The NECC Knights defeated CCRI 10 to 1 in the first game of a three game set in Trinity Stadium in Haverhill, Mass. The Knights had Jagger Iovinelli of Huntington Beach, Calif., on the mound. He pitched five full innings only giving up one run and striking out four CCRI batters.

Tristan Ciampa of Wilmington pitched three innings of work striking out five batters and Jack Swarbrick of Haverhill pitched one inning of work to finish off the game.

Chris Bear of Boston went 3 for 5 at the plate and knocked home three Knights run.

“I was trying to put the ball in the ball and find some gaps,” Bear said.

The only run for CCRI came into the fourth inning. The Knights had 10 runs 13 hits and no error during the game while CCRI had 1 runs and 7 hits and committed 2 errors during the game. The Knights exploded 5 runs sixth inning.

“Nothing really changed, we just worked. We hit some balls early in the game right at guys that’s a problem. It’s the first time we beat CCRI since they dropped down to division three it is a very good problem and they coached very well…” Mejia said.

According to neccknights.com this is the Knights first win against CCRI since 2018.

The Knights will travel to CCRI on Saturday, April 23, for a doubleheader.

The 2022 Northern Essex Community College softball season will end before it began this year. Due to a roster with a small number of players and injuries, fielding a full team will be ineffaceable.

“We had eight young women very interested, but we really need about eleven or twelve to field a team,” Athletic Director Dan Blair said.

The last time NECC was able to field a softball team that played a full season was in 2018. That team finished second place in their division. The 2020 softball season had several talented players and started with promise but was cut short two games into the season by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Rookie head coach, Xavier Nunez was looking forward to the task of leading the softball season.” I wanted to begin building a culture in the softball program,” said Nunez. “I am disappointed about not playing but that makes me more excited about playing next year.”

Nunez is an NECC alumni who played baseball for the Knights as a third baseman in 2016 and 2017. In two seasons he batted .383 in 46 games. He currently is also a member of the NECC baseball coaching staff under Jeff Mejia for the last two seasons.

An inability to field a team is an issue that is facing the rest of the conference teams as well.

“We are in the Yankee small college conference for softball and of the six teams in the league only one was able to field a team,” Blair said.

Although the softball program has battled a numbers problem for years there is still reason for optimism for 2023 and beyond. Nunez’s knowledge from playing for and working under Mejia’s coaching staff will give him an insight into how to duplicate the success the baseball team has has had.

“It’s my hope we can retain six or seven of the girls interested and bring in another six or seven for the coming fall and really start building up the program. I would like to see the softball program succeed, we have the resources, we just need the players,” Blair said.

Every other spring sport such as baseball, golf, track and field and esports will all still be participating this spring.

The Knights defeated Quincy College 16 to 1 on Adams Field on the first game of a three game set on Friday April 15

The Knights scored five runs in the first two innings.

Chris Bear of Boston and Jared Coppola of Lynn both had a 3 RBI game. The Knights were up 5-1 heading into the top of the fifth inning as they immediately took off scoring one in the fifth, three in the sixth, including scoring seven run in the seventh as it was enough as the Knights won by mercy rule. Jayden Volker of Coventry, R.I., was unstoppable, striking out 13 Quincy hitters in just six innings of work. Four different Knights hitters also had 2 rbi game.

The Knights defeated Quincy college 8-0 in the first game of a double header. Todd Tringale struck out his career high 17 batters on the first game of the double header. Tringale struck out the side hree different times during the game — in the first, in the third and in the fifth inning.

“For the most part all of my pitches were working today, trusting my pitches, trusting every pitch to (be) executed,” Tringale said. After the game Tringale also mentioned to me that his career high was 13 before the game one contest.

The Knights defeated Quincy College 10-0 in the second game of the double header and completed the three game sweep versus Quincy College.

The Knights had on the mound Tristan Ciampa of Wilmington. He picked up the win as he struck out nine batters in five innings of work. Both teams did not scored in the first inning but the Knights scored four runs in the second and jumped into a 4-0 lead. The Knights scored 1 more run in the third 2 more run in the forth and 3 more in the six. This is the Knights nine shoutout win of the season after the conclusion of Saturday, April 16 game.

The Knights faced Eastern Connecticut Sate JV in the first game of the doubleheader on April 18, at Mansfield Center, Conn. In the first game of the doubleheader the NECC Knights defeated Eastern Connecticut JV 19 to 7 final in the sixth 6th inning in Mansfield Connecticut.

The last time the Knights faced this same team the Knights won the doubleheader during the home opener last month in March.

The Knights arrived at the field around 3 p.m. The Knights’ batters went quickly in the batting cage and started doing their normal pregame routine before the game.

Richard Matos de la Cruz of Boston went 3 for 4 with 4 RBI. I asked him about the double that he hit if he was trying to hit it out.

“Nah I was trying to stay in right field stay simple as much as possible,” he said.

The Knights exploded with 12 runs in the fourth inning and 16 hitters came into the plate.

The Knights had 17 hits in the whole game. They also committed 3 errors during the game. Alex Sweeney of Raymond N.H. pitched 3 innings, allowed 5 hits, 4 runs, earned 3 walks and 4 strikeouts as Sweeney was the winning pitcher. The Knights did not score in the second and in the sixth inning. Eastern Connecticut JV scored two in the first inning, one in the third inning and they also scored four runs in the fourth inning.

Thomas Cattaneo of Guilford, Conn., pitched the final two innings of the game, just allowing three runs, no earned and he also struck out two batters. Combined Sweeney and Cattaneo Knights struckout six batters. The Knights defeated this same team back in the home opener.

I asked Mejia if he believes Eastern Connecticut JV would change his game plan heading into the April 18 contest “ They always do a mixed, it’s listed as a JV team, what they do is some of the guys that aren’t getting any varsity inning sometimes they let them come down they allowed by rule…” Mejia said.

On game two of the double header the Knights defeated Eastern Connecticut JV 4 to 1 in five innings. The Knights scored 2 in the second and 2 more in the third after trailing 1-0 heading into the second inning.

Joseph Settle of Melbourne, Fla., went 1 for 2 and scored 2 Knights run. Dallas Vaughan of Haverhill was on the mound for the Knights as he struckout five in just three inning of work. I asked Mejia why the game ended in the fifth inning and not the seventh since the game wasn’t a knockout “they trainer had to leave they worried about getting the field rain and they got a couple of conference game going up so they conceded a victory,” Mejia said.