Page 6 THE EVERETT ADVOCATE – FRiDAy, MARCH 15, 2024 Home runs, hot bats underscore NAVS’ dominant week in college ball Until the North Shore Navigators assemble at Fraser Field to begin the 2024 New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL) season in early June, the team will be highlighting its incoming players’ top performances each week on nsnavs.com and social media. L YNN, Mass. — Home runs were the story for many incoming North Shore Navigators, as the long ball played a big part in players’ hot streaks in college baseball over the second weekend of March. Kyle Wolff (Boston College) exemplifi ed the slugging outburst, highlighting his successful weekend against NC State with the fi rst multi-home run game of his college career. The fi rst baseman homered in back-to-back innings during the series finale, getting his fi rst in the fourth before slugging another in the fi fth that made it a one-run game. He Mid-grade Regular $3.88 98 64 87 Over 45 Years of Excellence! Full Service $3.45 Order online at angelosoil.com was 4-for-5 with three RBI in the game and fi nished the weekend 8-for-17 with two doubles and fi ve runs scored. Wolff currently leads the Eagles with a .333 batting average and 18 hits on the season. Going yard for the fi rst time this season was Alex Luccini (UMass Lowell), who went 2-for-5 against Oral Roberts on Saturday. His two-run homer came in the clutch, tying the game at 4-4 with two outs and two strikes in the ninth inning. Luccini collected a total of four hits, fi ve RBI and three walks over the week for the River Hawks. Returning NECBL All-Star Matt Chatelle (Merrimack) jumped on the home run train, hitting his fi rst of the season in Friday’s Northeast Conference-opening set against Coppin State. Another returning Navigator with a performance to note was pitcher Brett Dunham (Northeastern), who shut down Georgia Tech’s bats last Wednesday with two strikeouts over a perfect fi nal inning in the Huskies’ 7-0 win. Staying on the mound, Sawyer Duarte (Middlebury) was another veteran Navigator who had a successful weekend, pitching six innings in the Panthers’ second home game of the season against Castleton on Saturday. Duarte allowed just two singles all afternoon while striking out a career-high eight batters. Middlebury got success out of the arm of Owen Tross as well, who earned the win after tossing fi ve innings of onerun ball in a Friday matchup against Keene State. Tross struck out four and allowed no extra-base hits to secure his fi rst win of the season. Back to the bats, Andrew Bianco (Seton Hall) went 3-for-10 over the weekend, highlighted by a Saturday game where he went 2-for-4 with a three-run home run. Bianco’s fi rst long ball of the season gave Seton Hall needed breathing room in an eventual win over North Florida. Bianco also scored following his second hit of the day, coming in both times he reached base. Dayton got strong performances out of both future Navigators on its roster in a fourgame weekend series against South Dakota State. Ryan MacDougall drove in three runners, thanks in part to a tworun single in Friday’s 15-5 win. MacDougall also drew three walks in Sunday’s series fi nale, which the Flyers won 16-6. Mason Dobie reached base 12 times for a .600 clip over the four games, going 6-for13 with six RBI and six walks in the series. Dobie capped off his DOMINANT WEEK | SEE PAGE 22 Sobriety Tips for St. Patrick’s Day JOHN MACKEY & ASSOCIATES ~ Attorneys at Law ~ * PERSONAL INJURY * REAL ESTATE * FAMILY LAW * PERSONAL BANKRUPTCY * LANDLORD/TENANT DISPUTES 14 Norwood Street Everett, MA 02149 Phone: (617) 387-4900 Fax: (617) 381-1755 WWW.JMACKEYLAW.COM By Marie Garceau W hile some still see St. Patrick’s Day as a family-centric Catholic celebration or a break from Lent-related restrictions, the day primarily focuses on parties, rowdy parades, green beer, bar specials and heavy drinking. There are undoubtedly good times had by all who take part, but if you want to stay sober and avoid alcohol, it can pose a challenge. St. Paddy’s is celebrated by sober people from all over. There are likely family friend events, sober celebrations, and community events. Yet, being in recovery from a mocktail. This also leads to planning how to say no. You will encounter social pressure if you go to a bar on St. Patrick’s Day. It’s unavoidable. It’s wise to practice ways to refuse alcohol. Finally, if all else fails, take a Marie Garceau alcoholism, choosing a healthy lifestyle or recently deciding to give up alcohol for whatever reason, there can be a risk of relapse. Fortunately, there are practical approaches that anyone can take to protect their sobriety on St. Patrick’s Day. For instance, remind yourself why you are sober, and don’t do it alone. You can still have fun and celebrate, but do it with other sober people. Everyone has their reasons for stopping drinking; remind yourself of those reasons and hold yourself accountable. Know your triggers; it doesn’t matter if you are a recovering addict or have removed alcohol from your life. Be cautious around possible triggers that pose a challenge. Most people in this situation choose to skip the bar and fi nd something fun to do or go to a sober St. Patrick’s Day celebration. Keep a nonalcoholic drink or mocktail in your hand. People will not bother you to ask if you want a drink if you already have something to sip on, like walk outside if you feel overwhelmed. The most straightforward solutions are usually the best. Remove yourself from any situation you know will lead to relapse. This is also why it’s essential to be with a sober friend or loved one; there is accountability and someone to lean on. Moreover, speaking about the health and social benefi ts of sobriety is essential. Along with it drastically improving physical and mental well-being, there is one critical societal benefi t that often goes overlooked. Being sober on St. Patrick’s Day or any day means removing all chances of impaired driving. Drunk and drugged driving has had an enormous impact on road safety in Massachusetts. In 2021, over onethird (34%) of all motor vehicle deaths in Massachusetts involved a drunk driver, which was higher than the national rate of 31%. Roughly 35% of drivers who experience a crash-related injury were under the infl uence of drugs or alcohol. If you are celebrating St. Patrick’s Day sober, take steps to TIPS | SEE PAGE 25
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