Beverly - 11, Topsfield - 3

The Beverly Giants (12-11) clinched a playoff spot by beating the Topsfield Tories (4-16) by the score of 11 to 3 Wednesday night at Proctor School.  Frankie Messina pitched a complete game for the victory.  John Boyle was 3 for 4 with a HR, 3B, BB, and 5RBI to lead the offense. Paul Drinkwater, Conor Walsh, and Josh Levesque had two hits apiece. Erik Drown added a triple.

FIELD CHANGE!!!

Due to a Legion playoff game, the Ipswich @ Rowley game tonight has been moved to Georgetown High School, 5:45 start.

Mariners 7 Chiefs 3

The Manchester-Essex Mariners (17-3-1) beat the Ipswich Chiefs (11-8-1) by a score of 7 to 3 at Memorial Field in Essex last night, with Ipswich playing as the home team. The Mariners got on the board first with Rory Gentile hitting a 2 run home run in the top of the 3rd inning, his 3rd of the year. M-E would tack on another run in the top of the 4th on an Adam Philpott sacrifice fly plating Brett Cahill. In the bottum of the 4th after a lead off single by Ryan Montecalvo, Ipswich's Greg Doucette touched up Mariners' starting pitcher, Ryan Marques, for a 2 run bomb to left, bring the Mariner lead to 3-2.
Scoring subsided until the bottum of the 6th, Doucette hit a 1 out single, moved to second on an outfield error then was knocked in by Kevin Michael on a ground ball between 1st and 2nd. A throwing error put Michael on third with 1 out, the Mariners able to get out of the jam by inducing 2 ground balls to 3rd base, leaving the score tied at 3.
In the 7th Manchester-Essex finally got to Chiefs starting pitcher, Doucette, scoring 4 runs on hits by Philpott, Bob Whynott, Gentile, Caulin Rogers and Adrian Frattini. With the score 7 to 3, the Chiefs did not go quietly as they loaded the bases in the bottum of the 7th on hits by Chris Zaremba, Andy Knox, and Montecalvo, but did not push across any runs. Marques went the distance and picked up his 7th win of the season, Doucette pitched well in the loss.
The Mariners host Hamilton tonight while the Chiefs travel to Rowley.

Ipswich and Rowley Tie

Heard thru the ITL grapevine...

Beverly - 6, Hamilton - 3

The Beverly Giants (11-11) took a big step toward making the playoffs by beating the Hamilton Generals  (9-12) 6 to 3 Monday night at Patton Park.  Josh Levesque allowed only 1 unearned run over 6 innings for the win.  Beverly's offense was keyed by back to back home runs in the third inning by Conor Walsh (3 for 4, HR, 2RBI) and John Boyle (2 for 4, HR, 2B, 2RBI).

Austin Michel was charged with the loss allowing 3 runs over 6 innings.

Beverly finishes up the regular season with two road games at Topsfield on Wednesday and Thursday.

Hamilton plays Manchester on Wednesday and Thursday before traveling to Topsfield on Friday.

Rockport sweeps doubleheader against Topsfield - Two Townies announce retirement

Rockport Townies swept the Tories of Topsfield on a foggy afternoon at Evans Field in Rockport. 

Rockport took game one by a score of 13-2.  MacDowell went 6 innings for the win.  In game two, the Townies won 3-2 behind the complete game effort of Brent Currier. 

After the game, both Brent Currier and Jeremy Spittle announced their retirement from the ITL after 15 accomplished seasons. 

Beverly - 7, Ipswich - 4

Sean Martin pitched 6 2/3 innings for the win.  Josh Levesque came on in the bottom of the 7th with 2 out and the bases loaded.  Levesque got a strikeout to earn the save.  Offensively, Chris Brewer had a two run single, and Abel Hernandez had an RBI single to key the offense.

Ipswich's Matt Small had a 2 run homer.  Andy Workman took the loss on the mound.

Manchester-Essex 10 Rockport 8

On a wet, rainy night at Evans Field, the Mariners upended the Townies 10-8.  The game was completed in 5 rain shortened innings.  Rockport managed to make one last rally scoring six runs in the bottom of the 5th, but it was not enough.

Ipswich - 4, Beverly - 0

Generals 7 Tories 0

Hamilton picked up a 7-0 win in a rain/darkness shortened game that lasted five innings Friday night in Topsfield.  Bryan Vitale led the Generals offense with 3 RBI.  Hamilton used a patchwork pitching staff of Luke Painchaud for two innings and got one inning each out of Jack Clay, Mike Chandler and Jim Maloney to notch the shutout.  BJ Weed took the loss for Topsfield.

Rams -2, Mariners -0

Joe White went the distance for the Rams. Ryan Marques  took the loss. The Rams broke a 0-0 tie with 2 runs in the bottom of the 6th. CJ Ingraham, Dmitri Hunt and Koby Thibault all had big hits in the 6th. The Rams are off until Monday when they travel to Ipswich, the Mariners are in Rockport Friday.

Rams 7 Mariners 3

The Rowley Rams handed the Manchester-Essex Mariners there first regular season loss in "the pit" since 2011. D'agistino got the win going 5 strong for the Rams. The two teams meet again in Rowley on Wednesday.

Beverly @ Hamilton Postponed

Tonight's game at Patton is cancelled.  The makeup will be Monday, July 29th.  5:45pm start.

Ipswich over Rockport: 7-2

Ipswich concluded the first season sweep of Rockport in over 20 years last night in Ipswich.  It was a close game until the bottom of the 5th inning when the Chiefs broke it open with 6 runs to take a 7-1 lead.  The inning was capped off by a two run triple by Matt Small that was the longest hit ball at Bialek Park this year.  Ipswich starter Greg Doucette pitched a great game allowing 1 earned run over 6 innings while Chris Lane finished things off with a scoreless seventh.  The Chiefs return to action at the end of the week starting a home and home series with Beverly on Friday in Ipswich and Sunday in Beverly.

Ipswich 14 Rockport 11

Ipswich jumped out to an early 9-1 lead after 3 innings, but Rockport fought all the way back to tie it up at 10 in the bottom of the 6th inning.  Ipswich scored four in the top of the 8th with Rockport managing to get one back, but it was not enough.  Ipswich 14-11. 

More game details to follow...

Rockport visits the reservation in Ipswich tonight. 

Hamilton - 10, Beverly - 2

Luke Painchaud led the Generals to a much needed win over the Beverly Giants Sunday evening at Cooney Field.  Painchaud (7IP, 8H, 2R, 2ER, 1BB, 8K) went the distance on the mound and also added two hits and three RBI at the plate to help his own cause.  Josh Levesque started and went four innings in taking the loss for Beverly.

Hamilton jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the top of the second.  Painchaud (2-for-4, 3B, R 3RBI) got the Generals on the board with a two-out RBI triple.  Dan Curran then walked and Jimmy Parr (2-for-5, 2R, RBI) beat out an infield hit for a RBI single.  Jim Maloney (2-for-2, 2R, 2B, 3BB) then singled to center, which was followed by a Bryan Vitale (4-for-5, 2RBI) two-run single, pushing the lead to 4-0.  Beverly cut the lead to 4-2 in the bottom half on a two-run HR by Pat Doyle.  After Hamilton added another in the top of the third to go up 5-2, Jeff Barricelli made a bid to tie the game in the bottom half but with two on and two-outs was robbed of extra bases when Maloney made a sliding catch on the warning track to preserve the lead.

The Generals then blew the game open in the top of the fourth.  Maloney led off with a double off the fence in left and Vitale singled to center putting runners on the corners with nobody out.  Avon Stewart (1-for-4, BB, 2RBI) walked to load the bases and one out later Andre Painchaud added an RBI single.  With two-outs, little brother Luke then came through with a two-run single extending the lead to 8-2.  Hamilton added two insurance runs in the seventh.  Parr beat out another infield single, Maloney walked and Vitale singled to load the bases with nobody out.  Stewart then delivered a two-run single to round out the scoring.  Luke Painchaud then closed out the game getting back to back strikeouts.

The two teams play again on Tuesday night at Patton Park in another huge game with playoff implications.

Mariners take 2 from Topsfield

Game 1 - Mariners 10 Tories 1

Rory Gentile hit a grand slam and Nate Bertolino hit his 3rd homer of the season as the Mariners rolled to a 10-1 victory in Essex. Ryan Marques picked up the win, going 5 innings allowing 1 run, Max Nesbit threw 2 scoreless innings of relief. Bertolino, Brett Cahill and Caulin Rogers each had a multi hit game. For Topsfield, Nolfi, Dyer, Lampkin and O'Leary all had hits.


Game 2 - Mariners 14 Tories 3

Max Nesbit had 3 hits while Alex Ray and Brett Cahill each had a pair of hits. Adrian Frattini had a pinch hit 2 run double to break a 4-3 game open in the 5th. Rory Gentile went 6 innings allowing 3 runs for the win. Heath had 2 hits for Topsfield.

Mariners 7 - Tories 3

The Manchester-Essex Mariners beat the Topsfield Tories 7 to 3 last night in Topsfield. The Mariners were lead by Adam Philpott who pitched 6 innings, striking out 8 and Nate Bertolino who had a homer and three RBI's. Alex Ray also had 2 hits for the Mariners.

Travers and Cipriani each had 2 hits for Topsfield. BJ Weed pitched well in the loss, throwing 6 innings for the Tories.

Manchester-Essex improves to 13-1-1 while Topsfield drops to 4-10. The two teams meet again on Sunday in Essex for a doubleheader, first pitch 3:00pm.

Beverly - 8, Rockport - 5

Sean Martin led the Giants to their 7th win in their last 8 games.  Martin pitched two scoreless innings for the save.  At the plate, Martin was 2 for 2 with a double, a walk, and 3RBI.  Frankie Messina pitched 5 innings for the win.  John Boyle (2 for 4, 2B, 3RBI), Abel Hernandez (2 for 3, 2R), and Jeff Barricelli (2 for 4, RBI) contributed offensively.

For the Townies, MacDowell pitched a complete game in a losing effort and also went 2 for 3 with a HBP and an SB at the plate.

Generals' Chandler No-Hits Chiefs

Mike Chandler came up big Thursday night for Hamilton at Patton Park as he pitched a complete game no-hitter with five strikeouts to lead the Generals to a 5-0 win over Ipswich.  Chandler faced just one batter over the minimum as one batter reached on an infield error in the third and another walked to lead off the sixth before a caught steeling erased the baserunner.  In the top of the seventh, Chandler got the leadoff batter to line out to line out to medium depth center and then put his hammer down by getting back to back strikeouts to end the game.  Bryan Vitale started at shortstop for a shorthanded Generals squad and turned in several nice plays to preserve the no-hitter.

Offensively for the Generals, Avon Stewart had two doubles and an RBI and Jimmy Parr hit a two-run double.

Rowley by forfeit over Topsfield

Topsfield was unable to field a team tonight in Rowley.

Rockport forfeits to Beverly

Rockport informed Beverly this afternoon that they could not field 9 players for tonight's game.

The two teams WILL meet tomorrow at Rockport at 7PM when both teams should have 9 players.

Rowley - 13, Rockport -2

The Rams used a 6 hit 8 run first and 5 innings of 1 run pitching from Tim Moore to earn the win. Rowley is back at it tomorrow in Rowley against Topsfield while Rockport travels to Beverly.

Mariners in the news

July 17, 2013

Mariners once again sit atop ITL

Manchester once again holds ITL top spot

By Nick CurcuruSports Editor

It is a spot the Manchester Essex Mariners have gotten used to over the last half decade plus.

That spot is in first place in the Intertown Twilight Baseball League.

As the ITL season stretches past the midpoint, the defending champion Mariners record sits at 12-1-1 today after picking up a forfeit win Tuesday night when visiting Topsfield could not field a team.

With nine games remaining on the schedule, a scoreless tie against Rowley and a forfeit loss to Beverly on Sunday are the only blemishes on the defending champs’ record.

Manchester Essex already has a lead of four games over second-place Rowley, the 2011 champs, and Ipswich. The Mariners may have a bullseye on their backs with such a comfortable lead, but they have grown accustomed to being the team to beat having won four of the last five ITL titles while looking like the heavy favorite to make it five out of six.

Throughout the summer, Manchester Essex has been firing on all cylinders beating teams both with offense and pitching. On the season the Mariners are averaging just under six runs per game while allowing less than two. Of their 13 wins four have come by way of shutout.

On the pitching side the Mariners have been led by the one-two punch of Ryan Marques and Rusty Tucker at the top of the starting rotation.

Marques has been a work horse for the Mariners this summer compiling a 5-0 record. Tucker, on the other hand, has also been dominant as the former San Diego Padres and Boston Red Sox farmhand has allowed just a pair of runs in three starts sporting a 3-0 record.

Rory Gentile and Brandon Bell have also factored into the Mariners pitching rotation each have a win to their name this season.

Manchester Essex has been known for its pitching during its recent run of dominance. But this season they have been just as impressive at the plate. Alex Ray and Gentile have been powering the offense for the Mariners as both are hitting above .400 and are tied for the team lead in RBI. Mike Cain, Nate Bertolino and Brett Cahill are also having strong summers with averages over .300.

Topsfield forfeits to M-E

M-E (12-1-1) wins by way of forfeit as Topsfield (4-8) could not field a team. The two teams are scheduled to meet again Friday night in Topsfield and then a double header is slated for Sunday in Essex.

Beverly - 8, Hamilton - 3

Josh Levesque allowed 2 runs over 6 innings for the win.  Paul Drinkwater's solo homer broke a 2 to 2 tie.  John Boyle's 3 run blast broke the game open for the Giants.

Jack Clay took the loss for the Generals.

Chiefs 4 Generals 3

Ipswich defeated Hamilton 4-3 on Monday night on Linebrook Road.  Dylan Cain pitched a complete game and struck out seven to earn the win.  Luke Painchaud pitched a complete game in defeat giving up only two earned runs.

Hamilton went up 2-0 after two and a half on a Jim Maloney solo HR in the first and a Maloney RBI single in the third.  Andy Knox singled stole second and scored on a hit by Cain to cut the lead to 2-1 in the bottom of the third.  The Chiefs then took the lead in the bottom of the fifth when Jeff Doucette and Knox reached on singles, advanced on a wild pitch, and both scored on a hard hit by by Cain that was booted in the infield.  Knox would add his third hit of the night in the sixth to drive in the fourth Chiefs' run.  Hamilton pushed a run across in the top of the seventh on a balk, but with the tying run on second Cain recorded a strikeout to end the game.

Rowley - 9, Topsfield - 0

In their first game at Triton in over a decade the Rams came out on top behind 5 shutout innings from Mike Sloban, 4 hits from Cam D'agostino and a 2 run HR from Koby Thibault.

Time Change

Sunday, July 21 game between Hamilton and Beverly will start at 5pm.  The game will be in Beverly at Cooney Field

FIELD CHANGE FOR TONIGHT!!!

Due to a scheduling conflict; tonight's Topsfield @ Rowley game will NOT be played at Eiras Field in Rowley. The 2 teams will play at the same time 5:45 at Triton Regional High School in Byfield.

Rowley 9 Rockport 3

Rowley defeated Rockport 9-3 on Sunday evening at Evans Field in Rockport. 

These two teams face off again on Wednesday in Rowley.

Manchester forfeits to Beverly

The Mariners lost their first game of the year by way of forfeit mustering only 8 players for the Sunday game. Beverly has now won 4 of 5 as they try to scratch their way back into the playoffs.

Beverly - 8, Rockport - 5

Beverly beat Rockport 8 to 5 at Cooney Field on Friday night.  Frankie Messina went 5 2/3 innings for the win.  Erik Drown entered with the bases loaded in the 6th and got out of the jam before pitching a perfect 7th for the save. 

Offensively, John Boyle hit a grand slam and Drown had a two run homer.  Paul Drinkwater went 4 for 4 with 3 doubles and 2RBI.  Frankie Messina helped his own cause with 3 walks and 2 stolen bases.

Ipswich 7, Topsfield 6

Ipswich beat Topsfield tonight 7-6

Rams Over Generals 2-0

Rowley picked up the 2-0 victory over the Generals as Patton Park last night.

Beverly @ Hamilton MAKEUP Game

Tuesday, July 16th
@ Patton Park
5:45pm start

Rams -7 Generals -0

Rowley used 5 shutout innings from Nick Liguori and an inning each from John Foster and Joe Martin to earn the 7-0 win @ Eiras. The two teams meet again Thursday in Hamilton.

Generals 6 Townies 5

Hamilton beat Rockport 6-5 on Tuesday night at Patton Park.  Jack Clay went six innings and gave up four runs to earn to win.  Cam Charette gave up an unearned run in the 7th, but recorded the save.  Hamilton trailed 4-3 going into the bottom of the 5th, but plated three runs to take the lead.  Mike Chandler tied the game with a RBI double and Mark Ruggiero broke the tie with a dribbler up the third base line that went for a hit.

Ruggiero had two hits for Hamilton and Brent Currier led the Rockport attack with three hits.  McDowell contributed two hits for Rockport and went six innings on the mound in taking the loss.

Ipswich over Topsfield on Monday night

The Chiefs were able to secure a win in a rain shortened game on Monday night in Ipswich.  A combined pitching effort on both sides kept the game close until Ipswich broke it open in the bottom of the 4th.  Dylan Cain and Matt Small homered for Ipswich and Cain recorded the save getting three quick outs in the top of the 5th on ten pitches, just before the rain poured down in the bottom of the inning.  The two teams meet again on Friday in Topsfield.

Mariners over Giants

The Mariners pulled out a victory tonight against the ageless Rocky Pisa and the Beverly Giants. Rocky battled through 6 complete innings, allowing 4 earned runs. Rusty Tucker picked up the win for the Mariners and Alex Ray hit a 3 run home run and a 2 run triple. The Mariners are now 11-0-1 and don't play again until Sunday.

Monday July 8th: Beverly - 4, Rowley - 2

The Beverly Giants beat the rain as the final out of the 5th inning was recorded just before the steady light rain turned into a downpour.  Rowley left the tying runs on 2nd and 3rd base when Josh Levesque got a strike out to end the inning and eventually the game.

Levesque pitched 5 innings allowing 2 runs for the win.  Newell and Martin pitched for Rowley.

Mariners 12 Chiefs 2

Manchester-Essex beat Ipswich last night 12-2 in Essex. Rory Gentile went the distance, striking out 7 and allowing just 2 earned runs. The Mariners improve to 10-0-1, Ipswich falls to 5-5.

Sunday July, 8: Beverly - 4, Hamilton - 1

Beverly's Frankie Messina allowed only 1 run over 7 innings for the victory over the Hamilton Generals Sunday night at Cooney Field.  With the score knotted at 1 in the bottom of the 6th inning, Erik Drown hit a two run homer to give the Giants the lead.  John Boyle would later triple and score to increase the lead to 4 to 1.  

For Hamilton, Mark Ruggiano knocked in the run.  Cam Charette allowed 1 run over 4 innings. 

Mariners 4 Townies 1 - (July 2nd)

The Manchester-Essex Mariners beat the Rockport Townies on Tuesday night in Essex by a score of 4-1. The Mariners were led by Mike Cain (2-3, 2sb), Rory Gentile (2-4), Bryan Lafata, and Alex Ray (1-4, 2B RBI).

Cain made a nice defensive play in the 5th on a hard liner to left field off the bat of Brian Lentz, Cain then immediately through the ball to first to double up the base runner to end the inning.

Newman (2-2, 2BB), Tommy Robertson, Brent Currier (2B), and Derek Osmund all hit safely for Rockport.

Ryan Marques went the distance for the win, scattering 5 hits allowing 1 unearned run. For the Townies, Derek McDowell started but was relieved by Currier in the 5th, who threw 2 scoreless innings.

The Mariners are now 9-0-1 and play again Sunday in Essex against the Ipswich Chiefs. Rockport falls to 3-8.

Topsfield 4 Rowley 3

Tories over Rams 4-3

Generals 5 Chiefs 2

U.S. Army Specialist Michael Drinkwater made a triumphant return to the mound at Patton Park Tuesday night, getting the spot start and going six strong innings for the win.  Drinkwater, home on leave for the holiday, yielded only four hits and four walks and struck out eight in his first effort throwing off a mound in 11 months.  The Generals trailed 2-1 going into the bottom of the fifth, but rallied for four runs to take the lead.  Cam Charette retired all three hitters he faced, two via strikeout, to earn the save.  Mike Chandler had two key hits for Hamilton.  Greg Doucette pitched a complete game for Ipswich, but was charged with the loss.

More Rainouts!

• Chiefs vs. Mariners postponed on Monday, July 1st.
  
• Chiefs vs. Rams was postponed due to Rain on Wednesday June 26th.
  
• Chiefs vs. Rams was postponed due to Rain/Lightning after 4 complete innings on Wednesday June 26th

        Should be a fun second half of the season!

Sunday: Topsfield Sweeps Beverly

Topsfield took both ends of a doubleheader at Cooney Field on Sunday.  The Tories took Game One by the score of 8 to 4.  The visitors then took Game Two 4 to 2.