SteepleCats Drop Season Opener

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Baserunning errors and a quiet early offense hurt the SteepleCats in their first game. 

The North Adams SteepleCats fell to the Danbury Westerners 9-3 Tuesday night in their first game of the 2018 NECBL season. North Adams stranded some runners on base throughout the innings, but couldn’t keep up with the offense of the Westerners. 

Danbury pitcher Eli Oliphant kept the SteepleCats offense in check for most of the game, going 6 innings while allowing only 1 hit. Oliphant was credited with the win. For North Adams, starter Brandon Alberto was given the loss after going 4 innings, allowing 5 hits and 3 runs.

The SteepleCats had hard-hit balls, but most were right into the Westerners defense.  Several runners thrown out in the base path hurt their chances to produce runs.

“I thought our offensive approach from beginning to end was solid. I thought we barreled up some balls real well and had some real good at-bats.  It was just one of those nights that the balls we seemed to hit hard went right to their defense, just nothing you can really do about that,” said head coach Justin Sumner.

Jackson Coutts had a good day at the plate for the SteepleCats, getting 2 hits in 4 at-bats. Joe Porricelli gave the SteepleCats their only RBI, with their other 2 runs coming on a wild pitch and a passed ball.

“We have Christopher Cepeda going on the mound Thursday, and a couple of other guys coming in from an offensive standpoint that will really help round this lineup out.  We’re really looking to use that to springboard the next couple of weeks,” said Sumner.

Up next for the SteepleCats: their home opener against the Upper Valley Nighthawks on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are available at www.steeplecats.org or an hour prior to the game at the SteepleCats box office at Joe Wolfe Field.

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.