All posts by Mike Alongi, Sports Editor

Sports

Knights Baseball Closes Out With a Bang

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The Knights closed out the year with four straight road wins over NHTI, Massasoit Community College and Quinsigamond Community College. Over the four games, the Knights outscored their opponents 40-12, which has been the case for much of the season.

On April 29, the Knights traveled to Concord, N.H. to face off against NHTI. In a shortened game (five innings), NECC blasted NHTI, 16-4. After four innings, the scored was still close (5-3 Knights), but an 11-run top of the fifth changed everything.

Jerry Hernandez and Ryan Decker combined for a six-hit outing on the mound for the Knights.

Colby Maiola was 1-for-3 on the day with an RBI and three runs scored. Michael Crisostomo belted his first home run of the year, a grand slam, and finished with four RBIs. Jacob Rayner (3-for-4) and Ellidio Reyes (1-for-4) each had two RBIs in the win. Rayner also hit two doubles. Ryley Warnock went 3-for-4 with a triple and two runs scored.

The Knights went right back to work the next day, traveling to play at Massasoit Community College. While NECC didn’t have as big of a day on offense, they still managed six runs. They also brought Ryan McAuliffe out on the mound, and he delivered.

McAuliffe went seven strong innings, giving up just two hits and no runs while striking out five. Gianni Esposito came in to finish the game off, going two innings. He gave up one run on one hit and struck out three.

Third baseman Colby Ingraham was the big man on offense in this one, going 3-for-5 with four RBIs on the day. Warnock and Crisostomo each recorded two hits, while Keith Linnane
went 1-for-3 with an RBI.

The Knights closed out the season with a trip to play a doubleheader on the road against Quinsigamond Community College. The Knights took both games, winning the first game 6-2 and the second game 12-5.
Zarif Pajazetovic got the win in the first game, going four innings of five-hit, one-run baseball with three strikeouts. Robert Barry came in relief and pitched three innings. He gave up one run on two hits while striking out three.

Warnock had another big day at the plate, going 3-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored. MacDaniel Singleton recorded two hits and an RBI. Reyes, Rayner, Cole Josselyn and Nicholas Turco each recorded an RBI in the win.

The second game was a bit closer despite the 12-5 score. After five innings, the score was tied 5-5. Then the Knights had one of their patented big innings, scoring seven times in the eighth inning to run away with the game.

Anthony Dally started the game, giving up five runs on seven hits in five innings of work. Esposito came in and pitched 1.1 innings of shutout ball, and then Warnock stepped in to finish it off. He ended up going 1.2 innings and giving up no runs and no hits to collect the win.

Maiola led the team with three hits on the day, while four players (Warnock, Ingraham, Reyes and Singleton) each recorded two hits. Reyes and Maiola each had two RBIs, while Reyes, Ingraham and Singleton each had one. Linnane also drove in two runs in the win.

The Knights have finished the regular season with a 25-2 record. They will resume play in the
Region XXI playoffs next week.

Sports

NECC Knights Keep On Winning

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The NECC Knights just keep on winning. The Knights closed out the season with an incredible 20-game winning streak and finished the year with a 25-2 record. Both losses occurred back on April 18 when they were still in Florida for spring training. The Knights are 13-0 in conference play.
In 27 games this year, the Knights have scored 203 runs. They average roughly 10 hits per game (271 total), but they have only hit four home runs on the season. The key to their success is timely hitting and good baserunning.

With a .339 team batting average and a .449 on base percentage, it’s hard to keep these guys off the basepaths. NECC has also stolen 81 bases as a team this year. They’ve only been caught 18 times for an 82 percent success rate.

Sophomore catcher Harrison Smoske has been a big part of the offensive success this year, leading the team with a .462 batting average. He leads the team with four triples on the year and has driven in 16 runs. He is also second on the team with 13 stolen bases.

Freshmen Colby Maiola and Ellidio Reyes have continued to make an impact in their first year with the Knights.

Maiola leads the team in home runs (3), RBIs (26) and stolen bases (16), while Reyes is hitting .370 with 34 total hits and 22 RBIs. MacDaniel Singleton has knocked in 18 runs and leads the Knights with 10 doubles this year.

The pitching has also been stellar this year. Knights pitchers have thrown three shutouts and have a collective 3.87 ERA with a .263 opponent batting average.

Ryan McAuliffe and Zarif Pajazetovic continue to lead the way on the mound for NECC, and it’s almost hard to tell who is the ace of the staff.

McAuliffe leads the team in innings pitched (44), strikeouts (46) and ERA (1.84) and has notched a 5-0 record this year.

But Pajazetovic isn’t far behind. He has thrown 40 innings this year and leads the team with a 6-0 record, and his ERA is 2.03.

While it may be hard to pick an ace, it is certainly a good problem for coach Jeff Mejia to have.

Freshmen Anthony Dally, Robert Barry and Gianni Esposito have also made an impact for the Knights this year. Dally, a lefty, is 2-0 with a 4.23 ERA and 32 strikeouts in 27.2 innings pitched.

Barry and Esposito are both right-handers and have both pitched 19 innings this year. Barry has put up a 3.28 ERA, while Esposito has a 1.89 ERA.

The Knights will look to continue their success into the playoffs, hopefully culminating in another trip to Tyler, Texas for the NJCAA World Series.

With the quality depth both on the mound and at the plate, the Knights will look to be a serious contender to win it all in 2015.

Sports

Boston Celtics Rebuild

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Although the Boston Celtics are in contention for the eight-seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs this season, they are clearly not talented enough to make a real playoff run.

The rebuilding process that started with dealing away members of the Big Three a few years ago has certainly started off in the right direction. Boston has a bevy of draft picks and trade assets to show for all the deals. They have a lottery pick in Marcus Smart that they can move forward with. But what else do they have? Right now, it looks like they have a handful of role players and some capital that they can use in trades, free agency or the draft.

“The important thing to remember about us is that we have a long, long way to go,” said head coach Brad Stevens in an interview with Grantland.

Celtics’ general manager Danny Ainge got great value for his aging superstars when he let them go. He scored trade chips and a first-round pick for Rajon Rondo. He has drafted some solid young players all across the first round, including Smart (sixth overall), Avery Bradley (19th overall) and Jared Sullinger (21st overall). He traded for Kelly Olynyk on draft night in 2013, and just this year made a smart move to pick up point guard Isaiah Thomas from the Phoenix Suns.And it could be argued that Ainge’s most important signing was one he made in the summer of 2013 when he signed Stevens to a six-year contract to coach the team.

But although Boston appears to be moving quickly through the rebuilding process, they certainly don’t have anything that resembles a franchise-changing player. People around the team say Smart is adored and is part of the long-term future, but at this point it’s unclear how great he will be. Bradley and Thomas can certainly make an impact, but they would most likely be role players on a championship team.
“Everyone knows that to win a title you have to have your number one, two and three guys who do everything well — guys who basically do everything well,” Stevens said. “But championship teams are filled with other guys.”

Stevens was hesitant to say whether or not anyone on the current roster could be a top-three player.

“I won’t put a ceiling on any of them,” he said. “Maybe some of them hit that next level.”

Ainge feels that there are several pieces on the current team who will be part of the future.

“I think we have a handful of guys who could be (future starters),” Ainge said. “And we certainly have guys who could play some role on a championship team.”
The issue for Boston now is finding that superstar player to take the team to championship heights. While there are always superstars who force their way into a trade or into free agency, there aren’t too many big-time guys on the market in 2015. Adding to that dilemma is the fact that the Celtics generally have a poor track record attracting superstar players.

There are potential “big fish” trade targets like Kevin Love and Demarcus Cousins, but there’s no guarantee that either of those players will be available for a trade. Boston will make a push for those guys, but their other trade options are unclear if they are unsuccessful.

Young players like Draymond Green of Golden State and Jimmy Butler in Chicago are expected to get max contracts this summer, and either would be a great fit on the wing in Boston. But the Celtics still have to sell themselves to these players, something they haven’t been able to do with past star players.

This summer, it’s more likely that the Celtics will look more at players like a Greg Monroe-type, someone who they may be able to get for less than a max contract, and then load up for a run at a superstar in 2016. Kevin Durant is the biggest name in that field, but there is no indication at this time that Boston will make a run at him. But, things do change a lot in time.

“We don’t have a master plan,” Ainge said. “You just hope you have the assets when a deal comes along.”

The Celtics could also take an Atlanta Hawks-esque approach of smart free agent signings and good drafting outside the lottery. Like the Hawks, the Celtics have a great young coach in Stevens, and they are in a position to take the same path Atlanta took this season.

In this case, Boston could retain many of their current players, including guys like Jae Crowder and Tyler Zeller, and still make move in free agency.
“We will be very active in free agency,” Ainge said.

It is clear that the Celtics have started off their rebuild on the right path. They are contending for the playoffs sooner than they thought and they have a host of young talent on the roster. But Ainge’s work is not done yet. He will have to make some significant improvements to the team if they want to be back in title contention in the near future.

Ainge needs a superstar. If he can’t get one, the Celtics could get stuck in the awful cycle of being just good enough to stay out of the lottery but not good enough to contend for a championship.

That will make the next two summers very interesting for Celtics fans.

Sports

Boston Red Sox

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The Boston Red Sox are on the verge of another season, and there are still plenty of questions that need answering as spring training wraps up and the season begins. The offense is expected to outproduce last year’s team by leaps and bounds and could even be the highest scoring offense in the league if things go well. But Boston has an inexperienced (albeit fantastically talented) leadoff hitter in Mookie Betts. Several “wait and see”-type players (Hanley Ramirez, David Ortiz, Dustin Pedroia and Pablo Sandoval, among others) are expected to make big contributions this year. And the pitching, from the starting rotation to the end of the bullpen, is one big question mark.

Mookie Betts is an intriguing player. As a fifth-round pick in the 2011 Amateur Draft, Betts rocketed through the minor league system. Although he is a natural second baseman, he proved versatile enough to play pretty much every position on the field. And he proved he could hit.

Betts made his MLB debut on June 29, 2014 against the New York Yankees. He came up and played 52 games for Boston last year, and those games turned out to be his first interview for the big league club.

He hit .291 with five home runs and 19 RBI in his 52 games, which is very impressive for a 21-year old kid fresh out of the minors. But he really showed his value in the field. Betts made a seamless transition to centerfield and actually had a .989 fielding percentage in the outfield in 2014.

The solid performance earned him a spring training invitation in 2015. In 17 games this spring, Betts hit an eye-popping .451 with eight doubles, two triples and two home runs, as well as only six strikeouts. He showed off his speed with seven stolen bases and an improbable inside-the-park home run. All the tools a good leadoff hitter needs to have.

But the fact remains that he is a 22-year old rookie hitting leadoff for one of the marquee franchises in baseball. While most fully expect him to be able to handle the pressure, it is uncertain for now how he will respond.

Provided Betts does even an adequate job in the leadoff spot, there is still some uncertainty about hitters two through nine in the lineup. While these are all great players, there are legitimate questions about each player individually. Pedroia is coming back from offseason wrist surgery and a poor statistical season in 2014. Ortiz is 39 years old. Ramirez and Sandoval, the new additions to the team, have some questions about availability and durability. Mike Napoli looked great this spring after getting serious sleep-apnea surgery, but he was also hurt for a stretch last year. Xander Bogaerts, last year’s “can’t miss” prospect, will try to rebound in 2015 after “missing” for the most part in his rookie year.

Which brings us to pitching. Last year’s trade deadline saw the Red Sox trade away their top two starters, Jon Lester and John Lackey. That leaves perennial number-three starter Clay Buchholtz as the front of the rotation guy, which is unnerving for any Red Sox fan. There is a ton of new talent on the team, with three of the remaining four starters coming in from new teams. Rick Porcello came from the Detroit Tigers, Wade Miley from Arizona and Justin Masterson coming from Cleveland. The entire starting five is full of guys with plenty of potential, but potential might not be enough if you’re trying to win games now.

The same is the case for the bullpen. There are several new faces, and there are several players who have found themselves in different roles than on previous teams. Koji Uehara, last year’s closer, will start the season on the disabled list. This moves everyone up a spot, and puts more pressure on the bullpen as a whole. And if the bullpen can’t handle themselves, it will put more pressure on the rotation to be outstanding.

All this being said, it is a long season. There are 161 more games to be played, and a lot of things are going to happen. If everything goes right for this team, they will be one of the highest scoring teams in baseball and could win 92-95 games. If things don’t go so well, they could be looking at another 80 or so-win season.

And that just won’t cut it.

Sports

NECC Knights Start Spring Season

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The Knights’ baseball team went down to Florida for spring break to get an early start to their season, and they made the most of it. NECC went 9-2 during the trip behind some great pitching and some even better hitting. The Knights played five doubleheaders, with one scrimmage against a junior varsity squad early in the year.
In their first 11 games of 2015, the Knights are hitting .353 and have scored an impressive 89 runs. On the defensive side, pitchers Ryan McAuliffe and Zarif Pajazetovic each notched two wins.

The Knights opened the season with a solid 5-3 win over Itasca Community College of Grand Rapids, Minn. in the first game of a doubleheader. NECC knocked eight base hits and mustered a four-run fifth inning to seal the win. Several players recorded multiple hits, including shortstop Ryley Warnock, designated hitter Ellido Reyes and first baseman Jacob Rayner. Second baseman McDaniel Singleton knocked a huge two-run double in the win.

Ryan McAuliffe notched his first win of the season with a three-run complete game. He gave up three hits, two walks and struck out five batters in his seven innings of work.

The Knights came right back and swept the doubleheader with a convincing 11-4 win. Singleton had two hits, stole two bases and scored three runs. Designated hitter Michael Crisostomo knocked in three runs and scored two more. Third baseman Cole Josselyn also stole two bases and recorded two RBI. NECC hit .400 as a team in the second game.

Pajazetovic recorded the win for the Knights. He pitched four and two-thirds innings, gave up four hits, four runs (only one of them earned) and struck out three.

The Knights’ next game was against the JV squad of Utica (N.Y.). As expected, NECC ran right through them, winning 14-7. Outfielder Harrison Smoske led the way with a three for five performance that included a triple, a stolen base and three RBIs. Crisostomo stole two more bases and knocked in two more runs. Singleton also had two RBIs and went three for four.

Jerry Hernandez went just three innings and gave up four runs on four hits. He also walked four and struck out four. Tyler Favaloro came in and got the win after going two and two-thirds innings of one-hit, shutout baseball.

The Knights’ next opponent was Vermilion Community College of Ely, Minn. NECC made easy work of them, outscoring them 20-3 over the two games. Smoske and Colby Maiola each drove in three runs over the two games. Maiola also stole three bases, while Smoske stole four.

Robert Barry got the win in the first game. He went six innings and gave up only one run on three hits while striking out seven. Gianni Esposito took the second game and gave up one run on seven hits with seven strikeouts in four innings of work.

The only two losses of the season came in the next doubleheader. The Knights faced off with Sussex County Community College of Newton, N.J., and it wasn’t pretty. The Knights lost the first game 17-5, then came back with a slightly more acceptable (but still unfortunate) 13-11 loss. Warnock and Reyes each recorded four RBIs over the two games.

Hernandez and Ryan Decker were the two pitchers who got beat up in the first game. Hernandez gave up seven runs in just over two innings, while Decker gave up eight runs in just over one. It was Favaloro who got roughed up in the second game, giving up 10 runs in two and one-third innings.

The Knights bounced back in their next series against Muscatine Community College of Muscatine, Iowa. NECC took both games, winning 5-4 in the first game and 3-2 in the second. Smoske, Singleton and Colby Ingraham each recorded two hits in the first win. Rayner had an RBI in each of the games, while Maiola stole a base in each game.

Pajazetovic threw a complete game in the first matchup, giving up four runs on eight hits in seven innings. McAuliffe came out and threw another complete game in the second outing, giving up two runs on three hits while striking out eight in seven innings.

The final doubleheader of the Florida trip came on Friday, March 20. In the first game, the Knights beat Burlington County College of Pemberton, N.J. 3-2. In the second game, NECC defeated Schenectady County Community College of Schenectady, N.Y. by a score of 15-4. Ingraham and Josselyn were the two run-producers in the first game, each driving in one run. Meanwhile, it was Reyes, Singleton and Rayner who led the way in the second game. Reyes went four for five with four RBIs and three runs scored. Singleton went three for five with three RBIs and two runs scored. Rayner went three for three with two RBIs and one run scored.

Esposito got the win in the first game after coming in in relief of Anthony Dally and giving up no runs on no hits over three innings. In the second game, Barry pitched three innings and gave up three runs on six hits to earn the victory.

The Knights’ first game back up north is a road game against Community College of Rhode Island today at 3:30 p.m. The Knights will then continue their way up the coast and play their first home game on Saturday, March 28 at 11 a.m. The game will be played at the Haverhill Stadium.

Sports

NECC Snow Plans For Spring Season

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With the spring sports season ready to get underway within the next two weeks, NECC is trying to find a way to cope with all the snow that still blankets all the playing fields. While the baseball team has their yearly trip to Florida for the start of their season, they will still return to a snow-covered diamond. The softball and track team face the same dilemma.

Athletic Director Sue MacAvoy has been looking for places to play in the meantime.
“We’ve been talking to some places around here with turf fields, like Haverhill Stadium,” she said. “Baseball and softball have been practicing there a bit, with track running around the perimeter.”

But Haverhill Stadium has one of the very few turf fields in the area, making it hard to find time to get out there.

“Every school around wants to practice and play out there,” MacAvoy said. “It’s just hard to find times that work for everybody.”

MacAvoy estimates that the fields on the Haverhill campus won’t be ready until at least mid-April, especially with the snowfall this past weekend. In the meantime, the Knights’ baseball team has one game scheduled at Haverhill Stadium, against Bunker Hill Community College on Saturday, March 28.

The weather has certainly played a part in the limited numbers for the track program so far, making it hard to new head coach Beau Couture to get a feel for his team.

The softball team has been throwing the ball around in the gym on campus for the most part. They’ve been practicing since about January, and have been outside at Haverhill Stadium four times. The girls are just itching to get out on the field, and they’ve ramped up their practices to five days a week. The Knights are scheduled to begin their season on Saturday, March 28 against NHTI. The game is scheduled to be played on the Haverhill campus, but there is a possibility that it will be moved to NHTI’s home field in Concord.

This will be the first season that softball will be a full varsity sport at NECC.

So while the snow plows try to move some of the snow off the track to help get the weight off it, MacAvoy will continue to look for ways to get her teams out onto the field for the spring sports season.

Sports

Getting involved in spring sports

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Anyone who is interested in participating in a sport for the Spring 2015 semester must submit a recruiting form, a physical and an immunization form before becoming eligible to compete.
These forms, along with others such as the NJCAA eligibility form and the Code of Conduct can be found on NECC’s athletic website,
athletics.necc.mass.edu under the header “Become a Knight.”
Players who are interested in playing softball are
encouraged to contact head coach Robert Gillespie at rgillespie@necc.mass.edu or at (978)-556-3828. Gillespie is always looking for new
players to add to the team.
If track is more your style, you can contact head coach William Roche at
wroche@necc.mass.edu or at (978)-556-3826. This is Roche’s first season as head coach.
He was formerly the
assistant track coach under Richard Brown.
Those interested in trying out for the baseball team can contact head coach Jeff Mejia at jmejia@necc.mass.edu or at (978)-556-3827.
The Knights baseball team is coming off another great season that ended with a loss in the NJCAA World Series in Tyler, Texas.
They will undoubtedly be striving for another run to the World Series this year.
As always, if interscholastic sports aren’t suited for you, there are always opportunities to play intramural sports right on the Haverhill campus.
The schedule is always posted at necc.mass.edu under the header “Student Life.”
It can also be found on the bulletin board in the lobby of the Sport and Fitness Center on the Haverhill campus.
It will be updated for the Spring 2015 semester in a matter of days.
Some sports offered for intramurals are flag football, soccer, volleyball and ultimate frisbee. among others.
There is also a gaming area in the lobby of the Sport and Fitness Center, complete with ping pong tables and pool
tables for a small fee.
There are a few days each semester when use of the pool tables is free.
There is also a snack bar in the main lobby.
Students who would like to use a locker can visit the main office at the Sport and Fitness Center (D106) and request one.

Sports

Knights drop three of four coming out of winter break

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The Knights have struggled coming out of the winter break this year, going 1-3 over the first four games of the new year. The Knights opened with double-digit losses at Southern Maine
Community College and at home against Lincoln College of New England before netting a tight
57-53 win over Vermont
Technical College last Sunday. Hoping to get a winning streak started, the Knights suffered a tough overtime loss on the road at
Bristol Community College Tuesday night.
The loss at Southern Maine was mainly caused by poor ball handling. The Knights committed 14 turnovers in the game
compared to only ten assists. Any game where the turnovers
outnumber the assists is more than likely going to end up in a loss, and a team like NECC just isn’t talented enough to make up for mistakes like that.
Matthew Jameson and Elijah Mukiibi struggled offensively, combining to shoot 4-25 from the field (16 percent) and only
netting 11 points. The backcourt duo of Edwin Gonzalez and Bryan Morales did most of the scoring for the Knights. Morales finished with ten points and only one turnover while Gonzalez scored 24. Gonzalez added five rebounds and five steals to round out his numbers.
It was much of the same when the Knights returned home to face off with
Lincoln College of New
England. NECC was outrebounded by 28 (65-37) and committed 15 turnovers. Despite another poor team shooting performance (33 percent from the field, 29
percent from three), the scoring was a little more evenly distributed.
Jameson and Mukiibi got back on track, scoring 17 and 13 points, respectively. Mukiibi also had eight rebounds. Forward Jonathan Paulino had a big day in the paint with a double-double (11 points, 16 rebounds) and Gonzalez came through with 13 points and a few assists. Kevin Brito contributed 12 points and two rebounds off the bench, while Chris Corey scored seven.
The win over Vermont Technical College exemplifies just what has to happen for the Knights to be successful. While they still committed 12 turnovers, the Knights shot the ball extremely well from three-point range (53.3 percent) and from the field in general (39.2 percent). With an undersized roster that has some trouble with rebounding, the number one remedy is to put the ball in the hoop.
Morales had another good game with 13 points including four three-pointers. Jameson was right behind with ten points, and Gonzalez added seven. Mukiibi and Paulino did their job down low, coming down with nine and eight rebounds, respectively. Each added a handful of points as well.
The Knights came out in the next game against Bristol with a bit of momentum from the previous win. They played well during much of the game, even out-rebounding Bristol 49-35. But they struggled to shoot the ball again, only hitting 31.7 percent of their shots and 19.2 percent from the field. Although they forced 14 turnovers, NECC committed 12 on their end, continuing the trend of bad ball handling. The defense faltered in the overtime period and Bristol was able to take a commanding lead.
The big men in the middle were the stars of this one. Mukiibi and Paulino both recorded double-doubles, with Mukiibi scoring 18 points and pulling down 14 rebounds and Paulino netting 14 points and 18 rebounds. The two of them combined for more rebounds than the entire starting five for Bristol. Gonzalez and Jameson also came to play, with Gonzalez scoring 14 points and Jameson scoring 11.
The Knights now stand at 6-11 on the season. With only ten games left to go, it’s going to be a fairly tough road to register even a .500 record. NECC still faces tough tests against teams like Roxbury Community College, Holyoke Community College and the University of Connecticut at Avery Point.
The one thing going for the Knights is that most of the remaining games are at home, but that is of little comfort to a team that is still struggling to put the ball in the net.

Sports

Former NECC baseball alumni celebrate

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On Sunday, October 19, players from past and present NECC Knights baseball teams gathered on the Haverhill campus for the second annual Alumni Day. In all, about 17 baseball alums from several different Knights’ teams and their families came to the festivities which included a cookout, a home run derby and an alumni baseball game.

Among the players who came to the game were Francisco Baez (’03), a former All-Star and a member of the first state championship team, effectively “starting the winning tradition here”, as Athletic Director Sue MacAvoy puts it.

Also present were members of the 2005 team, as well as more recent teams, like 2012, 2013 and 2014.

Representing the 2012 team were Pat Parker, a former All-American who went on to play two years for the Umass Lowell RiverHawks, and Keegan Pafford, another All-American who won a Rawlings’ Gold Glove award for his outstanding play in centerfield.

One member of the 2013 team who was present was Dan Bonito, who took home the prize in the home run derby with 3 homers over the right field fence.

However, the real star of the afternoon was former Knight Manny Cabral (’13). After graduating from NECC last year, Cabral decided that he wanted to make a difference. He did this by donating some of his bone marrow to a person who needed it, a person whom he didn’t even know.

Sue MacAvoy was truly moved by his selflessness, and decided that she was going to nominate him for an Outstanding Alumni Award to recognize his community service. Cabral received the award at graduation last year.

“To think that an All-Star player with a bright future would just put athletics aside like that and help another person, I don’t even have any words to describe it,” said MacAvoy.

Fast forward to the weekend of October 19, and Cabral is about to meet the woman who received his bone marrow. He decided to bring Rebecca Dolan, 32, of Columbus, Ohio, to the Alumni Day festivities.

Dolan received Cabral’s bone marrow in January of 2013, and credits Manny with saving her life. She has since returned to her job at the Ohio State University, and after some emails back and forth, the two agreed to meet on October 17. Dolan and her immediate family flew into Boston on the evening of the 17, and met Cabral at his aunt’s house. Together they sat and talked, and Dolan was finally able to thank her savior face to face.

The alumni played a full seven-inning game that lasted about two hours. Former Knights’ coach Chris Shanahan, who was with the Knights in their 2012 World Series run, coached the alumni team.

In the fifth inning, there was a ceremony on the field where Cabral received his Knights team jersey, and Rebecca was given some NECC baseball gear. Dolan also gave Cabral several gifts, including a book full of thank you letters from her friends and family.
After the game, MacAvoy and Cabral’s coach, Jeff Mejia, spoke about Cabral’s service and his selflessness.

“We talked about how we wanted our other athletes to grow and have a positive impact on other people’s lives,” said MacAvoy.

After the home run derby and baseball game were over, players and their families gathered for a barbeque.

“Everyone had a great time, current and former players sat together and shared stories,” said Sue MacAvoy.

The alumni who gathered for the festivities that afternoon spanned from the 2003 and 2005 teams all the way to the 2012, 2013 and 2014 World Series teams. The day was filled with great fun and fond memories being shared by all. Next fall, the alums will gather on the Haverhill campus again for another great Alumni Day.

Sports

NECC Knights softball preparing for Spring 2015

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The NECC Knights softball team is preparing for the second year in the program’s history, and their work has already begun this semester.  The Knights will be playing a short scrimmage season this fall, with practice through October and highlighted by two scrimmage games, one on Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2014 against New Hampshire Technical Institute and another the next day, Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2014 against Southern Maine.

Both games are home games for the Knights, in the softball field next to the Sport and Fitness Center on the Haverhill campus.

While the Knights would love to play more than two back-to-back scrimmage games this fall, that is all that is allowed by NJCAA protocol.  In addition, once practices end this fall, coach Robert Gillespie won’t be able to have team activities all winter.

However, many players on the softball team are planning to take part in a kickboxing club in order to stay fit over the winter break.  Coach Gillespie fully supports this, saying that he “would just like to see them stay active.”  Practice will begin again in mid-February, and more preparations for the main spring season will be made.

The first season in the program’s history was mainly a building year.  Unable to become a varsity team due to the uncertainty of fielding a full team, the Knights were classified as a club team, meaning they would not play a full schedule.  With the addition of terrible weather last spring, the Knights were only able to play nine games all season.  This year will be different, however.  The Knights have become a varsity squad this year, and coach Gillespie assures that they will play at least 20 games this spring season, a full schedule.

The Knights are certainly looking to be competitive this spring with nine returning players from the first year of the program.  In addition, Coach Gillespie has done a great job of recruiting, bringing in all-around talent like Tarah Reilly of North Reading, who Gillespie said, “has a great glove in the field and knows how to swing the bat.”  Coach Gillespie will be bringing in six or seven recruits to the Knights’ team this year, and he fully expects the team to be competitive.

Gillespie said, “we’ll really have a truer test with the scrimmage games this week, but we look good so far and I expect us to really compete this year.”

A big part of being competitive this season according to Gillespie is pitching.

“To me, pitching is huge.  We have a pitcher this year, which is what we were missing,”  said Gillespie.

The pitcher he is referring to is one of the new recruits that Gillespie has, Nodine Webster.  Webster, a Wells, Maine native, throws a lot of strikes and is “a legit pitcher” according to Gillespie.  He knows that the main problem last year was that the Knights had no good pitching, and it was almost entirely the reason they failed to win a game last year.

Gillespie hopes that with the additions of Webster and the other recruits, as well as his stock of returning players and a full offseason to get work in, the Knights are going to push forward in a big way this season.

Another way coach Gillespie hopes to improve this year is having a better mental approach to the game as a team, and playing the game with more flow and fluidity on the field.  He is convinced that this will certainly be improved as a result of their improved pitching staff and additions to the lineup.  These improvements will speed up the game for the Knights, keeping all the players ultra-focused and fully invested in each game.

Coach Gillespie is certainly happy with the improvements his team has made since the first season of the program, but he also knows that his work spreading the word about the softball team at Northern Essex is far from over.  Gillespie is always recruiting, telling prospective players about the advantages to not only playing softball at NECC, but also going to school there.

“I’m a firm believer in the community college system, so it’s easy for me to tell players about the advantages of coming here,”  said Gillespie.

He has also been spending time talking to high schools about the program, and pushing graduating seniors to come play for him.

Gillespie knows about the issues that some students have with playing sports in college, whether it’s other commitments such as a job or classes.  He would like to sit all of his players down with an academic advisor this winter so that they can work all of their class schedules in sync and have plenty of time for practice and games in the spring.