North Adams freshman Trace Evans delivers a pitch in the first inning of the Devils’ match up last week with Portsmouth Notre Dame. (Photo by Mark Carpenter)
North Adams’ Carsyn Raines slides home safely as the ball gets away from the Notre Dame catcher in the Devils’ 11-7 loss on Friday, April 11. (Photo by Mark Carpenter)
By Mark Carpenter
People’s Defender
Coach Brady Johnson and his North Adams Green Devils baseball squad have struggled in the early part of their 2025 campaign, dropping their first four outings as of press time. On Friday, April 11, the Devils hosted the Portsmouth Notre Dame Titans in non-conference play on a brisk and chilly day and despite having an early lead, the Devils couldn’t hang on as the Titans hung up a pair of four-run innings to come from behind and claim an 11-7 victory.
The Devils were coming off a tough one-run loss to Fairfield three nights earlier and were looking to knock off the Titans and get the no-win monkey off their back. The Devils sent freshman right hander Trace Evans to the mound to face Notre Dame and he lasted four innings and gave up seven runs. Senior Connor Young followed on the hill with two scoreless frames but the Titans picked up four runs in the top of the seventh off of Kaleb Eldridge and those runs turned out to be the difference.
After Notre Dame scored one in the top of the first, the Devils answered with two in their half, with Colin Tolle and Carsyn Raines crossing the dish. North Adams added one to the lead in the bottom of the second when Carson Osborne walked and eventually scored on a wild pitch.
With two in the top of the third off of Evans, Notre Dame tied the score at 3 apiece, but the home team took the lead right back in the bottom half when Tolle drew a walk and came home later on a Raines ground out.
That was the last time the home team saw an advantage on the scoreboard as the Titans tacked up four runs in the top of the fourth to take the lead for good, all of those runs coming with two outs, one of those things that will give manager’s gray hair.
With Young in relief throwing two goose eggs, the Devils sliced the Notre Dame lead to 7-6 with a pair of fifth inning scores. Young singled to begin the rally and one out later, he came home after a Cash Hupp single and a Titan error. Hupp scored on a two-out wild pitch to draw the Devils within one, but that was as close as they would get.
After both teams went scoreless in the sixth, Coach Johnson sent Eldridge to the mound for the top of the seventh and the Titans were ready, touching up the North Adams reliever with four runs, taking advantage of two walks and three batters hit by pitches. Now starting at a five-run deficit, the Devils could only muster one run in the bottom of the seventh, Tolle coming home on a Young base hit, but when the final out was recorded, the home team found themselves on the short end of a four-run defeat.
The Devils were scheduled to be back in Southern Hills Athletic Conference on Monday and Tuesday, hosting Eastern Brown on Monday and then another winless squad on Tuesday, the Ripley Blue Jays. On Thursday, conference play will see the Devils traveling to Peebles.
Notre Dame
102 400 4 —11
North Adams
211 020 1 —7
N. Dame Hitting (AB-R-H-RBI): Collins 2-2-0-0, McGraw 2-3-1-1, Cassidy 4-3-3-4, Kingery 5-0-4-5, Coleman Estep 5-0-0-0, Shaffer 3-1-0-0, Ingles 4-1-2-0, Rutman 2-1-0-0, Team 31-11-11-11.
N. Adams Hitting (AB-R-H-RBI): Tolle 2-3-1-0, Young 4-1-2-1, Raines 3-1-1-1, Hupp 3-1-1-2, Shiveley 4-0-0-0, Osborne 2-1-0-0, Eldridge 3-0-1-0, Roush 3-0-0-0, Evans 2-0-0-0, Team 26-7-6-4.
N. Dame Pitching:
Rutman – 3.2 IP, 2 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 5 BB, 6 K, 84 pitches
Ingles (W)- 3.1 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, 66 pitches
N. Adams Pitching:
Evans (L)- 4 IP, 7 H. 7 R, 6 ER, 3 BB, 3K, 85 pitches
Young- 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K, 25 pitches
Eldridge- 1 IP, 2 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 1 K, 36 pitches
