North Adams was unable to come up with the win at the United States Coast Guard Academy yesterday, losing to the Mystic Schooners 12-6.

Even in a loss, North Adams fought to the end. The ‘Cats played hard throughout the game, making Mystic work hard on both sides of the ball for their victory. In particular, the bats nearly staged a late-game comeback, forcing Mystic to use some of their high-leverage arms and taking good, quality at-bats throughout the game. The pitching also impressed, consistently pounding the zone with strikes, not allowing Mystic any easy runs.

North Adams started the scoring early in the game, plating a run in the top of the 1st inning. After Hunter Ray (Portal) walked and took second base on an error by the Mystic catcher, a double from Chris Diaz (Marist) brought him in to give the ‘Cats the early advantage. Mystic would respond in the bottom of the 2nd, however, as three Schooners came around to score. Camden Righi (Connecticut) would come home on a bases-loaded walk from Jack Harley (Stetson), Thomas O’Connell (Virginia) would score on a single from Casey Wensley (Bryant), and Anthony Belisario (Portal) would hit a sacrifice fly to score Jamie Zee (Notre Dame).

Mystic would strike again in the bottom of the 3rd, scoring two runs, and plate three more in the bottom of the 4th to take a commanding 8-1 lead. That score would hold until the 8th inning, with the pitchers on both sides trading zeroes and pitching extremely efficiently. However, that story would change as North Adams would plate five runs in the top of 8th, forcing Mystic to use three different pitchers and sending 11 batters to the plate in the inning. Their patient approach confounded the Mystic arms, as walk after walk allowed the North Adams bats to keep the line moving. The momentum would be short-lived, however, as Mystic scored four in the bottom half of the frame to once again put the game out of reach at 12-6. That would be the final score, as despite some late game heroics from the ‘Cats, victory was able to elude them on the day.

While the result on the day may have been a loss, the ‘Cats should still be able to hold their heads high after the game. They fought until the end, gave a good team a great fight, and kept it competitive throughout. The bats nearly overcame a heavy deficit with a great late-game rally, and the pitching kept a talented Mystic offense quiet for large stretches of the game. All in all, the ‘Cats deserved more out of the game, but can still take a number of good signs from their time at the Coast Guard Academy.

North Adams returns to Joe Wolfe Field for their first matchup of the season against the Bristol Blues, with first pitch scheduled for 6:30 p.m. The ‘Cats then welcome the defending NECBL champion Keene Swamp Bats to North Adams on Saturday, with first pitch once again scheduled for 6:30 p.m.