"Ipswich Chiefs baseball team eclipses 2016 wins total as July nears"
The Ipswich Chiefs hope to put the 2016 season behind them and bounce back from a 5-18-1 record.
The
beginning of the 2017 season was no kinder to the Chiefs as they began
the season 0-4. Despite losing four straight games to begin the season,
the Chiefs racked up some confidence putting together a six-game winning
streak.
“We had a difficult start to this season,
but that winning streak definitely gave us confidence,” said Ipswich
Chiefs’ player-manager Greg Doucette. “We know we are better than what
we were in 2016 and we hope to prove it this season.”
Doucette
is one of those players that many people would call a utility player.
He plays both corner infield spots, shortstop and he even pitches. Other
key members of the team are Jake Greaney, who pitches and plays first
base, outfielder Jake Barlow, and pitcher Jay Goloski.
“There
is not one player we look at to get us going,” said Doucette. “We have
confidence in one another and any one of us can get the team going both
offensively and defensively.”
The first game of the season was a tough matchup for
Ipswich as they faced off against Manchester Essex, one of the top teams
in the league. It was a tightly played ball game with only four hits
total between the two teams combined.
However, the Chiefs fell to the Mariners 3-1.
“We
know Manchester and Rowley are going to be atop the league but we think
we can be right there with them if we play as well as we did during our
winning streak,” said Doucette.
On Monday, the Chiefs hosted the Rowley Rams, losing
7-3. While the Rams were able to string multiple hits and runs together,
the Chiefs were not as fortunate. They had three innings where the
bases were loaded with less than two outs and were only able to score
one run during that span on a passed ball that went all the way to the
backstop.
Two of the three Chiefs’ runs came on passed balls that
scored runners from third. Their third run came on an RBI groundout in
the bottom of the seventh inning by second baseman Jeff Doucette.
“Obviously,
we didn’t play well enough to win today, we need to capitalize on our
opportunities at the plate, but we know Rowley is a good team so we will
bounce back,” said Doucette.
The Chiefs are now 6-6 on the season getting revenge on the Rams with a 6-0 win on June 28 at Erias Field in Rowley.
