North Adams fell short in a heartbreaker against the Ocean State Waves yesterday, losing 9-6 in an extra innings thriller.

Despite the loss, there were some real positive signs from a North Adams squad that fought until the bitter end. The offense had some real life, taking quality at-bats and getting good results against a very talented Ocean State pitching staff. The pitchers also showed out, making the Waves offense work hard for the runs they got and keeping them off balance for large stretches of the game.

The Waves started the scoring in the top of the 1st, plating two on an inside the park home run from Thomas Meluskey (New Mexico State), and adding one more on a single from Samuel Fernandez (Stetson). However, North Adams would strike right back in the bottom half of the frame, scoring one on an error at first base to cut the deficit to two.

There would be no further scoring until the 5th inning, when North Adams first baseman Bobby Stang (Dayton) went liftoff for a two run home run to tie the game. The very next inning, right fielder Hunter Ray (Portal) would repeat the feat, hitting another two run home run to give North Adams the lead. Both home runs were launched, landing far beyond the fence and giving the crowd even more to cheer about.

The score would hold at 5-3 until the 8th inning, when Ocean State cut the deficit in half on a wild pitch, scoring Zach Plasschaert (Fresno State). They would put another run up in the 9th inning, with Jack LaRose (UConn) scoring on a Gavin Marchese () single to send the game to extras. North Adams would have a good chance to score in the bottom of the 10th, loading the bases with one out, but a timely double play allowed Ocean State to escape the inning. They would score four in the top of the 11th inning, and North Adams was unable to respond in the bottom half, ending the game after 11 with a final score of 9-6.

Even in a loss, there were many bright spots for North Adams to take away from the game. For one thing, the power bats came to play in a major way, with the SteepleCats blasting two home runs and narrowly missing a third. The signs have been showing for a while that the team has made the adjustment to wood bats, and this was just the latest. They also worked good at-bats throughout the game, and made the pitchers work hard from the first out to the last. The pitchers also had a fantastic game, throwing a number of scoreless frames against a very good Ocean State offense.

For their next game, the North Adams SteepleCats travel to the Coast Guard Academy to take on the Mystic Schooners, with first pitch scheduled for 4:00 p.m. They then return to Joe Wolfe Field to face off with the Bristol Blues at 6:30 p.m.