The Cats starting pitcher, Brian Zeldin, was extending his arm to offer his skipper the ball when Dailey was halfway to the mound. Instead, he left Zeldin in the game, and the starter rewarded Dailey by dealing a ground ball that North Adams defense turned into a double play. North Adams got out of the inning and went on to a 5-2 win over Sanford to advance to the second round of the New England Collegiate Baseball League playoffs. Zeldin had cruised through the first six innings and ended up allowing just three hits and no runs in 6-2/3 innings of work for the SteepleCats, who advance to a best of three series against the Upper Valley Nighthawks, who dispatched Winnipesaukee, 7-6, in 12 innings on Tuesday night.
On Wednesday at Joe Wolfe Field, Jon Kozarian went 3-for-4 at the plate and Charles Middleton drove in a pair of runs as the SteepleCats defeated first-place Keene, 4-2, to move within half a game of the Northern Division leaders. Camden Lovrich and Jake Cubbler combined to allow just one earned run and strike out 11 in the win. Cubbler struck out seven and allowed just two hits over five innings to earn the win in relief. In the bottom of the fifth, JuJuan Lacewell-Cason singled to drive in Benjamin Werkheiser to break a 2-2 tie. North Adams (21-14-2) travels to face Upper Valley on Thursday evening. The SteepleCats play four of their remaiing five games on the road; they will be home on Friday against Keene at 6:30 p.m.
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. Matt Shilling drove in a run with two outs in the bottom of the eighth to complete a comeback for the North Adams SteepleCats, who tied North Shore, 4-4, in the.