THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2022 Page 19 NORTH SHORE NAVIGATORS SIGN THREE RETURNING PLAYERS FOR 2022 SEASON LYNN, Mass. — The North Shore Navigators will be welcoming three returning players back to their 2022 roster as the team looks to defend its New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL) division title from a season ago. North Andover native Jake McElroy is signed to return to Fraser Field for the third straight summer, following his sophomore campaign at the College of the Holy Cross. The outfielder hit.235 with a.336 on-base percentage, 11 RBI and 10 runs scored in 36 games for North Shore in 2021. He finished the regular season on a fivegame hit streak and recorded six hits during the team’s playoff run, highlighted by his first home run as a Navigator in the deciding Northern Division Semifinals contest at Keene in August. Stetson University’s Dylan Brazil will also return to the Navs outfield in 2022. The current sophomore from Lake Mary, Fla., recorded 19 hits, one double, 15 runs scored and nine RBI in 38 games while pitching a scoreless inning. Brazil, who had a pair of three-hit games, hit his only homer of the summer in the opening game of the NECBL Championship Series at Danbury. After joining the team late in 2021, pitcher Graham Jeffries is set to return to Lynn for a full summer. The junior right-hander from Salve Regina University made two regular-season appearances before throwing six scoreless innings in his lone playoff start against Upper Valley, helping the Navs go on to clinch the Northern Division. Jeffries, a Chelmsford native, struck out 16 batters in 9.2 innings and helped the Seahawks win the Commonwealth Coast Conference championship during his last spring season. The Navs kick off their 15th summer of collegiate baseball on Tuesday, June 7 with the home opener at Fraser Field set for Thursday, June 9. Stay up to date on the latest Navs news by visiting nsnavs. com and following the team on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. EMASS Senior Softball League opens registration for 2022 season The Eastern Massachusetts Senior Softball (EMASS) League is opening its annual registration campaign for slow-pitch softball players age 50 and older. With more than 400 members, the league attracts players from towns across Eastern Massachusetts with games played on fi elds in Wayland, Medfield, and Framingham. The EMASS season opens in early May with 18 weeks of regular season games scheduled through Labor Day and year-end playoff s completed in early October. “We are preparing for growth by rebalancing our Saturday divisions and adding a new weekday division to expand from 35 teams to over 40 teams,” said EMASS Commissioner Walker Royce. “EMASS Senior Softball was a welcome outdoor escape from the lifestyle disruptions of the COVID pandemic over the last two years. We had 70 new players last year and with more seniors looking for a healthy outlet, we feel confi dent we will see similar growth in 2022.” EMASS Senior Softball Off ers Flexible Playing Time “In 2022, we are restructuring our younger Saturday division where the average age across fi ve teams will be around 60,” explained Daniel Jolly, the new Colonial division coordinator. “With fi ve teams, we can use shorter rosters so players get more playing time, and more at-bats. Our Saturday players prefer an occasional bye week for summer holidays.” “Our most popular weekday division is being split primarily to off er more opportunity for players who want to play multiple times per week,” said Jeff rey Allan, the new Monday division coordinator. “The Atlantic division had grown to 12 teams. To accommodate more growth, we decided to split into a six-team Monday division and an eight-team Thursday division.” “ The weekday division scheduling supports a day off between play dates for players who choose to play in multiple divisions,” said William Cerrato, the new Thursday division coordinator. “It will help us better balance the skills, improve safety and provide more fl exibility for those who want to play more than one day a week.” “EMASS shuffles up team rosters in every division each year to enhance connections across our large softball-loving community,” said Donald Gould, the National division coordinator. “Our members enjoy competing with and against their friends.” Nothing Like a Team Sport to Make You Feel Young Again EMASS players cherish their weekly double-headers playing with their softball-loving buddies. EMASS has many younger seniors in their fifties and sixties who can still hit a ball over the 300 foot fences or run down a deep line drive in the outfield. They are also inspired by elder players who can still play ball into their late seventies and eighties. That three-hour escape is a weekly high point of camaraderie, teamwork and healthy outdoor competition. When they are out on the field, players feel and act 20 years younger, and when they get home, those stiff joints and sore muscles are mostly perceived as joyful pain. EMASS will open the 2022 season with more than 40 teams competing in six diff erent divisions. The league employs paid umpires and has recently invested in team manager training, umpire clinics/ certifi cation, new equipment and a rich website to ensure a safe, well-managed and competitive league. “Our board members, team managers and division coordinators do a very professional and collaborative job of operating this league. Our players appreciate the fun and camaraderie enabled by our volunteer leadership team,” said Royce.
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