The ‘Cats picked up their first win of the season on Sunday, splitting a doubleheader with the Sanford Mainers. North Adams won the first game of the twin bill by a score of 8-2, with Sanford taking the nightcap 11-3.

All of the good signs that the ‘Cats had been seeing throughout the season so far turned into a win for North Adams, as good pitching, solid defense, and loud bats were the formula for a resounding first victory for the SteepleCats. Unfortunately, the second game did not go their way, but many of the same good things did present themselves, spelling optimism for the games to come.

The headliner from the first game of the doubleheader was undoubtedly the offensive explosion from the SteepleCats, doubling their previous season high for runs with 8, even more impressive considering that the feat was accomplished in only seven innings, the length of a doubleheader game under NECBL rules. The scoring started in the second inning, as two runs crossed the plate to give the ‘Cats an early lead, with one more coming across in the fourth, but the real haymaker came in the fifth, when five SteepleCats scored to take a commanding 8-0 lead.

While the bats were doing their thing, Niklas Pavia (Portal) was on the mound doing his. Pavia turned in the best outing of any ‘Cats starter this season, tossing 6 innings of two run baseball. He only allowed three hits and four walks while striking out nine, giving the offense the

opportunity to get to work while keeping the Sanford offense quiet. Nolan Currier (Salem State) would finish the outing with a scoreless inning of his own, putting the finishing touches on the first North Adams victory of the season. After the game, Pavia spoke about how it felt to pitch the way he had, saying simply that “it felt great. Something I needed to do… good bounceback.”

The second game, however, did not quite go North Adams’ way, with the Sanford bats responding in a big way to being held down so effectively in game one. They got off to a hot start, plating four big runs in the bottom of the 1st inning. They would stay quiet in the 2nd before igniting to push across seven runs in the 3rd, sending 12 hitters to the plate in by far the biggest inning of the day. They wouldn’t score again after that outburst, but with the way they pitched, they didn’t need to, as their pitching staff was able to hold North Adams to just three runs in the top of the 7th en route to sharing the spoils for the day, with both teams taking a game apiece.

Even though the second game didn’t go their way, the good signs were still there for North Adams. For one thing, outside of the two big innings in the first and third, the pitching was able to hold the Sanford offense in check, meaning that for large stretches of a 14-inning doubleheader, the pitching staff was able to hold a very good offense silent. The bats also showed no signs of quit, taking good at-bats and making the Mainers pitchers work for every out they got.

North Adams takes on the Newport Gulls next at Joe Wolfe Field, with first pitch scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on the 16th, before welcoming the Ocean State Waves to North Adams on the 17th, with first pitch also scheduled for 6:30 p.m.