Rams-10, Tories -7

Tied at 7 through 3 things settled down a bit down the stretch and the Rams held on for the win. Adam Newell earned the win with 4 scoreless innings in his ITL debut. The Rams travel to Beverly on Sunday while the Tories are off until Monday when they head to Ipswich to take on the Chiefs.

Manchester - 6, Beverly - 5

Manchester improved to 3-0 with a win over visiting Beverly (0-1) on Thursday night.  Beverly led 2 to 1 in the 5th inning when Manchester erupted for 5 runs to take a 6 to 2 lead.  Beverly loaded the bases with nobody out in the 6th and 7th innings but was only able to push 3 more runs across the plate leaving the tying run on third.  Brandon Bell earned the win for the Mariners.  Ryan Marques recorded the save.

Generals over Townies in opener

Generals 9 Townies 4

 

Hamilton defeated Rockport by the score of 9-4 on opening night at Patton Park Thursday.  Jack Clay (5+IP, 8H, 4R, 3ER, 3BB, 6K) earned the win in his ITL debut with a solid performance.  Clay yielded just one run through the first five innings before tiring in the sixth.  Matt Greeke (2IP, 0H, 0R, 0ER, 1BB, 4K) entered the game for the Generals and extinguished a Rockport rally to earn the save.  McDowell was charged with the loss for Rockport.

 

The Generals took a 2-0 lead after one inning.  Jim Love and Bryan Vitale walked and would later come around to score on a wild pitch and a Mark Ruggiero (2-for-4, RBI) RBI single.  The lead was extended to 4-0 in the bottom of the second when Mark Potter singled and Austen Michel (0-for-1, 2BB, HBP, 2R) and Jimmy Parr walked to load the bases.  Jim Maloney (2-for-3, 2B, 2RBI, BB, R, SB) followed with a two-run ground-rule double.  Rockport closed the gap to 4-1 in the third on a Brent Currier solo shot to left.

 

Hamilton got that run back in the fourth when Michel walked again and later scored on a Love sacrifice fly.  Another run was added in the fifth when pinch runner Nails Simmons came around to score after running for Mike Chandler, who had singled.  Rockport cut the gap to 6-4 by plating three in the sixth, highlighted by a Tommy Robertson (2-for-3, RBI, BB) RBI single.  However, Hamilton would tack on three of their own in bottom half as Avon Stewart drilled a three-run HR into the willow tree to round out the scoring.

 

The two teams will meet again Sunday night at Evans field in Rockport with a 6pm first pitch.

Mariners Take 2 from Chiefs to Open Season

The Manchester-Essex Mariners and Ipswich Chiefs met on Monday night at Linebrook Field in Ipswich and Memorial Park in Essex on Tuesday to kick off the 2013 season. The Mariners won both closely contested games behind strong pitching and solid defense. Rusty Tucker picked up the victory in game 1 by a score of 8-2 in Ipswich. The Mariners broke open a 3-2 game in the top of the 7th by plating 5 runs. Tucker surrendered only one infield hit by Cain in the 6th inning, walked 2 batters, and struck out 16 Chiefs. Rory Gentile, Brett Cahill, Nate Bertolino, and Adrian Frattini all had 2 hits for the Mariners. Mike Cain was 1-2 w/2hbp and 2 runs scored. Rookie Danny Munn hit a 3 run double in the 7th inning to break the game open, in his first career ITL at bat. Kevin Michael took the hard luck loss by tossing 6 solid innings, surrendering 3 runs while scattering 8 hits, and striking out 5. Cain hit safely for the Chiefs and scored run. Galante scored the other run for Ipswich .

On Tuesday night in Essex, Ryan Marques and Mark O'Flynn squared off in a pitchers duel that the Mariners squeaked out 2-1 in just under 2 hours. Marques went the distance scattering 8 hits, striking out 4 and walking 2 with 1 earned run allowed. O'Flynn threw 6 complete innings, striking out 8, and only giving up 4 hits, while walking 5. Adrian Frattini led the Mariners with 2 hits and an rbi. While Nate Bertolino and rookie Cael Schwartz also hit safely; with Schwartz driving in a run as well and playing solid defense at 2nd base. Brett Cahill & Bryan Lafata scored the runs for the Mariners. Andy Knox led the Chiefs with 2 hits, while Cain, Tommy Radzim, Chris Zaremba (1 run scored), Curran, Doucette, and Gonges (1 rbi) all hit safely for Ipswich.

The Chiefs host the Topsfield Tories on Monday June 3rd, while the Mariners are back at it on Thursday May 30th by hosting the Beverly Giants in Essex.

Topsfield @ Rowley

Due to poor field conditions and a sketchy evening forecast, the game for tonight in Rowley has been postponed. Makeup date TBA.

Hamilton @ Rockport

Hamilton will play Rockport this Sunday, June 2nd at 6pm @ Evans Field.  This is a makeup from last Sunday's rainout.

Mother Nature Pushes Opening Day Back in ITL

Both of Sunday's ITL opening games (in Beverly and Rockport) were canceled due to the unplayable field conditions. Memorial Day Monday features a rematch of the 2012 finals with Manchester-Essex traveling to Linebrook Field to play the Ipswich Chiefs at 5:45pm