Banos named MVP in NECBL All-Star Game

Banos was named MVP at the 2010 NECBL All-Star Game in Newport.

The North Shore Navigators were well-represented at the 2010 NECBL All-Star Game in Newport, Rhode Island, as the Eastern Division rolled to a 10-0 victory over the West.

The Navigators’ Jason Banos (Columbia University; Lynnfield) was named MVP for his efforts after the NECBL’s second leading hitter hit a two-run home run in the sixth inning to put the East on top 6-0. Fittingly, Banos participated in the event’s Home Run Derby earlier in the afternoon, in which he connected for two home runs. Banos is currently hitting .370 for the season, and has reached base in 19 straight games. He is hitting a remarkable .432 over that span.

The Navigators’ five other All-Star selections also made large impacts for the East, a team that was managed by Navs’ head coach Jeff Waldron and assistant coaches Eric Pelletier and Steve Coffey.

Matt Avery (Cypress College) started and led off the game, going 2-for-3 with an RBI. He singled home a run in the second inning and later singled in the fourth but was thrown out trying to stretch it into a double. Avery (.320) is among the top-ten leaders in batting average.

Tyler Kuehl (Point Loma Nazarene) started at second base for the East and scored a run in the second inning after reaching on a fielder’s choice. Kuehl is fourth in the NECBL with 22 RBI.

Nolan Corr (Wheaton College), Crayton Bare (University of Baylor), and Bryant Gauthier (Southern New Hampshire University; Lynn) were the three Navs’ pitchers selected to the All-Star roster, as the three combined to pitch the sixth, seventh, and eighth innings, allowing no runs on just one hit while facing the minimum nine hitters.

Corr allowed a single to lead off the sixth but induced a double play before a fly out ended the inning. Bare and Gauthier both threw perfect innings in the sixth and seventh, as both struck out one in their lone inning of work.

The Navigators (19-12), who currently own the best winning percentage in the league (.613), have 11 games remaining as they look to make a final push for the playoffs.

News: Navs Shine in the All Star Game

Six players, including a league-high four starters and the designated closer, represented the North Shore Navigators in the 2009 NECBL All Star Game.  First baseman Ben Waldrip, second baseman Patrick Brady, outfielder Tre Dennis, and pitcher Mike Gallo started at their respective positions for the East Division All Star Team, while Chris Kowalski was the designated closer and Navs strikeout leader Jeff Tardiff pitched in relief.

…and all of the selections were certainly well deserved…

Dennis, the East lead-off hitter, singled and walked, while Brady doubled, walked, and scored and Waldrip singled and scored.  Tardiff and Kowalski tossed perfect innings and combined to throw three innings of one-run ball with East starter Mike Gallo.

…gallo pitched extremely well as the starter; with runners at first and third and nobody out, gallo got a big double play ball when he needed it.  tardiff and kowalski each recorded a strikeout in their perfect innings of relief, while all three north shore hitters collected hits…

Chris Kowalski homered once in the Home Run Derby but did not advance to the second round.

…the way i understood it, they were supposed to have three rounds, but only two players homered twice and so only two players advanced to the finals.  that’s not fair…

The West won 6-5 and Holyoke 3B Jake Rosenbeck was the MVP.

News: Six Navigators Selected for All Star Game

LYNN, MA (July 14, 2009) – Six players, including a league-high four starters and the designated closer, will represent the North Shore Navigators in the 2009 NECBL All Star Game.  First baseman Ben Waldrip, second baseman Patrick Brady, outfielder Tre Dennis, and pitcher Mike Gallo will start at their respective positions for the NECBL East Division All Star Team, while Chris Kowalski will be the designated closer and Jeff Tardiff will pitch in relief.

The 2009 NECBL All Star Game will be played on Saturday, July 18, at MacKenzie Stadium in Holyoke, Massachusetts.  The Navigators moved from Holyoke to Lynn for the 2008 season, after playing their home games at MacKenzie Stadium as the Holyoke Giants for three years.

Ben Waldrip, out of Saint Anselm College, recently completed his freshman season, in which he hit .394 with three home runs and 27 RBI and earned Northeast-10 All-Rookie Team honors.  Waldrip, a 6’6’’ first baseman from Medford, MA, is hitting .309 with one home run and 11 RBI with the Navigators.  Most memorably, Waldrip hit a game-tying two-run home run in the ninth inning at Lowell on June 28 before providing the go-ahead RBI single in the 11^th inning.

Patrick Brady, the second baseman from Lexington, Kentucky, will enter his senior year at Bellarmine University this fall.  Brady, who was the 2008 Great Lakes Valley Conference Player of the Year, is in the top three in the NECBL in hits and total bases.  He is hitting at an astounding .354 clip and leads the Navigators with two home runs and 19 RBI.  Brady has tallied 10 multi-hit games, and earned NECBL Player of the Week honors from June 4 – June 14.

Tre Dennis, the Chula Vista, California native out of Long Beach State University, has started each game this season for North Shore as the center-fielder and the lead-off hitter.  Dennis has currently hit safely in his last 16 games, raising his batting average to .311 this season with eight RBI.  Dennis leads the Navigators with 24 runs scored, 17 walks, a .416 on-base percentage, and 11 stolen bases.  Dennis is tied for the NECBL lead in runs scored as well.

Mike Gallo returned to the Navigators after helping the 2008 team to a 26-16 record and a playoff berth in their inaugural season in Lynn.  Gallo’s first start in 2009 was record-shattering, as the hard-throwing righty from Milligan College and Peabody, MA struck out a franchise-high 15 batters against the Manchester Silkworms.  Gallo, who is 3-1 with a 1.39 ERA to lead all North Shore starting pitchers, will get the start for the NECBL East Division All Star Team.

Chris Kowalski, the Boston College product out of Dorchester, MA, earned the designated closer role for the East Division by leading the NECBL in saves through the first half of the season.  Kowalski is 1-1 with a 0.98 ERA in 15 appearances this season, and is currently tied for the league lead with six saves.  Kowalski, who threw 3.1 scoreless innings in Boston College’s 25-inning marathon loss to Texas, has allowed only one earned run since opening night on June 4.

Jeff Tardiff, the strikeout leader on the North Shore Navigators pitching staff, will be a middle inning pitcher in the All Star Game.  Tardiff, a Framingham, MA native out of Le Moyne College, is fourth in the NECBL with 37 strikeouts in 38.0 innings, in which Tardiff is 3-2 with a 1.42 ERA.  Tardiff was also selected to play on the 28-man NECBL All Star Team, which lost 5-2 against the USA Baseball National Team on July 5 in Manchester, New Hampshire.