The Rockport Townies have moved to within one win of an Intertown Twilight Baseball League championship.
With a 14-4 shellacking of the five-time defending champion Manchester Essex Mariners on Wednesday night in Game 3 of the ITL finals at Memorial Field, the Townies now have a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five series.
Rockport can clinch its first championship with a win in Game 4 on Saturday afternoon at Evans Field (4 p.m.). If the Mariners win on Saturday, the teams will meet in a winner-take-all Game 5 for the title on Sunday back at Memorial Field (4 p.m.).
"It's great going back home with a 2-1 lead," Townies manager Jay Pallazola said. "The pressure is all on them now. We need to come out with the same approach and the same focus on Saturday."
The Townies essentially put the game away with 10 runs over the first three innings. The Rockport bats were on fire right out of the gates with 11 hits in the first three frames.
It was 3-0 before the Mariners even got a chance to come up to bat as a two RBI ground-rule double from Dylan Maki and a Jason Vizena single put the Townies ahead.
The Mariners, who have also won nine out of the last 10 league championships, took some of that momentum back in the bottom of the first inning on a two-run homer from Rory Gentile to make it 3-2 after one.
The Townies, however, had a big answer with five more runs in the top of the second inning.
Alex Webb's RBI single and Jordan Pallazola's two-run shot to left made it 6-2. Maki followed with a solo shot two batters later, and Mike Emerson later came away with a RBI single to extend the Townies lead to 8-2.
"Momentum is huge in any game and (the Mariners) took a little away from us in the first, but we got it right back in the second," Pallazola said. "The guys really came to play today. We hit the ball hard, there were no cheap hits."
A Pallazola RBI double and a Keady Segel RBI single saw the Townies advantage grow to 10-2, and that was plenty of cushion for starter Nolan Webb.
The right hander settled in after allowing a home run in the first allowing two runs on three hits over his final four innings of work. He allowed four runs over six innings for the win.
"Nolan mixed it up and he was all over the strike zone," Pallazola said. "He has now won in two of the toughest places to play. Rowley in the semifinals and now Essex."
A Max Nesbit RBI double and a Mike Cain RBI grounder made it 10-4 Townies in the fifth. But Rockport responded with four more runs in the top of the sixth to cap the scoring at 14-4. Emerson had a three-run homer in the rally, and Vizena a RBI single.
The Townies and Mariners now turn their attention to Saturday's pivotal Game 4. A pitching rematch from the series opener appears likely as MacKenzie Quinn of the Townies will take on Rusty Tucker of the Mariners. Manchester Essex won that game by a score of 3-0.
With a 14-4 shellacking of the five-time defending champion Manchester Essex Mariners on Wednesday night in Game 3 of the ITL finals at Memorial Field, the Townies now have a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five series.Rockport can clinch its first championship with a win in Game 4 on Saturday afternoon at Evans Field (4 p.m.). If the Mariners win on Saturday, the teams will meet in a winner-take-all Game 5 for the title on Sunday back at Memorial Field (4 p.m.).
"It's great going back home with a 2-1 lead," Townies manager Jay Pallazola said. "The pressure is all on them now. We need to come out with the same approach and the same focus on Saturday."The Townies essentially put the game away with 10 runs over the first three innings. The Rockport bats were on fire right out of the gates with 11 hits in the first three frames.It was 3-0 before the Mariners even got a chance to come up to bat as a two RBI ground-rule double from Dylan Maki and a Jason Vizena single put the Townies ahead.
The Mariners, who have also won nine out of the last 10 league championships, took some of that momentum back in the bottom of the first inning on a two-run homer from Rory Gentile to make it 3-2 after one.The Townies, however, had a big answer with five more runs in the top of the second inning.Alex Webb's RBI single and Jordan Pallazola's two-run shot to left made it 6-2. Maki followed with a solo shot two batters later, and Mike Emerson later came away with a RBI single to extend the Townies lead to 8-2.
"Momentum is huge in any game and (the Mariners) took a little away from us in the first, but we got it right back in the second," Pallazola said. "The guys really came to play today. We hit the ball hard, there were no cheap hits."A Pallazola RBI double and a Keady Segel RBI single saw the Townies advantage grow to 10-2, and that was plenty of cushion for starter Nolan Webb.The right hander settled in after allowing a home run in the first allowing two runs on three hits over his final four innings of work. He allowed four runs over six innings for the win.
"Nolan mixed it up and he was all over the strike zone," Pallazola said. "He has now won in two of the toughest places to play. Rowley in the semifinals and now Essex."A Max Nesbit RBI double and a Mike Cain RBI grounder made it 10-4 Townies in the fifth. But Rockport responded with four more runs in the top of the sixth to cap the scoring at 14-4. Emerson had a three-run homer in the rally, and Vizena a RBI single.
The Townies and Mariners now turn their attention to Saturday's pivotal Game 4. A pitching rematch from the series opener appears likely as MacKenzie Quinn of the Townies will take on Rusty Tucker of the Mariners. Manchester Essex won that game by a score of 3-0.
