SteepleCats Claw Out Of Early Hole To Defeat Mainers

SANFORD, Maine. —The SteepleCats knew only one way to celebrate outfielder Kyle Norman’s birthday Friday night, and that was throwing him a hitting fiesta.

After dropping three in a row at home, the SteepleCats traveled to Sanford, Maine to take on the Sanford Mainers. Falling in an early hole down 6-2, the North Adams bats erupted and gathered a season-high 22 hits to roll to a 14-8 victory.

Three pitchers took the hill for North Adams Friday night, each tossing three innings. Danny Taggart made the start for his second of the season, allowing the Mainers to get seven runs off of six hits to grab an early lead. He was relieved by Niagara University’s Jeff Hayner, who only allowed two hits and struck out two. The game was closed by newly acquired pitcher Tommy Lane. The Boston College senior surrendered just three hits and one run while striking out three to help secure the win for the SteepleCats.

The Mainers bullpen however saw much more action on the mound. Six different arms faced the SteepleCats lineup on Friday, as each struggled to hold back the hot North Adams bats. Starting pitcher Tyler Mortenson seemed to have the Cats mostly under control, throwing three innings where he only allowed four hits and two runs, but the five pitchers that relieved Mortenson were feasted upon by the SteepleCats’ batters, surrendering a combined 18 hits and twelve runs.

The scoring really broke out for the SteepleCats in the 4th, 5th, and 6th innings. Eights runs including two from a Jackson Coutts homerun crossed the plate, giving North Adams a 10-7 lead. An 8th inning that saw four RBI singles for the SteepleCats finally sealed the road win for North Adams.

Outfielder Jeffery Brown continued his hot start to the season on Friday, going three-for-five at the plate with two RBIs. Brown, who is only behind his teammate Jackson Coutts on the NECBL batting average leaderboards, is optimistic about the SteepleCats offense looking forward.

“It looked like we finally found the spark we needed to get the engine running” said Brown. “Hopefully that engine just keeps on running in the next couple games”.

The SteepleCats are on the road again tomorrow when they take on the Keene Swampbats at Alumni Field at 6:30. They make their return to Joe Wolfe Field on Sunday as the SteepleCats will celebrate Father’s Day with a chance for fans to win a 32” flat screen television. Tickets for Sunday’s game can be purchased online at www.steeplecats.org or at the Ticket Booth one hour prior to the game’s start.

North Adams Hopes to Transform Y Into Community Recreation Center

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff
05:19AM / Thursday, May 02, 2024

Mayor Jennifer Macksey updates members of the former YMCA on the status of the roof project and plans for reopening. 

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The city has plans to keep the former YMCA as a community center.

 

"The city of North Adams is very committed to having a recreation center not only for our youth but our young at heart," Mayor Jennifer Macksey said to the applause of some 50 or more YMCA members on Wednesday. "So we are really working hard and making sure we can have all those touch points."

 

The fate of the facility attached to Brayton School has been in limbo since the closure of the pool last year because of structural issues and the departure of the Berkshire Family YMCA in March.

 

The mayor said the city will run some programming over the summer until an operator can be found to take over the facility. It will also need a new name. 

 

"The YMCA, as you know, has departed from our facilities and will not return to our facility in the form that we had," she said to the crowd in Council Chambers. "And that's been mostly a decision on their part. The city of North Adams wanted to really keep our relationship with the Y, certainly, but they wanted to be a Y without borders, and we're going a different direction."

 

The pool was closed in March 2023 after the roof failed a structural inspection. Kyle Lamb, owner of Geary Builders, the contractor on the roof project, said the condition of the laminated beams was far worse than expected. 

 

"When we first went into the Y to do an inspection, we certainly found a lot more than we anticipated. The beams were actually rotted themselves on the bottom where they have to sit on the walls structurally," he said. "The beams actually, from the weight of snow and other things, actually crushed themselves eight to 11 inches. They were actually falling apart. ...