All posts by Jose Rodriguez, Editor-in-Chief / Sports Editor

Knights baseball extend their winning streak to nine straight

On April 2 the Knights traveled to Worcester for a double header against Qunsigamond Community College.

The first pitch was at 11:55 a.m. The Knights won game 1 of the doubleheader 5-2.

The Knights also won the first game of the series on Friday.

“It is always important to get off to a good start. Whenever you can win game 1 it puts you in a driver’s seat of a series. Certainly it was good to get game 1 in,” Coach Jeff Mejia said.

Steven Thomas of Worcester for Quinsigamond was on the mound. The Knights Nick Panzini of Methuen led off the game with a walk. Chris Bear of Boston ground out for a double play. Nicholas White of Townsend ground out to shortstop. The Knights went quiet in the first.

Knights in action against  Quinsigamond Community College
Knights in action against Quinsigamond Community College Photo by Editor-in-Chief/ Sports Editor Jose Rodriguez

The Knights had Alex Sweeney of Raymond, N.H., on the mound. Jose Curet of Worcester groundout to Clay Campbell of Goffstown, N.H., for the first out of the inning. Neyffi Sanchez of Worcester hit a single to right field. Thomas hit a fly ball to the center fielder Joseph Settle of Melbourne, Fla., for the second out. Sanchez stole second. Colin Fitzgerald of Auburn hit the ball to the opposite field to right field to end the inning. Both teams were scoreless in the first.

In the second inning Jared Coppola of Lynn struck out looking for the first out of the inning. Joseph Settle flew out to center for the second out. Richard Matos De La Cruz of Boston in his first at bat of the game after missing a few games due to an injury hit an opposite field double off the wall on a 3-2 count.

“Great great just having him back let’s see how he feels tomorrow and if he feels good tomorrow he will be hitting BP (batting practice) on Monday and he will be good to go,” Mejia said.

The Knights had runners in scoring position for Campbell flied out to the left fielder for the third out of the inning. Sweeney walked the first two batters and struck out the next two batters. Sweeney escaped out of trouble as Quinsigamond did not score.

In the third inning Luis Colon of Lawrence ground out to the pitcher for the first out of the inning. Kyle Hsu of Brookline hit a double off the wall and the Knights had a runner in scoring position with one out.

A few pitches later Hsu got caught stealing at third. Panzini walked and stole second. Bear was at the plate when there was an error by the shortstop. He didn’t grab the ball cleanly and he saw Panzini was heading home. Panzini stopped and the shortstop threw the ball at third and Panzini was in a run down. He managed to score on a throwing error by the third baseman.

Bear went to third. White hit an RBI single and he stole second while Coppola was at the plate. The left fielder misread the ball because of the sun and White scored from second and Coppola was on second when Settle flied out to the second baseman. The Knights scored 3 runs and they were up 3-0.

Sweeney walked Jose Curet of Worcester. Curet stole second and Sweeney walked Sanchez, leading off the 3rd inning walking the first two batters he faced. Mejia went to the mound to control his pitcher.

Thomas was batting when Sanchez stole second. Quinsigamond had runners in scoring positions on second and third when Sweeney left a pitch up and Thomas hit a single to left that scored two runs. An error by Panzini in left field allowed the bases to be loaded for Quinsigamond. Sweeney struck out Luis

Rodriguez of Maynard swinging. Brandon Hart of Spencer was at the plate when he hit a ground ball to first that Quinsigamond traded an out for a run.

Quinsigamond reloaded the bases when Benjamin Borrero of Worcester walk edand Jordan Molina of Webster struck out and Quinsigamond left the bases loaded. The Knights were up 3-2 heading to the fourth inning.

In the fourth inning Matos De La Cruz struck out looking, Campbell hit an opposite field single in front of the left fielder. The pitcher had really close eyes on Campbell as he was threatening to steal. The Knights had the hit and run. Campbell was going to second while Colon hit a ground ball to the shortstop. The shortstop threw the ball to first for the first out of the inning. A throwing error by the catcher when he throw the ball to third while Campbell was going allowed him to score and the Knights were up 4-2 when Hsu hit a line drive up the middle. Panzini grounded out to first to end the top of the inning.

The Knights had a new pitcher Tristan Ciampa of Wilmington. Ciampa struck out Mick Sullivan of Dudley in three pitches. Curet hit a ground ball to the pitcher. Ciampa under handed threw the ball to first for the second out of the inning. He walked Sanchez and he stole second. Thomas ground out to White for the third out.

In the fifth inning, Bear was at the plate when he hit a line drive to the first baseman for the first out. White doubled between right center field. Coppola flied out to the left fielder for the second out. Settle ground out to third. The third baseman didn’t come up cleanly and everyone was safe. The Knights had runners in the corners when Matos De La Cruz strike out.

When Quinsigamond was up, Firtzgerald struck out. With one out in the inning, Luis Rodriguez was batting. He hit the a ground ball over the leaping Coppola and the ball went to centerfield. Brandon Hart of Spencer walked and Benjamin Borrero of Worcester struck out looking. Ciampa struck out Molina to end the inning.

In the sixth inning Campbell struck out looking. Kevin Rodriguez of Manchester, N.H., was in to pinch hit when he struck out looking Kyle Hsu flied out to the left fielder.

The Knights had a new pitcher to pitch the sixth inning Jack Swarbrick of Haverhill came in to pitch. Sullivan got hit by a pitch Curet bunted with one out in the inning. Sanchez hit a double down the corner and Quinsigamond had runners on second and third. Thomas ground out to the pitcher. Swarbrick checked the runner at third before throwing to first for the second out of the inning. It was a passed ball on the catcher. Berube run to get the ball he throw it to the pitcher and the runner was out at home and Quinsigamond did not score in that inning.

In the seventh inning Panzini was at the plate when he singled the first pitch that he saw. Bear was at the plate when Panzini stole the base. It was a productive out for Bear as he fly out to right field and Panzini taged up to third. White scored the fifth run of the game on the sac fly as the Knights traded an out for a run. Campbell was out on a slow roller on the first base line. The Knights had a 3 run lead and were 3 outs away from a win. Swarbrick was in for his second inning of work. Fitzgerald flied out to left field for the first out. Rodriguez flied out straight to Settle in center field for the second out of the inning. The Knights were one out away from winning game 1. Swarbrick pitched a 1,2,3 inning as the Knights defeated Quinsigamond 5-2.

Knights win first conference game of the season

On April fools day NECC Knights faced Quinsigamond community college the first game of a 3 game set over the weekend.

The Knights had Jayden Volker of Coventry on the mound — last time he pitched was against Central Maine on March 26 when Volker throw a no hitter. The Knights defeated Quinsigamond 21-1.

I asked Mejia how he is going to put the right players in the field as the Knights is playing 3 games in the next 2 days “ We are in great tip tok shape very very thorough program so fatigue is not a issue it will not be a factor at all” he said.

First pitched was 6:57 with one out in the inning Jarred Coppola of Lynn made a diving catch at third to robbed Neyffi Sanchez of Worcester of a hit for the second out of the inning. Volker pitched a 1,2,3 inning in the first.

Brandon Hart of Spencer was pitching for Quinsigamond. Nick Panzini of Methuen reached first in a throwing error by the shortstop and he didn’t waste no time as he stole second. The Knights had runners in scoring position with nobody out Chris Bear of Boston hit an inside the parker 2 run home run as the Knights were up 2-0. Nicholas White hit a triple and scored on an error as the ball went into the Knights dugout. Coppola ground out for the first out of the inning and Joseph Settle of Melbourne strike out. Clay Campbell of Goffstown N.H. hit a double over the first base head Campbell was left stranded at second after Kyle Hsu of Brookline, N.H. groundout to second to end the inning.

NECC Knights first conference division game of the season.
NECC Knights first conference division game of the season. Photo by Editor-in-Chief/ Sports Editor Jose Rodriguez

On the second inning Volker walked the first batter to lead off the inning. Coppola throw the ball to second which it was a throwing error as the ball went to center field and the runners were in the corner with nobody out. Voelker got him self out of trouble without scoring a run.

Lucas Berube of Dighton hit a solo home run on the first pitched through left field that he saw to make it 4-0 Knights “It feels good the boys be rollin all year long and I’m just having fun seeing the ball well and doing my thing,” Berube said. followed a ground roll double of Kameron Levesque of Hooksett, NH Panzini hit a RBI single to make it 5-0 Knights.

Chris Bear walked the Knights had bases loaded with nobody out when Coppola hit a ground ball for a double play to make it 6-0 Knights.

The Knights scored the 7 run on a wild pitched when Campbell was batting and settle moved to second when Campbell hit a base hit up the middle to make it 8-0 Knights. Berube hit a high fly ball and the catcher and the pitcher miscommunicate as the ball landed in front of them that scored the 9 run of the game. Levesque hit an opposite field bloop double that scored 2 more Knights run that made it 11-0. Knights put an 8 spot on the second as they really had a comfortable 11-0 run.

On the third inning Volker strikeout the first 2 batter after giving an opposite field single but he managed record the three outs via strikeout. Bear reached on first on a error by the shortstop as he dropped the pop up.

White hit a double and the Knights had second and third and nobody out for Coppola at the plate and he made it 12-0 Knights the second baseman dropped the ball when Settle was at the plate the Knights had the bases loaded when Campbell was at the dish he made it 13-0 when he got ground out from first and the run from third scored.

Hsu struck out.  Berube walked the Knights had the bases loaded for Levesque when he hit a bases clearing double that made it 16-0 Knights a throwing error by the third baseman he throw the ball to first wide Panzini went to second and Levesque scored made it 17-0 Kevin Rodriguez came off the bench and he walked Mejia send Luis Colon of Lawrence to pinch hit for White.

Quinsigamond brought a pitching change it was Benjamin Borrero of Worcester Colon strike out to end the inning. The Knights were up 17-0 heading to the 4th.

Volker night was over as Mejia uses his bullpen for the 4th Tyler McDonald of Haverhill was on the mound McDonald strikeout the side for a 1,2,3 inning.

Coppola got hit in the first pitched that he saw Settle and Campbell walked Knights had bases loaded and nobody out when Hsu walked to force in a run. Knights made it 19-0 on a walk and Levesque hit a groundball short roller to make it 20-0 on an infield hit. The Knights managed to score one more run inning the Knights left the bases loaded Colon hit a line drive right at the pitched for the third out of the inning.

On the 5th inning the Knights were 3 outs away from the win with one out Quinsigamond had first and second, they scored the first run over the leaping try of Campbell with 2 outs in the inning.

“It feels good it feels really good that’s what you want to do when you play in conference game hit the ball and pitched well and we did that all night,” NECC Knights asistant head coach Evan Glew said.

Knights stay hot

On March 30, the red hot 14-2 Knights entered the game against Fisher College JV at Fraser Field in Lynn with a six game winning streak. When the Knights faced Fisher JV on March 21, the Knights won 16-1. On March 30 the Knights defeated Fisher JV 12-2.

At 6:48 p.m. the umpires were at the field.

Before the game Coach Jeff Mejia said he believed that Fisher was going to change the game plan a little.

“ Yeah, we already talked, he’s got some different guys that weren’t here last game that will be playing for them this game, so I am expecting a really competitive game,” Mejia said.

The Knights had Jack Swarbrick of Haverhill on the mound to start.

Knights doing their pre game routine before facing Fisher College JV. Photo by Editor-in-Chief/ Sports Editor Jose Rodriguez

In the first inning, Fisher College had Cameron Lataille of North Smithfield, R.I., on the mound. Richie Williams of Georgetown got hit by a pitch and Chris Bear of Boston singled. The Knights were set up first and third and no one out for Nicholas White of Townsend at the plate. White he drove the first run of the game a deep fly ball to right field at the warning track that scored Williams from third and Bear tagged on the sac fly to third. Jarred Coppola of Lynn hit a double to left that scored the second run of the game. The Knights were not done yet. Joseph Settle of Melbourne, Fla. brought home the third run of the game as Coppola and Settle hit back to back doubles. The Knights got three runs in the inning and left Settle who was stranded at third.

Swarbrick struck out the first two of the three batters in the inning. The third batter grounded out, for a clean one two three inning.

Fisher went to the bullpen early as they put Brayane Garre of Puerta Plata, Dominican Republic, on the mound in the second inning. The first two batters were out after Kevin Rodriguez of Manchester, N.H., and Kameron Levesque of Hooksett, N.H., grounded out.

Williams walked and stole second when Bear hit an opposite field single between second and third that brought the 4th run of the game.

Swarbrick walked Alejandro Sola of Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico, in four pitches and he didn’t waste no time in the wheels as he stole second. Jeremy Renta of Cagus, Puerto Rico, hit an opposite field single. There was a great out field assist by Levesque throwing out Sola at the plate. Renta stole second with 2 outs in the inning, Swarbrick struck out Janiel Laracuenta of Cagus, Puerto Rico, looking to finishthe inning.

In the third inning the Falcons brought Bryan Montanez of Arroyo, Puerto Rico, on to pitch after Coppola ground out for the first out of the inning. Settle walked and stole second. The Knights had a runner in scoring position with less then two outs when Clay Campbell of Goffstown, N.H., walked. The Knights had first and second with one out when Lucas Berube of Dighton popped out to the catcher. The Knights were trying to double steal when the catcher throw out Settle at third for the final out of the top of the third. The Knights brought in a new pitcher, Jagger Iovinelli, of Huntington Beach, Calif., Fisher’s Diego Melendez of Toa Alta, Puerto Rico, hit off a lead-off single with one out in the inning. Iovinelli started a double play on his own. Jose Neris of Caguas, Puerto Rico, ground out to Swarbrick. He hrew to second the shortstop. Campbell threw the ball to White to complete the double play.

In the fourth inning Fisher brought in Nomar Rosario of Fajardo, Puerto Rico, on the mound. Levesque hit a booming double in right center field and Levesque stole third with two outs in the inning. Bear struck out as the Knights wasted an opportunity and they did not score.

Fisher’s Luis Lopez of Catano, Puerto Rico, hit a single that the right fielder almost caught in a leaping try. Iovinelli threw the ball to first as Lopez was in a rundown but it didn’t matter because the second base umpire called a balk on Iovinelli. The Falcons scored the first run of the game on a double over the head of Levesque followed by an RBI single up the middle by Renta. Falcons cut the deficit in half. Laracuente hit a single through left and the Falcons had men on first and second with 2 outs when Swarbrick strike out Melendez looking.

In the fifth inning Jose Cruz Jr. of Carolina, Puerto Rico, was on the mound for the Falcons. White hit a base hit up the middle and he stole second the very next pitch. Coppola walked and the Knights were in business on first and second with nobody out. The Knights were looking for a double steal and this time it paid off as both runners successfully moved 90 feet. Settle reached on first by error and the Knights had the bases loaded and nobody out when Campbell hit a rocket right field that scored 2 runs as the Knights had runners in the corners with nobody out. Lucas Berube of Dighton successfully sacrificed to bring home the 7th run of the game as the Knights traded an out for a run. Levesque was at the plate with 2 outs and Campbell went to third on a passed ball.

The Knights were leading 7-2 as they moved on to the bottom of the fifth Tristian Ciampa of Wilmington was on the hill for the Knights. Williams almost made an unbelievable play on a leaping catch to rob Neris of extra base hits, instead Naris was on second with a double. Sola struck out looking and the Falcons didn’t scored.

On the sixth  inning Gerado Mollina of Levittown, Puerto Rico was on the mound for Fisher when he hit Williams and he stole second. Bear hit an RBI triple and the Knights were up 8-2, which brought an opportunity of White to score the 9th run of the game and he did just that. White ground out to second for a productive out that scored White from third. Coppola hit a line drive bullet that was caught by the third baseman for the second out of the inning. Settle singled and he stole second. Campbell double over the leaping shortstop Fontanez. It wasn’t deep enough for Settle to score from second so he stayed at third. The Falcons made a pitching change as Evan Delilo of Peabody came to pitch and a 1-2 count on Berube he flied out to the right fielder Ben Sawyer  of Portland, Maine to end the top of the sixth inning.

Ciampa was about to work a 1,2,3 inning not following Laracaurente single on a ground ball up the middle that Campbell almost made a terrific play robbing Laracuente of a base hit, but unfortunately it didn’t go that way but it didn’t matter as Melendez ground out to third and Coppola made a terrific play and with a strong arm he threw it to first to get the final out of the inning.

In the top of the seventh inning William Carpetner of Brentwood, N.H.,

was pitching for the Falcons as Kevin Rodriguez of Manchester, N.H, hit a double through left center field. Rodriguez got caught stealing at third. Levesque and Nick Panzini of Methuen walked. Panzini was pinch hitting for Williams. Bear scored 2 runs on a single that advanced to second and third on the throwing error.

“I was trying to get a barrel at the wall hit good pitches,” Bear said after the game.

White walked which brought the Fisher manager out from the dugout for a pitching change. The Falcons brought Elvin Perez in to pitch. The Knights scored the 12 run on a wild pitch advanced White to second

Settle struck out. Thomas Cattaneo of Guilford, Conn., was on the mound for the Knights he only gave up a hit during the seventh inning and a strikeout as the Knights defeated Fisher JV 12-2.

Tringale tosses a no hitter

In Game 2 Todd Tringale of Saugus was on the mound. He struck out the side. The Knights shutout Eastern Conneticut State  JV  7-0. The Knights went quietly as well in the first inning of game 2. Two of the three batters for the Knights struck out in the inning.

Tringale walked the first batter in the second inning. White made a diving play at first base. He knocked the ball down and stepped on the base to rob a hit off Eastern Connecticut.

Eastern Connecticut JV was changing pitchers every inning of both games of this double header. With one out, Settle walked. Campbell struck out.

Lucas Berube of Dighton was batting and the pitcher threw a wild pitch and Settle stole second. Berube took advantage of the runners in scoring position, hitting an opposite field single to score home the first run of the game.

Photo by Bryan Thomas
Tringale’s impressive performance. Photo by Bryan Thomas

In the third inning Tringale struck out two of the three batters.

In the bottom of the inning Bear and White grounded out as the Knights left the men on third and they did not score.

In the fourth inning Kevin Rodriguez of Manchester, N.H., made a nice catch to throw out the runner on first. The next out was a ground out to Campbell at shortstop. Tringale struck out the next batter to end the inning.

Coppola began the bottom of the fourth with a triple between left center field. Settle walked. The Knights had runners on the corners. Settle stole second and Campbell walked. The bases loaded when Berube was at the plate as he ground out for a fielder’s choice and Rodriguez ground out to the second baseman, he bobbled it and the run scored, the Knights got the third run on a double steal. The Knights got their fourth run on Panzini’s infield single. Williams flied out to center field to end the forth.

In the fifth inning Tringale began with a strike out. He walked a batter and Tringale kept throwing to first to keep a close eyes on the runner. Tringale did a good job so the runner didn’t steal. Tringale got the third out on a strikeout. White got walked. Coppola get on base on an error and Luis Colon of Lawrence pinch hit for Coppola. Colon got out in second but White took advantage and he went home for the fifth run of the game. Settle ripped a triple that he almost

hit it out through left. Campbell knocked in the fifth run on a single to right Campbell got out on second trying to steal.

In the top of the six inning Bear made a nice play at second and White scooped the ball at first for the first out of the inning. Tringale struck out the batter for the second out and Nick White caught a pop out to first base. The Eastern JV pitcher walked Williams. Panzini hit an opposite field single through right field the Knights scored one run that inning.

Tringale only needed three outs for a no hitter. He walked the lead off batter in the seventh inning. That didn’t hurt Tringale as he struck out two of the three batters in the inning. Tringale pitched a no hitter, striking out 13 batters as the Knights won the second game of the doubleheader, 7-0.

Knights win game one of the doubleheader

The Knights won both games of a doubleheader against Eastern Connecticut State University JV on Sunday, March 27, which was their home opener at Trinity Stadium in Haverhill.

The first game was 15-2 and Game 2 was 7-0 .

“It is always a pleasure to play here, a great field (Trinity Stadium) and they take really good care of us generally excited every time we get a chance to play baseball,” Coach Jeff Mejia said.

First pitch was at 11:57 a.m. Dallas Vaughan of Haverhill was on the mound. With one out he gave up a triple to Emmanuel Zaiter to left center field. He then gave up a RBI single to Petterson Irby. Eastern JV only scored one run as they were heading to the bottom of the first inning.

 

NECC Knights baseball player Chris Bear at the plate.
NECC Knights baseball player Chris Bear at the plate. Photo by Bryan Thomas

In the bottom of the first, Richie Williams of Georgetown walked. A single by Chris Bear of Boston followed by an RBI single by Jared Coppola of Lynn. Joseph Settle of Melbourne, Fla., brought home the second run of the game followed by a triple by Clay Campbell of Goffstown, N.H., to bring home two more Knights runs. The Knights scored 4 in the first inning and they were on top 4 to 1.

In the second inning Vaughan struck out the side.

“Dallas did great a little shaky at the beginning. He settled in like he normally does. He gave us a complete game …” Mejia said.

A new pitcher for Eastern JV was pitching when Kameron Levesque of Hooksett, N.H. reached on a throwing error by the shortstop. Williams hit a single up the middle that scored the 4th run of the game. Nicholas White of Townsend hit a double that scored two more runs. The runner was in scoring position for Campbell when he walked on a wild pitch to bring home the seventh run of the game. The Knights were up 9 to 1 heading to the top of the third inning.

In the third inning Vaughan gave up a leadoff walk but Eastern JV did not score. Levesque hit a liner opposite field single. When Williams was at the plate Levesque stole second. Williams cleared the bases with an inside the park home run to make it 11-1. Coppola was fouling off pitches. It was a great battle but he got struck out looking. Campbell made it 12-1 on an error by the second baseman. The Knights made it 13-1 on a walk to Kyle Hsu of Brookline with the bases loaded to force in a run.

In the fourth inning Vaughan pitched a 1,2,3 inning.

A new pitcher for Eastern JV was pitching when Williams hit a single and White hit a triple to score Williams from first. The Knights scored two more in the fifth to have a 15-1 lead.

Vaughn gave up two hits to the first two batters in the fourth inning, a chop roller to the catcher. He threw it to third and the third baseman Coppola couldn’t catch the ball for the

forced out at third. As a result the bases were loaded and Eastern JV scored on a bloop single to right field for the second run of the game.

Vaughn said after the game he felt relaxed because he knew his team has such a good defense.

“….my catcher is good, just knowing that you have guys around you able to make plays, not try to do it too much, let them do the stuff for you,” Vaughan said.

Sweeney tosses a one hitter on the road

In Game 2 of a doubleheader with Central Maine Community College, the Knights were looking to finish off what they started in game 1.

The Knights won Game 2 8-0, a one hitter performance of Alex Sweeney of Raymond, N.H.

In the first inning Richie Williams of Georgetown walked and stole second when Chris Bear of Boston singled to left center field. The Knights scored the first run of the game on a double steal with runners in the corner. Williams was waiting for the catcher to throw to second so he could score from third in the first inning. Nicholas White of Townsend connected on an opposite field double to the corner on left and White went to third on a pass ball. Joseph Settle of Melbourne, Fla., walked. The runners in the corner for Kyle Hsu of Brookline, N.H., hit a sac fly that scored White from third. Settle didn’t re-tag the second base as he was going back to first on the fly out as a result. Central Maine appealed it and Settle was out for not re-tagging.

“Yep yeah it happens you know he did everything right the ball was deep enough he rounded second well he just missed it on his way back to first base…,” Coach Jeff Mejia said.

Alex Sweeney was on the mound for game 2 of this double header. Sweeney struck out two of the three batters that he faced for a 1,2,3 inning.

Nick Panzini of Methuen walked and stole second. The Knights had runners in scoring position with no one out. Kevin Rodriguez of Manchester, N.H., struck out. Panzini went to third on the wild pitch and the next pitch Will Bean of Milton, Maine, threw it was a wild pitch that allowed Panzini to score. Kameron Levesque of Hooksett, N.H., walked and Richie Williams hit a come backer to the pitcher that threw to second to try to get the forced out, instead it was a throwing error. The Knights had the runner on the corner when the Central Maine manager made a pitching change and brought Hunter Warren of Phillips, Maine, to pitch. Williams stole second and Chris Bear hit a 2 run single to make it 6-0. Hit and run for the Knights, Bear was stealing second and White hit a base hit up the middle. Runners were in the corner when Jarred Coppola of Lynn was at the plate. White was running when Coppola hit a base hit that scored the seventh runner of the game. Coppola was called out for interference with the shortstop on a fly ball.

 

NECC Knights celebrating a win Photo by Editor-in-Chief/ Sports EditorJose Rodriguez

“Yeah it happens….It was a pop fly the shortstop kinda misread it, or the wind possibly took it, so Jared was trying to get around him and that kid jumped back to try to catch the ball. It was contact so it is automatic interference call once again the umpire got it 100 percent right,” Mejia said.

Sweeney gave up a single in the first and he was trying to steal second when Sweeney stepped off the rubber, he threw to second and the runner was out. Corey Armstrong of Monmouth, Maine, got hit by a pitch and Caleb Valliere of Sabattus, Maine, ground out a double play to the pitcher.

In the third inning the Knights didn’t score as Warren struck out two of the three batters for a clean 1,2,3 inning. Sweeny stuck out the side to end the third inning.

In the fourth inning with one out Bear hit the ball to left field. Warren threw the ball to first and the first baseman didn’t caught it. It went passed him and that allowed Bear to go to second White singled and stole second without a throw. Coppola hit a sac fly to center field that made Bear score from third to make it 8-0. Settle struck out for the third out of the inning.

Central Maine went 1,2,3 in the fourth inning.

In the top of the fifth inning with two outs Rodriguez walked and stole second. Levesque singled to right field. The runners were first and third when Levesque went to second on a passed ball not that deep for Kevin Rodriguez to score from third. Williams ground out to the third baseman.

In the bottom of the fifth a nice defense play by Rodriguez took away a base hit from Corey Armstrong of Monmouth, Maine, as Central Maine went 1,2,3 again.

In the sixth inning after the first two hitters for the Knights got out Coppola, Settle and Hsu walked. Panzini hit a high pop out to the second baseman and the Knights didn’t score that inning. Sweeny retired the side in order.

In the top of the seventh inning with one out Levesque walked and with two outs in the inning he stole second on a throwing error by the third baseman Caden Truman of Norway, Maine. White grounded to end the inning.

Coppola told me how they were able to beat this good Central Maine team.

“We played as a team, we start together, we hit the ball like what we did really well we played solid defense and overall it was a good win,” Coppola said.

Sweeney pitched a complete game shutout striking out six batters and giving up just one hit.

Volker toses a no hitter on Game 1 against Central Maine

NECC Knights visited Central Maine Community College for a noon start time in Auburn, Maine, for game one of the doubleheader.

The Knights defeated the Mustangs 10-0. Central Maine’s record was 21-6 heading into the game while NECC Knights were 10-2 and undefeated on the road games 5-0. Double headers are seven innings as opposed to the normal 9 innings.

Chris Bear of Boston went to first with one out it was a dropped third strike. Nicholas White of Townsend reached first on an error. Bear and White had a double steal with one out that gave an opportunity for Jared Coppola of Lynn to rip the ball in between shortstop and third for a 2 RBI single.

Coppola stole second but the Knights left him stranded. Jayden Volker of Coventry, R.I., was on the mound for the Knights. He gave up a walk to Jimmy Reed of Skowhegan, Maine, to lead off the game. Reed stole second. Jake Arel of Auburn, Maine, walked. Stefan Lesco of Sommers, Conn., hit a ground ball to shortstop Coppola who threw a strike to Ryan Brown of Haverhill to get out Reed at the plate. Caden Truman of Norway, Maine, walked to load the bases.

Volker caught the ball and threw it home for the second out and Volker struck out Caleb Valliere of Sabattus, Maine, to escape out of trouble and Maine did not score.

Volker had a shaky start in the first inning but he settled in as the game progressed.

“Not to make excuses but there is no bullpen here so he wasn’t able to throw anything of the mound until the start of the game you know it’s tough pitchers are rhythm you know… but what I like is that he worked himself out of every jam,” Coach Jeff Mejia said after the game.

Lucas Berube of Dighton got hit by a pitch followed by a walk of Rodriguez. The Knights had first and second when Berube stole third. Berube scored on a tag fly from Kameron Levesque of Hooksett, N.H. It got away from the catcher which allowed Rodriguez to try to advance to second and he got caught on second trying to advance.

Game 1 against Central Maine
Game 1 against Central Maine Photo By Editor-in-Chief/ Sports Editor Jose Rodriguez

Chris Bear of Boston hit a double on right field. It was a hit and run that scored Richie Williams of Georgetown for the 4th run of the game. White singled to left to score Bear from second. White stole second and went to third on a error on the catcher. Volker struck out two of the three batters in the second inning.

In the top of the third inning Luis Colon of Lawrence hit a double with one out but the Knights couldn’t get that run across from second as they did not score. Volker retired the side in the second and in the third.

On a 1-2 count Levesque hit a base hit to left fielder White walked. Bear bunted for a sacrifice play that moved up the runners to second and third. Williams hit a fly ball to center field and threw the ball home to tag out Levesque at the plate trying to score for a double play.

On the fifth inning Settle singled to center field. On a 2-1 count on Colon while Settle was running they called a balk on pitcher Wyatt Lufkin of Peru, Maine, which allowed Settle to go to second. But the Knights did not score as Rodriguez hit a fly ball to right field. Ronaldo Rodriguez of Boston got hit by a pitch on the elbow area, which Cole Brown of Carthage, Maine, went and pinch run for him.

In the sixth inning the Knights had the bases loaded with one out when White cleared the bases with a triple and scored on an error.

“… It was simple. Hit balls hard and let the barrel do the work for me,” White said.

It was 9-0 Knights in the lead when Coppola singled. He stole third and home to make it 10-0. The Knights scored 5 in the sixth after going quietly in the third and Knights won 10-0 in the first game of the double header — a no hitter by Volker.

Baseball head coach Jeff Mejia pick up his 200 career win

NECC Knights traveled on the road to face Fisher College JV (Falcons) at Fraser Field in Lynn on March 21, for a 7 p.m. first pitch.

The Knights defeated Fisher JV 16-1. NECC Baseball head coach Jeff Mejia picked up his 200th career win.

The Knights were 9-2 coming into the game while Fisher JV was 13-13 with a 3 game winning streak heading into the March 21 game.

When they got to the field the Knights were preparing before the game, stretching and hitting in the cage.

The umpires discussed the field rules before the game with the managers.

The Knights began the season winning nine of the first 11 games.

“Keep taking one day at a time, one inning at a time to get healthy. We got some guys that are a little banged up right now so we’re ready to stay healthy, keep grinding it out one game at a time,” Mejia said.

Jagger lovinelli of Huntington Beach, Calif., was on the mound for the Knights.

Richie Williams of Georgetown led off the game for the Knights with an opposite field triple to right field.

“I saw him out of the corner of my eye like to go to catch it and it looked like that it went just through his glove right behind him but I did think he was going to catch the ball…” Williams said after the game.

Following a RBI single by Chris Bear of Boston. Bear stole second while Nicholas White of Townsend was batting. The Knights scored the second run of the game on a pass ball while Bear was on third on a 3-2 count on Joseph Settle of Melbourne, Fla., who walked. Settle went to second on a pass ball eventually he stole third. Kyle Hsu of Brookline, N.H., singled to right field that scored Settle from third. The Knights scored 3 runs in the first inning to jump in a fast start, a 3-0 lead.

Iovinelli had a lead before he even could throw a pitch on the mound.

“It is always comfortable knowing that my hitters got my back in every game going out there with a lead it is definitely easier on my mound less stressful don’t have to worry much and do my job,” Iovinelli said. He strikeout two of the three batters in the first inning 11 pitches 7 strikes .

 

Mejia pick up his 200 career win Photo by Editor-in-Chief/ Sports Editor Jose Rodriguez

Nick Panzini of Methuen got walked and stole second in the second inning the Knights had runners in scoring position when outfielder Williams doubled. It was a hit, a run to drive in the fourth run of the game. Iovinelli strikeout the side in the second inning. Fisher was changing pitchers each inning.

The Knights started a two out rally on a bases loaded walk that drove in the 5th run of the game. Williams connected a bases loaded triple to clear the bases as the Knights were up 8-0.

“I felt very confident. I think I just went up there with a plan to let the ball to get deep in the zone and try to head it to right field. I think there is a little bit of a speed change our time down in Florida and coming back down here so I felt I knew that I have to adjust that before the game and I just felt my approach was pretty solid,” Williams said.

Iovinelli struck out two of the three batters that he faced in the third inning as he was completely in control.

In the top of the fourth inning the Knights first two batters got hit and then it was a pass ball and the runner moved up 90 ft and then Settle hit an opposite field single that scored both runners.

Berube connected with an RBI single, Kevin Rodriguez of Manchester, N.H., hit an opposite field single and then stole second.

White hit a sac Fly to score the 12th run of the game. Williams was on second on an error on the first bases and a fly ball. The Knights scored 4 more runs throughout the game. In fact the Knights scored in each inning of the game, including a 7 run fourth inning.

Iovinelli had a perfect game bid until the fifth when Alejandro Sola of Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico, led off the fifth inning with a double which then Mejia quickly made the move for a pitching change. Eric Whitehead of North Andover had a clean five innings for the Knights to pick up the win.

Mejia talked to me about the performance of Iovinelli.

“Excellent his second start in a row that his pounding the zone he made some good pitches in tough counts he been a real bulldog for us,” Mejia said.

Double Duty as an Observer

Hello guys I am your Sports Editor Jose Rodriguez. I am 21 years old, currently living in Lawrence. I am majoring in communication and journalism with a concentration in journalism.

I will be taking double duties in the newspaper until I graduate Northern Essex. I am not just your sports editor I am also your Editor-in-Chief.

I will be replacing Isae, who graduated in December of 2021. I love sports. I am passionate about it, I eat, sleep and breath talking about sports. My favorite sports is Baseball.

When I am not covering games for NECC and when I am not playing baseball for Mercedes Baseball Academy, I listen to sports talk show and I watch baseball videos on Youtube and live on T.V. or listen to baseball on the radio, hoping that one day my dream will become reality becoming a play by play baseball announce and a sports talk show host.

My Sports journalist idol is Michael Kay. He first started off covering sports in the NY Post, then he became the Yankees play by play baseball announcer, and he also has a radio show from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. during the weekdays on ESPN NY 98.7 FM.  He also does Centerstage for an hour which he interviews athletes and entertainment people. He is inspirational to me in what I am doing right now and hopefully one day all of that hard work that I am doing and all of my sacrifice will pay  off.

Being a part of the staff of the Observer as a sports editor is one of the greatest things that ever happened to me. I am grateful that I am in a community college that gives student opportunity to write in the newspaper, that I can show to a newspaper company as clips, to work for them and cover a specific team.

Know I am also the Editor-in-Chief. I am happy for this opportunity, it’s a blessing and I will help other students to improve and to get better each print edition that goes on. As Editor-in-Chief I hope to help each member know their role and what they need to do for the newspaper and to be on track and stay focused not just as a member of the Observer but in their academics as well.

Hall of Fame 2022

On Tuesday, March 1, the NECC Athletics Hall of Fame class of 2022 was inducted, along with the 2020 class, whose induction was delayed because of the pandemic.

Baseball player Ryan McAuliffe, who graduated Northern Essex in 2015 and golfer Sean Chipman who graduated in 2000 were part of the class of 2022.

The class of 2000 featured the 2000-01 national semi finalist women’s basketball team and former basketball coach the late Mike Rowinski.

NECC Athletic Director Dan Blair welcomed people and thanked them for coming to the event.

Glenda Cancel, who was part of the 2000-01 national semi-finalist basketball team said she couldn’t believe she will be in the hall of fame.

“My reaction was no way I couldn’t imagine in my life to have been a hall of famer for Northern Essex and I’m truly truly happy and be part of the Women NECCO basketball team and I couldn’t be happier to play with such phenomenal woman,” Cancel said.

Inductees into the NECC Athletics Hall of Fame, from left to right, Sean Chipman, Ryan McAuliffe, Jessica Hamilton, Glenda Cancel, Jaime(Potter) Pierce, and Gail Rowinski, widow of basketball coach the late Mike Rowinski.
Inductees into the NECC Athletics Hall of Fame, from left to right, Sean Chipman, Ryan McAuliffe, Jessica Hamilton, Glenda Cancel, Jaime (Potter) Pierce, and Gail Rowinski, widow of basketball coach the late Mike Rowinski. Photo by Jose Rodriguez, Sports Editor

I asked her teammate Jessica Hamilton if she was waiting for this phone call for a while or she never envisioned this honor. “No I never even thought it was an opportunity to be given to us,”she said. “It was really exciting, you know I’m honored to be here, I live in Maryland so this is my first time back at Northern Essex in 20 years,” Hamilton said.

McAuliffe is a former baseball player for the N.Y. Mets organization “When you grow up playing baseball it is one thing after another you want to go play high school you want to play college, ypu want to go play professional baseball. I’ve had a great time doing bunch of different things but you know this type of reconization definitely goes a long way so this something years ago I never thought off,” McAuliffe said.

Chipman said it took him a day to process that he is actually a Hall of Famer “It took me a day, a couple of the golf members at the club found out about it and they brought it up to. It was very nice to recognized playing professionally as opposed to you know your day to day responsibilities as head professional, he said.