Mariners 9 Townies 1
"Mariners on Top"
by Nick Curcuru From the Gloucester Daily Times:
The Manchester Essex Mariners needed a spark entering the bottom of the fifth inning in Monday’s Game 1 of the Intertown Twilight Baseball League Finals against the defending champion Rockport Townies.
Through four-and-a-half innings, the Townies held a one-run lead and pitcher Ryan Webb was holding the vaunted Mariners offense hitless.
The No. 1 seed in the ITL playoffs needed a big hit, and they got it from their staff ace. Rusty Tucker lined one over the fence in left for a solo shot, and that was the shot in the arm the Mariners needed, as they responded with five runs in the fifth and four more runs in the sixth en route to a 9-1 win at Memorial Field.
The Mariners lead the best-of-five series, 1-0. Game 2 will be played on Tuesday night at Evans Field in Rockport (6:30 p.m.).
“We found ourselves in a little hole, (Webb) pitched well for four innings and we didn’t show up ready to hit,” Mariners manager Ryan Marques said. “But the bottom of the fifth we got it going. Once Rusty hit that homer, it really got us going. It was good to get the big hits when we needed them.”
The Townies drew first blood in the top of the third when Keady Segel led off the frame with a solo shot. That was the lone run of the game until the Mariners pulled away in their final two at-bats as both pitchers were up to the challenge.
Tucker went six innings — the game was called due to darkness in the bottom of the sixth — with 13 strikeouts and one earned run on three hits. Webb, on the other hand, allowed two runs on three hits in 4 1/3 innings.
Following Tucker’s game-tying home run, Johnny Wilcox followed with a base knock, and after being moved over to second on a balk, Kellen Field drove him in with a base knock up the middle with what turned out to be the winning run, giving the Mariners a 2-1 lead.
Two batters later, Mike Cain essentially put the game away with a three-run blast to extend the lead to 5-1. Cain crushed the pitch to left and the Townie’s left fielder didn’t even move as it flew well over the fence.
“I was looking for something to drive and the pitch caught a lot of the plate,” Cain said. “I didn’t miss it. I think that kind of demoralized them, it’s tough to come back from that with Rusty pitching. You have to give credit to our young guys too, they’re the energy of this team and Kellen Field also had a huge hit for us.”
The Mariners followed up the fifth inning rally with four more in the sixth. Tucker led off the frame with another solo shot to make it 6-1. Peter Clark then delivered a RBI double, and a bases loaded walk and hit batsmen accounted for the final two Mariners runs in a 9-1 win.
"Mariners on Top"
by Nick Curcuru From the Gloucester Daily Times:
The Manchester Essex Mariners needed a spark entering the bottom of the fifth inning in Monday’s Game 1 of the Intertown Twilight Baseball League Finals against the defending champion Rockport Townies.
Through four-and-a-half innings, the Townies held a one-run lead and pitcher Ryan Webb was holding the vaunted Mariners offense hitless.
The No. 1 seed in the ITL playoffs needed a big hit, and they got it from their staff ace. Rusty Tucker lined one over the fence in left for a solo shot, and that was the shot in the arm the Mariners needed, as they responded with five runs in the fifth and four more runs in the sixth en route to a 9-1 win at Memorial Field.
The Mariners lead the best-of-five series, 1-0. Game 2 will be played on Tuesday night at Evans Field in Rockport (6:30 p.m.).
“We found ourselves in a little hole, (Webb) pitched well for four innings and we didn’t show up ready to hit,” Mariners manager Ryan Marques said. “But the bottom of the fifth we got it going. Once Rusty hit that homer, it really got us going. It was good to get the big hits when we needed them.”
The Townies drew first blood in the top of the third when Keady Segel led off the frame with a solo shot. That was the lone run of the game until the Mariners pulled away in their final two at-bats as both pitchers were up to the challenge.
Tucker went six innings — the game was called due to darkness in the bottom of the sixth — with 13 strikeouts and one earned run on three hits. Webb, on the other hand, allowed two runs on three hits in 4 1/3 innings.
Following Tucker’s game-tying home run, Johnny Wilcox followed with a base knock, and after being moved over to second on a balk, Kellen Field drove him in with a base knock up the middle with what turned out to be the winning run, giving the Mariners a 2-1 lead.
Two batters later, Mike Cain essentially put the game away with a three-run blast to extend the lead to 5-1. Cain crushed the pitch to left and the Townie’s left fielder didn’t even move as it flew well over the fence.
“I was looking for something to drive and the pitch caught a lot of the plate,” Cain said. “I didn’t miss it. I think that kind of demoralized them, it’s tough to come back from that with Rusty pitching. You have to give credit to our young guys too, they’re the energy of this team and Kellen Field also had a huge hit for us.”
The Mariners followed up the fifth inning rally with four more in the sixth. Tucker led off the frame with another solo shot to make it 6-1. Peter Clark then delivered a RBI double, and a bases loaded walk and hit batsmen accounted for the final two Mariners runs in a 9-1 win.
