Tad Gold, a graduate and former varsity baseball and hockey player at Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School, will join six Martha’s Vineyard Sharks teammates in tonight’s inaugural Futures Collegiate Baseball League All Star Game at Holman Stadium in Nashua, N.H.
Gold, a sophomore at Endicott College in Beverly, will represent the Sharks along with shortstop Eric Jensen, catcher Justin Meier, and pitchers Mike Bradstreet, Matt Doyle, and Ryan Brockett. Also making the team is outfielder Karl Kapinos from Holyoke Community College, who was voted on to the all star roster by the Sharks’ fans.
Gold, the Sharks center fielder, is currently batting .304, with nine RBIs, and 41 hits in 135 at bats. He also leads the team in stolen bases, with 22.
Catcher Justin Meier of Bucknell leads the team in batting at .366 and has two home runs, 14 RBIs, and 26 hits in 71 at bats.
Eric Jensen, from Wheaton College, is batting .341, with 1 homer, 21 RBIs and 45 hits, in 132 at bats.
Two of the three Sharks pitchers on the all-star roster are still unbeaten. Mike Bradstreet, a righthander from the University of Rhode Island, is 6-0, with 40 Ks and just seven walks, with a 1.28 ERA in 49.1 innings of work. Matt Doyle, from Harvard, is 4-0, with 27 strikeouts, 10 walks, and a microscopic .30 ERA in 30.1 innings. Doyle won his first three games as a starter and has appeared mostly in relief since.
Lefthander Ryan Brockett, from St. Mary’s College, is 2-2 on the year, with 41 Ks and 12 walks, with a 1.91 ERA in 42.1 innings.
Sharks on the rise
The Sharks vaulted into second place in the Futures Collegiate Baseball League standings by winning five of six games in the past seven days. The Sharks are currently 21-15, seven and a half games behind Nashua.
In fifth place only a week ago, the Sharks routed Brockton, 12-1, on July 19, beat Old Orchard Beach, 4-2, on Friday, and left the Waschusett Dirt Dawgs in the dust, 12-2, on Saturday.
After a bump in the road, Sunday, in Lynn, against the North Shore Navigators, the Sharks swept a home and home series with the Seacoast Mavericks. The Sharks edged the Mavs, 5-4, at Vineyard Baseball Park on Monday and beat Seacoast, 4-1, in Newington, N.H., Tuesday night.
The Sharks scored two runs in the bottom of the ninth to take the first game. Eric Jensen singled to score Matt Moore and Justin Meier hit a walk-off single to score Tad Gold with the winning run. Meier finished the game 2 for 3, with two RBIs, and Gold was 2 for 4, with two runs scored.
Andrew Boyce of Holy Cross got the start and threw six innings of one-hit ball, with five strikeouts. Corey Laliberte of Wheaton came on in relief and pitched three innings to earn to win.
In Tuesdsay night’s win, the Sharks got solid pitching from starter Joey Arena and relievers Kyle Brenner and Ryan Morris. Arena struck out seven, walked one, and gave up three hits in seven innings. Morris came on in the ninth and picked up the save.
At the plate, Nick Sanford (two RBIs), Apolinar De La Cruz (RBI), and Cale Hanson, were all 2 for 4. Tad Gold went 2 for 5, with one RBI.
The Sharks hosted Torrington Wednesday night and travel to Brockton tomorrow. The Sharks return home to play Old Orchard Beach on Saturday at 5 pm and host Brockton on Sunday, at 12 noon.
