The North Shore Navigators narrowly defeated the Sharks 5-4 in an extra-inning game on July 24.
“It was another close one for us,” Sharks Coach Mike Cassidy said. “It seems like almost all of our losses have been close losses this year, so if we can turn this around, that’ll make a nice run going into the playoffs.”
The Sharks are holding fourth place in the league, while the Navigators wait just offshore in fifth.
According to Cassidy, it was a nice, close game going into the fifth inning, with the Sharks up one. The Sharks faced a tough error in the fifth inning, when pitcher Braidyn Fink slipped while throwing, causing the ball to go past the first baseman. The Navigators took advantage of the error and scored three runs.
The score was 3-1 going into the sixth, where the Navigators pulled out another run. The Sharks mounted a nice comeback with two runs in the seventh and another in the eighth, tying up the score. Neither team scored in the ninth, and the game went to an extra frame.
“Our pitcher did a really good job in the ninth and 10th,” Mr. Cassidy said. “The Navigators hit a pop-up that landed in no man’s land — a perfectly placed ball.”
The Navigators plated a fifth run, and the Sharks weren’t able to score in the home half of the 10th.
Ian Hussian was the Sharks player of the night. Mr. Hussian pitched 3.2 innings, in which he recorded four strikeouts. “Despite some really tough situations, he really saved our bullpen for the rest of the week,” Mr. Cassidy noted.
Both Philip Clarke and Kevin Alexy were two for four, with an RBI each.
With 10 games left leading up to the championships, Mr. Cassidy has clear goals going forward. “I really like the way the team has been playing lately. Everyone is pretty even in the league this year,” he said. “Our goal is not just to make the playoffs, but to win the whole thing. We want to bring a championship back to the people of this Island. We love playing in front of them.”
