SteepleCats Sweep Bay Sox In Doubleheader

NORTH ADAMS, Mass —Even though the fireworks show was on Wednesday night, the SteepleCats ended their five-game homestand with a bang on Sunday.

As their June 28 matchup was canceled due to rain, the North Adams SteepleCats and the New Bedford Bay Sox faced off in a rare Joe Wolfe Field doubleheader on Sunday afternoon. Right from the early innings of game one, the SteepleCats' bats sent the ball all across the diamond, gathering a total of 22 hits in their two-game sweep of the Bay Sox by the scores of 8-1 and 11-3.

Game 1

Grant Stone made the start for North Adams. The Harvard junior was the only arm for the SteepleCats in the first game, going a dominant 5.0 innings in which he only allowed one unearned run off of two hits.

“I got to give all the credit in the world to my offense and defense" said Stone. “Without that run support, I wouldn’t have felt as comfortable attacking the zone with strikes. And having a good defense behind me is key knowing I can pound the zone and any ball put in play they can make a good play on it.”

Anthony Martino, the starter for the Bay Sox, was not able to match Stone’s performance. A two-out rally started in the second inning as Matt Koperniak reached on a single and then was driven home by a double to the wall by James Ciliento. Cris Ruiz then reached on a single to the outfield and a wild pitch sent Ciliento home. Dillon Mendel drove in Ruiz with a single to give North Adams a 3-0 after the top of the second.

After a blank inning for New Bedford, the SteepleCats’ offense attacked again in the top of the third. Both Jeffery Brown and Joe Porricelli were able to reach on singles while Jacob Jablonski walked to have the bases loaded with one out for Adams Koperniak. The former Hoosac Valley star smoked a ball all the way to the wall for a double, easily scoring Brown and Porricelli.

Martino’s night for New Bedford ended there as Tylor Arruda then took over the mound duties for the rest of the game. A wild pitch by Arruda allowed Jablonski to come across the dish to give North Adams a 6-0 lead. Bryant University’s Ciliento then continued the hitting party with his own single to score Koperniak. With Ruiz on after his single, Dillon Mendel knocked a ball into the outfield to then score Ciliento. When the inning finally concluded, North Adams came out with a commanding 8-0 lead.

With a scoreless fourth inning, New Bedford finally brought a run across in the bottom of the fifth, as a single by Raphael Chaumette scored Christian Aybar.

North Adams threatened with runners on the base path in the top of the sixth when a pop fly by Jackson Coutts led to a scary collision of two New Bedford fielders.

Yet with this discomforting event, SteepleCats head coach Justin Sumner, Bay Sox manager Chris Cabe, and the umpires made the decision to call the game in the sixth inning, giving the SteepleCats an 8-1 victory.

Game 2

Unlike game one, the Blue Sox were able to establish an early offense instead of the SteepleCats.

Newly signed pitcher Joe Kemlage made his NECBL debut as he started on the hill for game two of the doubleheader. Coming to the SteepleCats from the NYCBL’s Sherrill Silversmiths, Kemlage tossed 30 innings in five appearances for the NYCBL team in which he struck out 21 batters.

Yet the Bay Sox were able to grab an early 2-0 lead in the first off of the AIC left-hander as a sac fly scored Elijah Brown and Jack Winkler came across on a Robert Emery single.

Christian Ayber in the second inning was able to pull a home run around the left field pole to give the Bay Sox another run, however that would be the last of their scoring in the second game.

The SteepleCats offense heated back up in the third inning, as Jeffery Brown reached on a walk and scored when Greg Cavaliere sent a single to the outfield that a left fielder’s error allowed for him to reach second. Rowan University's Dillon Mendel then collected his first of three RBIs in the second game as his single brought Cavaliere across.

Mendel, who is a recent newcomer to the SteepleCats, has come on strong at the right time for North Adams, hitting .467 in his first five games in the NECBL.

“I’m just trying to not do too much, put the ball in play, and make things happen” Mendel said.

After Kemlage gathered two outs, Stanley Vargas came on to relief pitch for North Adams in the top of the 4th. The New England College right-hander got the win for the SteepleCats, tossing 2.1 innings where only three New Bedford hits could be found.

Unlike the Bay Sox’s empty fourth inning, the SteepleCats unleashed their bats and gave their team their first lead of the game. The inning began with Tyler Zell coming in to relieve for Michael Young, yet his time on the mound was short. With the bases loaded after a Koperniak double and Ruiz and Ciliento walks, center fielder Brown brought home two more runs for North Adams with a single. His fellow outfielder then decided to join in on the fun, launching a double into the outfield and driving in Ruiz and Brown. Serafino Brito replaced the pounded Zell, who gave up the final run of the inning scored on a fielder’s choice where Greg Cavaliere beat out the throw home, giving the SteepleCats a 7-3 lead.

Just as they did in the fourth, the SteepleCats continued to pile on runs in the fifth. Jack Owens came on the mound for relief for the Bay Sox yet allowing the bases to be loaded again, Mendel came up big for North Adams with a two-run single that scored Tyler Serricchio and Brown to extend their run total to nine. Merrimack College’s Joe Porricelli then collected his own RBI by reaching on a single to score Greg Cavaliere. A Coutts sac fly allowed for Mendel to come in and score the final run of the contest for North Adams.

Jeff Hayner came on for the final inning for the SteepleCats, dealing a quick three outs and securing the doubleheader sweep for North Adams. Over the two games, the SteepleCats collected a total of 19 runs off of 22 hits while striking out eight batters.

The SteepleCats have Monday off but head back on the road to face the Winnipesaukee Muskrats Tuesday at 6:30. Their next home game is Friday, July 13, against the Plymouth Pilgrims at 6:30. Tickets for that game or any SteepleCats home 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. ...