SteepleCats Clinch Playoff Spot With Road Win
 |
LACONIA, N.H. -- Joe Deluca went 2-for-5 with a double and three runs batted in to lead the North Adams SteepleCats to a 5-4 win over Laconia on Friday night in the New England Collegiate Baseball League.
The SteepleCats (20-21) had a 4-0 lead midway through the fifth and held off a ninth-inning rally, leaving the tying run at third base.
Hoosac Valley graduate Tanner Bird pitched two innings of one-hit relief, striking out two and lowering his earned run average for the season to 3.86.
Starter John Erhardt earned the win, going 5-2/3 and allowing two runs.
North Adams locked up fourth place and the final playoff spot in the NECBL Northern Division with the win. The 'Cats have a two-game lead over the fifth-place Valley Blue Sox going into Saturday's regular season finales.
North Adams could still finish as high as third place in the standings. It hosts Newport at Joe Wolfe Field while third-place Laconia (21-20) travels to Holyoke. If the teams end up tied, North Adams will have the tie-breaker because it won the season series from the Muskrats.
