the 4th, so the Swamp Bats' fireworks show is where it's at.

The Navs lining up for the national anthem before the game.

-8:43 PM: Belcher lines an RBI double to left to get the Navs on the board. It's good to see Belcher's bat coming alive.

-8:40 PM: McDermott has been lifted in favor of righthanded reliever Tom Cote here with two outs and two runners on in the 6th. The line on McDermott: 5 2/3 IP, 5 H, 0 R (so far, but he's responsible for two), 3 K, 2 BB.

-8:31 PM: Adams strikes out the side in the 5th.

-8:23 PM: Kent Graham hits a 1-out triple but is stranded there after a K by Kyle Geason and a groundout by Justin Little. 10-0 thru 4 1/2.

-8:09 PM: Maybe I shouldn't have mentioned the Navs' league leading under-2 ERA, as Keene's doing a number on it tonight. Josh Chester just dropped another 3 run bomb on the Navigators to make it 10-0, Keene.

-8:04 PM: The 4th started promisingly as McNaughton and Costello each hit singles, but Kuehl grounded into a double play and Belcher grounded back to the pitcher to end the threat. 7-0 after 3.5.


-7:58 PM: Adams strikes out Macias, ending the 3rd and closing the book on Herter. 2 2/3 IP, 9 H, 7 ER.

-7:56 PM: This will be Adams' first outing since being moved to the bullpen after his last start, a 2.1 inning outing in Pittsfield on June 25.

-7:53 PM: Herter's done after Franco Valdes drops a 2 RBI double off the chalk in right field, fair by centimeters. 7-0 Keene. Mike Adams in to pitch for North Shore.

-7:49 PM: Cliff Hicks smashes a 2 run homer off the digital scoreboard in right-center to make it 5-0 Keene.

-7:41 PM: Provencher pops out to right to end the inning.

-7:40 PM: 19 hits, 19 singles - Little extends the streak with an infield single to the left of the pitcher's mound. 1st & 3rd, 2 out for Provy.


-7:37 PM: With 2 outs in the top of the 3rd Kyle Geason gets the hardest hit I've seen from him all year, ringing a double to right. Little's up now with a man in scoring position.

-7:29 PM: No escape this inning - the University of Florida's Evan Chambers drops a two run bomb over the left field wall to put Keene up, 3-0.

-7:24 PM: Cliff Hicks rolls a single into center to put Keene up 1-0.

-7:21 PM: Paul Karmas leads off the home half of the second with a laser beam triple to the corner in right field.

-7:14 PM: Adam Herter "continues to find the most creative ways to get out of innings," says my colleague Zander Kean. With a runner on first and one out, Josh Chester hit a chopper to short. The flip to second was in time, and the runner was called for interference, causing an automatic out at first base. If you watched last night's Red Sox game, the same thing happened with Julio Lugo against the Rays.

-7:09 PM: North Shore goes down quickly in the first, with Little, Provencher, and McNaughton all grounding out.

-7:01 PM: We're set to get underway here. The Swamp Bats have a real ACC connection, with 7 ACC guys on the roster.


-6:43 PM: This pitching matchup is very interesting. Despite his outstanding numbers (3-0, 0.89 ERA) Herter hasn't exactly been dominant this year - opponents are hitting .299 against him, and he's allowed 5 unearned runs in addition to the 2 earned - but he has been excellent at getting out of jams and keeping opponents off the board.

Meanwhile, Keene starter Sean McDermott is making his first start after five solid appearances out of the bullpen. Opponents are hitting .111 against McDermott.

-6:28 PM: It's still clear and dry here and it looks as of now like we should be okay for a 7 PM start.

-6:05 PM: Welcome to Keene, where we're facing... you guessed it... rain. We drove through some severe storms about a half hour before pulling in to the ballpark; the storms have moved through, but the rain was hard enough to cancel batting practice. It looks like another band of storms is about 20 minutes away.

The good news is that the field seems to be taking the rainfall very well, so unless these storms are really hard, we should be okay to play.

The continuing adventures of the North Shore Navigators...

On to leg 3 of the road trip!

-Can the Navigators (6-3) close in on the first place Keene Swamp Bats (7-1)?
-Will Keene's park have internet access?
-Will Coach Falcon finally give in and let the team watch The Mighty Ducks on the bus?

Answers to all these questions AND MORE! tonight on the Navs blog, as North Shore takes on one of the league standard-bearers, Keene. Mike DiCato (1-0, 3.00) takes on James Wise (2-0, 0.00).

North Shore Stats - Keene Stats

We're getting on the bus now... I hope to see you on the other side with a game post.

Travel Log: Holyoke

Ah, the former home of the Navigators franchise - Holyoke, MA. As was the case in Sanford, Maine, this felt like a different world than Fraser Field. But while Sanford had small-town charm, Holyoke's McKenzie field was, to be frank, not so charming.

The surrounding area is picturesque. Beautiful houses line a street that runs beyond the centerfield fence. There's a smaller ballfield and a football field next door, all tucked in behind the local high school. The town was clean and everyone I met was friendly.


But McKenzie Field needs some work.

The Holyoke Sox have done some really tremendous work with the field, and they do a lot of things that we could definitely learn from. They have trash barrels in the stands (great idea), they have a steak and cheese vendor in the concessions area, and their merchandise selection is top-notch. They supposedly have a dance team that comes in on the weekends. It shows in their attendance - before last night, where the gate was hurt by a rain delay, they were supposedly drawing about 1,000 fans a game.

But the stadium isn't exactly aesthetically pleasing, or comfortable. The seating area is a big slab of bleachers all clumped together on one side, the press box is crumbling and from a horrible vantage point, and the place just looks old - not in a charming, Fenway kind of way, but in a worn down kind of way.


The looming rain clouds, of course, meant that we didn't really get much of a gauge on the atmosphere, as not many people showed up.

They didn't do much in the way of on-field activities, although, again, this might have had something to do with the lack of attendance. Their PA system was really crummy - for those who attend local football games: it sounds like the PA system at Revere's Harry Della Russo field. For those who don't: it sounds bad. Kind of like a guy talking through a rag into a bullhorn. They also were another test case in my argument that we should ban "Jock Jams" from baseball stadia until they figure out how to mix in some variety. Also, hearing the "LET'S GET READY TO RUMBLE" Remix when there's less than 200 people in attendance always sounds kind of tacky.

Still, I can see why they'll probably do well in Holyoke - everything they do has a personal touch. I didn't dislike my experience, I just didn't like the field.

Concession options were standard, but good: steak and cheese, dogs, burgers, chicken sandwiches, fries, chips, drinks. Prices were a little high - closer to Fraser prices than Sanford prices - but the cheesesteak wasn't bad for $4. They also sold team t-shirts ($15), sweatshirts ($30) and caps ($15), as well as membership to a kids' club.

Next to the concession area on the third-base side, there was something interesting: a set of rocking chairs from a local furniture store where you could sit back and watch the game. Not my cup of tea, but still a cool idea.

Also cool: they had a little slot in the fence behind home plate where you could get really close to the action and take good pictures. So, here's some game pics:


Adam Herter deals, Mike Provencher swings, and an overview of the field


Graham batting, Little bunting, and Jimmy Lisowski's mom enjoying the game

Gameday: G9 - 6/18 @ Holyoke, 6:30 PM

Chat live with us during the game: email SID@nsnavs.com, josephj@nsnavs.com or AIM: NSNAVS

The Navs continue their road swing with a matchup against the Holyoke Sox. We hope to game thread this one, but our previous two destinations have not been up to the 21st century as far as wireless internet goes. So, we'll see.

Pregame Notes: North Shore Navigators (5-3) @ Holyoke Sox (3-4)
-Navs Stats
-Holyoke Stats
-LISTEN TO/WATCH THE GAME

-The Navigators took their first loss in six games last night, falling to the Manchester Silkworms 8-4. Manchester starter Nick Noblit gave up just one run, striking out seven Navigators over six innings.
-Holyoke has been off the last two nights. Their last game was a 1-0, 11-inning loss to Lowell. James White (0-1) gave up a run in the 11th to end the dual shutout.
-The Navs picked up 10 more hits last night, increasing their team batting average to .266, good for 4th in the league.
-North Shore is 5th in pitching, with a 2.66 ERA.
-The Navs are one of only two teams without a home run this season (Manchester).
-North Shore leads the league with 15 stolen bases in 20 attempts (75%).

Pitching Matchup
-Adam Herter (1-0, 3.00) will go for the Navs. Herter's first start was a victory on the road against the Sanford Mainers last Wednesday. In 6 innings of work, he gave up 6 runs, but only 2 were earned.
-Rob Gariano (1-1, 3.97), Holyoke's opening day starter, makes his third start of the year. Opponents are hitting .214 against the Fairfield Univ. sophomore.

LINEUPS NS/HYK

Game Updates

Road Trip Coverage

UPDATE: Zander and Joe are in Manchester tonight, so there WILL be full coverage, and hopefully a live blog, assuming they get internet connection.

Tomorrow night, I will be traveling to Holyoke with Joe Jasinski.

On Thursday, Zander Kean and I will be in Keene. (Get it? Kean - Keene? No?)

All of us will be taking the trip to Newport on Friday to check out what is widely regarded as the best park and best atmosphere in the league.

Zander and Joe Jasinski will have you covered for the weekend games in North Adams and Torrington.