SteepleCats Fall On The Road In Winnipesaukee

LACONIA, NH. —On one of the warmest weeks on record in New England over the last few years, the SteepleCats seem to be feeling the heat.

Traveling up to New Hampshire on Tuesday, the SteepleCats took on the Winnipesaukee Muskrats at Robbie Mills Field. Early offense and dominant pitching for the Muskrats eventually led to the SteepleCats dropping the game by the score of 6-3 to the home team.

As the away team, the SteepleCats batted first and were able to plate an early run after Jacob Jablonski hit into a fielder’s choice, bringing in Greg Cavaliere.

However, the Muskrats were able to respond in the bottom half of the inning, scoring three runs off of North Adams starting pitcher Danny Taggart via a flyout and a Po-Hao Huang 2-run home run. The Muskrats struck again in the 3rd, sending another 2-run home run over the wall, this time courtesy of Brian Kelly.

Taggart lasted five innings for the SteepleCats, surrendering nine hits and six earned runs. The last three innings for the SteepleCats belonged to Jeff Hayner, who’s 47 pitches only featured three hits and kept the Muskrats’ run total to six.

Yu-Cheng Chang, the starting pitcher for Winnipesaukee, completed a near complete game for the Muskrats, hurling in all but one inning. The Fu Jen Catholic University senior held the SteepleCats to seven hits while striking out just three.

The second SteepleCats run came in the 5th after Jackson Coutts, the top hitter in the NECBL, drove in his University of Rhode Island teammate Greg Cavaliere to make the game 5-2. Unfortunately for the SteepleCats, the Muskrats responded right back in the bottom of the 5th with an RBI single from Luis Arias to bring their lead back up to four.

A last glimmer of hope for North Adams came in the top of the 9th as Tony Ortiz smoked a solo shot out of Robbie Mills Field off of reliever Tyler Brown to bring the SteepleCats within three. Yet the hope quickly diminished after a strikeout and a flyout secured a win for the Muskrats.

The SteepleCats return home on Wednesday to take on the Sanford Mainers as part of the North Adams 4th of July Celebration. Courtesy of the North Adams SteepleCats, the City of North Adams, and the over 60 gracious sponsors, fireworks celebrating the holiday will take place directly after the game. For tickets to Wednesday’s game, head to www.steeplecats.org or purchase them at the ticket booth one hour prior to the game’s start.

Cost, Access to NBCTC High Among Concerns North Berkshire Residents

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff
06:15PM / Thursday, April 25, 2024

Adams Select Chair Christine Hoyt, NBCTC Executive Director David Fabiano and William Solomon, the attorney representing the four communities, talk after the session. 

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Public access channels should be supported and made more available to the public — and not be subject to a charge.

 

More than three dozen community members in-person and online attended the public hearing  Wednesday on public access and service from Spectrum/Charter Communications. The session at City Hall was held for residents in Adams, Cheshire, Clarksburg and North Adams to express their concerns to Spectrum ahead of another 10-year contract that starts in October.

 

Listening via Zoom but not speaking was Jennifer Young, director state government affairs at Charter.

 

One speaker after another conveyed how critical local access television is to the community and emphasized the need for affordable and reliable services, particularly for vulnerable populations like the elderly. 

 

"I don't know if everybody else feels the same way but they have a monopoly," said Clarksburg resident David Emery. "They control everything we do because there's nobody else to go to. You're stuck with with them."

 

Public access television, like the 30-year-old Northern Berkshire Community Television, is funded by cable television companies through franchise fees, member fees, grants and contributions.

 

Spectrum is the only cable provider in the region and while residents can shift to satellite providers or streaming, Northern Berkshire Community Television is not available on those alternatives and they may not be easy for some to navigate. For instance, the Spectrum app is available on smart televisions but it doesn't include PEG, the public, educational and governmental channels provided by NBCTC.