McClintock, Hamilton stay alive in ITL Finals
STAYING ALIVE: Generals fight off elimination with McLintock Game 3 shutoutBy Nick Curcuru Staff writer
HAMILTON — The Hamilton Generals live to fight another day.
Down two games to none to the Manchester Essex Mariners in the best-of-five Intertown Twilight Baseball League Finals, right handed pitcher Luke McLintock threw a complete-game, one-hit shutout in a 2-0 Generals win at Patton Park.
With the win, Hamilton trails the Mariners, 2-1 in the series, but survived to see a Game 4 on Saturday at Memorial Field in Essex (4 p.m.).
"It was a great performance from Luke," Generals manager Brian Nicoll said. "He battled when we needed him the most. He's a young kid but he attacked every hitter and he was so efficient."
The 2021 Hamilton-Wenham High School graduate who'll be pitching for Babson next year needed only 80 pitches to get through one of the ITL's best lineups. McLintock pounded the strike zone, striking out five and limiting hard hit balls.
The Mariners only hit was a first inning single from E.J. Field. From there the Mariners only had five more baserunners with McLintock retiring 11 out of 12 batters from the second to the sixth innings.
Mariners starter Zach Abbott was also up to the task in Wednesday's game. The 2021 Gloucester High School graduate tossed 5 and 2/3 innings, allowing two runs, one earned, on six hits and four strikeouts.
The Generals got to Abbott in the fourth with the heart of their order coming through. Hunter Wilichoski had a one out single and Will Frain followed with a ground-rule double on a lined shot to left. Harrison O'Brien followed with a fly ball to center, deep enough to get Wilichoski home with what turned out to be the game winning run.
"Frain and Wilichoski are so tough to get out," Nicoll said. "I don't know many teams in this league that have that combination of those kind of ball players in the middle of the lineup. And O'Brien had a good at bat behind them to get the run in."
Hamilton added another in the sixth. Paul Horgan and Frain singled to put runners on the corners with two outs in the inning. The Mariners went to staff ace Rusty Tucker, who appeared to have Frain picked off at first base. But Horgan broke for home, drawing a throw from the first baseman that sailed to the backstop allowing a run to score and giving the Generals a 2-0 lead.
McLintock saw two runners get on base in the top of the seventh on a walk and a fielder's choice, but he got two groundouts and a strikeout looking to finish it off, leaving the tying runs in scoring position and extending the series.
