Early scoring propels Knights to victory

Haverhill, MA (April 8, 2018) – After not playing for a week because of weather cancellations the Northern Essex Community College baseball returned to the field at Trinity Stadium on Sunday and beat Holyoke Community College by a score of 16-1.

After Corey Imbriano (Wakefield, MA) set Holyoke down in order in the first the bats went to work as the Knights plated five first inning runs.

Ben Irvine (Peobody, MA) led the Knights off with a single and immediately scored on a triple by Ryan Collins (Peobody, MA). Julio Leon (Lawrence, MA) added a two RBI single that scored Alex Almonte (Lawrence, MA) and Kyle Hawes (Lynnfield, MA). A Spencer Balian (Lynnfield, MA) single drove in two more runs to cap off the five run first.

As a team the Knights recorded 15 hits in the game, eight of which were of the extra base variety. Invine, Collins, Leon, Balian and Leo Romero (Lawrence, MA) each recorded two hits apiece.

Imbriano went five innings of two hit baseball, throwing just 60 pitches (44 for strikes), while striking out nine and issuing a single base on balls to pick up his third win of the season. Richard Reidy (Amesbury, MA) threw the final two innings in relief in the game that was called after seven innings. Reidy struck out three, allowed one hit and one run.

Up Next:

The Knights return to the field on Tuesday when they will travel to play Southern Maine Community College with first pitch scheduled for 3:30pm in Portland.

Northern Essex Community College competes as a member of the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) and sponsors eight varsity intercollegiate sports including baseball, men's basketball, softball, women's volleyball, men's and women's cross country and men's and women's track and field. For more information on Northern Essex Community College Athletics please visit the official website of Northern Essex Athletics (http://athletics.necc.mass.edu).