Canton High graduate Nate Lincoln is the first field position player from Canton to play in the New England Collegiate Baseball League.
BRISTOL, June 11, 2023 – Canton High graduate Nate Lincoln is flexible on the baseball diamond. He will play where he is needed. He just wants to play and help his team win.
At Marist College, he is playing second base, outfield and designated hitter for the Red Foxes, a Division I squad in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC). Lincoln is filling similar shoes in the New England Collegiate Basketball League (NECBL) with the North Adams (Mass.) Steeple Cats.
Lincoln made his third straight start at second base Sunday at historic Muzzy Field with the Steeple Cats facing the Bristol Blues. But in this season that has just begun, he has already made appearances in left field and as a designated hitter.
“I like to play them all (positions) as long as I am out on the field helping my team win,” Lincoln said. “That is the ultimate goal, get some reps, some at-bats and just play.”
Lincoln had one of North Adam’s six hits, a putout and two assists as Bristol (2-3) handed the Steeple Cats with a 5-1 victory.
A two-out, two-strike grand slam in the fifth inning from West Hartford’s Dave Hussey helped the Blues win their second game of the season before nearly 700 fans at Muzzy Field. Simsbury’s Luke Benneche pitched 1 2/3 innings of relief to help the Blues prevail with Bristol teammate Peter Phillips pitching the final 2/3 of an inning to secure the victory.
The New England Collegiate Baseball League, a wooden-bat league which began play nearly 30 years ago in 1994, attracts top-notch collegiate players from across the country. Nearly 225 players have gone to play in the major leagues including pitcher Stephen Strasburg of Washington, who played in Torrington or Twins reliever Joe Nathan who played in Fairfield or Arizona’s A.J. Pollock, the Connecticut native, who played in Vermont with the Mountaineers.
Lincoln is the fourth Canton athlete to play in the league. Pitcher Mark Peterson played with the Torrington Twisters in 2005, pitcher Chris Enns of Quinnipiac played in 2017 for Ocean State in Wakefield, R.I., and pitcher Peter Meyers of University of Hartford played for Mystic Schooners in 2019.
“Growing up, it was a dream of mine. But after my freshman year I had at Marist, it became more of a possibility,” Lincoln said. He hit .293 with 24 hits, four doubles, a triple and seven RBI as a freshman in 2022.
Lincoln played in the Futures Collegiate Baseball League last summer in Westfield, Mass., along with pitching coach Dan Rutan, who was hired to be the pitching coach for North Adams.
This summer, the Steeple Cats picked up Lincoln and pitcher Jack Wren from Marist. “They had an open spot for a utility player and my roommate (Jack) is a pitcher as well so they took both of us,” Lincoln said.
At Marist, Lincoln’s average slipped as a sophomore to .215 in 35 games and 27 starts. But he did have 12 RBI for the Red Foxes.
“It’s a good group of guys and it’s good to be here (in the NECBL in North Adams). There are a lot of talented basketball players,” Lincoln said. “The pitching is really good. It’s not overpowering but it’s good. The secondary pitches are good and they can (put the ball) wherever they want.
“It’s been tough so far but I’m up for the challenge,” he said. Lincoln and Wren are living with a host family in North Adams.
The Steeple Cats will be making additional trips to Bristol on June 24 and July 13.
Lincoln played baseball, basketball and soccer at Canton, graduating in 2021. He played three years of varsity basketball for the Warriors, missing the 2020 season due to COVID. He was 5-3 on the mound in three seasons with two home runs. He was 3-1 with a home run as a senior.
A year ago, Bristol won the Western Division with a 32-12 record, tying the record with Vermont for the most wins in a single season in league history. But the Blues were swept by eventual champion Martha’s Vineyard, 2-0 in the best-of-3 semifinal series.
The Blues have nine players back from that Western Division championship team. Tickets for Blues games are $6 each and there is free parking around Muzzy Field. Bristol plays their next two games on the road before returning home on Friday when they host Mystic at 6:30 p.m.
