Rowley at Ipswich Monday Game Postponed

Field was unplayable.

Generals 7 Townies 0

Generals picked up the shutout win in Rockport last night in a makeup game.

Ipswich @ Beverly Makeup

Tuesday, July 29th at 5:45PM at Balch Park

Topsfield at Rockport Postponed

Ipswich at Beverly Postponed

Field was unplayable.

Hamilton and Topsfield tie again

Heard thru the ITL grapevine

Ipswich - 7, Beverly - 3

The Ipswich Chiefs (8-11-2) beat the Beverly Giants (11-11) by the score of 7 to 3 Friday night at Bialek Park.  Rich earned the win allowing 2 runs over 5 innings.  Greeney earned the save allowing 1 run over the final 2 innings.  In the 7th, Beverly brought the tying run to the plate with the bases loaded, but the rally ended there.

For Ipswich, Matt Small was 2 for 3 with a HR, 2RBI, and 3 runs scored.  Curran was 3 for 4 with 2 runs scored.  Greg Doucette was 2 for 4 with 2RBI.

Beverly was led by Dan Cashman, who went 3 for 3 at the plate and retired the only two batters he faced on the mound.  Andy Brown took the loss for Beverly.

The two teams play again Sunday evening at Beverly High.  A win for Beverly clinches a playoff spot, and 3rd place for the Giants.  A win for Ipswich improves their chances of making the playoffs greatly.

Mariners 6 Townies 3

The Mariners were led by Caulin Rogers (2-4, 2 doubles) while Max Nesbit, Cory Burnham, and Rory Gentile all had RBI hits.
M-E pulled ahead 2-0 through 3 innings then the Townies tied it up in the 4th. M-E answered back scoring 2 more to take the lead for good in the 5th. Ryan Marques picked up his 5th win of the season while Adam Philpott pitched in relief recording the save.
Jason Vizena pitched a complete game for the Townies.

Hamilton- 2, Topfield- 2

Game ended in a tie

Rowley - 2, Manchester - 0

White pitches Rams past Mariners to 2-0 victory

By Mac CerulloSports Editor

ROWLEY — Down two runs and locked in a grueling pitcher’s duel with Rowley pitcher Joe White all game, Manchester Essex hurler Peter Clark nearly took advantage of his team’s only genuine scoring opportunity all game when he ripped a fastball deep into left field with men on first and third and two outs.

But unlike on Tuesday, when the Mariners erased a late two-run lead with a massive three-run home run, this time the ball stayed in the yard, and it stayed up just long enough for Rams left fielder Colin Sitarz to reach out and make the highlight reel catch, ending the sixth inning and effectively sealing the 2-0 victory for his team.

“I thought it was trouble,” said Rowley coach Jeff Wood. “Every time you see your outfielder’s number, you get worried, but Colin recovered nice and made the catch.”

The catch saved two runs and preserved Rowley’s slim lead, allowing White to slam the door in the seventh to finish off the complete game shutout. White allowed only three hits and four total base runners all game, and right from the start he was in complete control of the game.

“Everything tonight starts with Joe White,” Wood said. “He’s already pitched a no-hitter and a one-hitter this year, so he’s been dialed in, hitting his spots, keeping people off balance, and the infield defense tonight was outstanding.”

The only Mariner who was able to consistently beat White all game long was centerfielder Mike Cain, who went 2-3 with a pair of base hits. Though Cain’s first hit didn’t lead to anything significant, his second hit nearly proved to be a turning point in the game, especially after second baseman Rory Gentile beat out an infield single later in the inning to give the Mariners men on first and third with two outs, leading to the aforementioned catch by Sitarz in left.

Though Clark may have been unlucky on that play, he was excellent on the mound. Clark pitched six innings and allowed two runs on four hits, matching White for most of the game before his defense failed him in the fourth.

First, Rowley right fielder Tim Cashman led off the inning with a double and then came around to score after designated hitter Marco Luisi beat out an infield single to put the Rams up 1-0. Then, after Zach Rice came in to pinch run for Luisi, first baseman Justin Bolla reached on an error by the shortstop, allowing Rice to come around to make it 2-0.

Gentile said after the game that he felt his team played well, but ultimately just got overmatched by White.

“I thought we fought hard. There’s not much you can do when you hit the ball hard right at people,” Gentile said. “White pitched good, he was all around the plate, that’s what matters. What could we have done more? Get more base runners. Pete pitched great, we made plays every inning except for that one, but we have to hit better.”

With the win, Rowley improves to 17-3 while Manchester Essex will fall to 14-6, and barring an unexpected collapse, the Rams will almost surely finish the season in first place ahead of the Mariners. The two teams will also split their season series with two wins apiece, and with four games remaining in the regular season, Wood said he’s looking forward to the chance to keep busy going into the playoffs.

“We want to play a lot of baseball before the playoffs and we’ll get the opportunity to do that,” Wood said.

Mariners 5 Rams 4

GloucesterTimes.com, Gloucester, MA

July 23, 2014

Mariners edge Rams in late-season showdown

By Nick Curcuru
Sports Editor

---- — ESSEX-- Tuesday’s Intertown League baseball tilt between the Manchester Essex Mariners and the Rowley Rams sported a playoff-like atmosphere.

The Rams and Mariners have ruled the ITL over the last half decade and this season has been no different with Rowley sitting atop the league standings and Manchester Essex sitting right behind them in second.

“I’d be lying if I said this was just another game,” Rams manager Jeff Wood said. “Both teams have been at the top of the league for the last few years and both teams had a full bench tonight. It’s always fun when we play the Mariners and you can throw the records out the window because it’s going to be close.”

The potential ITL finals preview lived up to the hype on Tuesday but in the end a fifth inning three-run homer from Mariners first baseman Nate Bertolino was the difference in a 5-4 Mariners win.

Rowley remains in first place despite the loss at 16-3, Manchester Essex moves to within two games of its rival at 14-5. Each team has four games remaining on its schedule.

The league titans will meet again tonight at Erias Park (5:45 p.m.)

“It’s always a big win if it’s against Rowley,” Mariners manager Bryan Lafata said. “If they take care of business they should still have first place locked down, but I thought both teams played pretty good baseball.”

The Rams had a 4-2 lead heading into the bottom of the fifth inning when the Mariners bats came alive.

Alex Ray led off the frame with a single off of Rowley starter Tim Moore, who had retired nine Mariners in a row heading into the fifth, and after a two-out walk from Rory Gentile, Bertolino came to the plate and put a fly ball over the left field fence just inside the foul pole to turn a two-run Mariners deficit into a 5-4 lead.

“(Moore) was pitching well and was rolling at the time,” Lafata said. “He didn’t strike too many of us out but he pitched to contact and his defense made the plays behind him. Luckily, big Nate was able to get his hands through the zone on that pitch and put it over the fence for a home run. There were a few hard hit balls that were knocked down by the wind today but he had enough strength to get it over.”

Rowley threatened to tie the game in the seventh when pinch hitter Joe White led off the inning with a double off of Mariners starter Rory Gentile, who went the distance for the win.

White was moved to third on a sacrifice bunt, but Gentile was able to get the next two hitters on a grounder right at a drawn in Max Nesbit at second base and a grounder to Caulin Rogers at shortstop to end the contest. Rowley nearly tied the game with two outs in the inning when CJ Ingraham lined one down the left field line, but his shot fell inches foul just in front of the left field fence.

“Gentile just battled all night,” Wood said. “I have no problem with the way we played and I have no problem tipping my cap to the Mariners, they deserved the win. This loss doesn’t cripple us and we will be back tonight.”

Rowley took a 2-0 first inning lead on a two-run error on a grounder to third in the top of the first inning. Manchester Essex, however, answered right back with two runs of their own in the bottom of the inning on an RBI single from Mike Cain scoring Rogers, who reached on an error and moved up to second on an error, and an RBI grounder from Peter Clark scoring Cain.

Rowley got the lead back in the second when Cam D’Agostino scored on an Anthony Conte grounder, and added an insurance run in the fifth on a sacrifice fly from Tim Cashman scoring Conte before Bertolino delivered the decisive homer in the bottom of the fifth.

Beverly - 10, Hamilton - 3

The Giants (11-10) won their 5th straight game with a 10-3 victory over the Generals (7-12) at Patton Park Tuesday night.  Steve Palladino earned the win with 4 innings of no hit, scoreless relief. Palladino allowed only one walk. Dan Cashman added a scoreless 7th. Giants pitching held Hamilton to 3 hits on the night, two by Larry Sagesse.  Hamilton's Wendt was charged with the loss.

The game was knotted at 3 until the top of the fifth when Beverly plated 6 runs. Offensively, Beverly was led by Jeff Barricelli (3 for 4, 2RBI), Conor Walsh (2 for 2, RBI, 2R, 2 BB), Josh Levesque (2 for 3, 2B, 2 BB, 2RBI, 2R), and Cashman (2 for 4, R).

Townies 4 - Ipswich 1

Rockport beat Ipswich 4 -1 last night in Ipswich.  Jordan Pallazola led the Townies offense with a  HR, double and 3 RBI.

Chiefs over Townies 5-3

Ipswich won Sunday night's game behind an impressive complete game pitching performance by Jake Greaney.  The offense was led by Greg Doucette who had 3 hits and 3 RBI along with Tom Radzim and Pat Curran who also chipped in two hits each. The two teams meet again for the final time of the season tonight at Bialek Park.

Rowley -4, Topsfield -1

Mike Sloban got the win for Rowley going the distance.

Beverly - 5, Hamilton - 0

The Giants moved to 10-10 with a 5 to 0 win over the Generals (7-11) Sunday night at Cooney Field.  Andy Brown pitched 6 shutout innings of 2 hit ball for the win.  Brown was 3 for 4 with 2 runs and an RBI at the plate.  Kevin Harutunian was 2 for 4 with a double and a run scored.

For Hamilton, Cam Charette took the loss and Jack Clay pitched well in relief.  Luke Painchaud was 2 for 3.

The two teams play again at Patton Park on Tuesday night.