Taking on the Rockport Townies for the second time this week, the Manchester Mariners found themselves in a quick four-run hole on Tuesday night.
But Manchester slowly chipped away, eventually taking the lead in the fifth inning and never looking back en route to a 6-5 victory.
Caulin Rogers (2 hits) had the game-winning knock in the sixth, sending home Brett Moore after the latter had singled up the middle. The decisive run broke open a 5-5 tie at the time.
The win was not only Manchester’s second straight against Rockport this week, but its 10th straight victory overall. The squad now sits comfortably in first place in the ITL standings with a 12-1 record.
Rockport started hot to seize the early lead, as Jack Sperry hit a 2-run homer in the top of the first before Danny Ryan followed suit with a single and was driven home by Will Mueller. In the second, Rockport would make it 4-0 off an RBI hit from Michael Murphy, who sent home Will Cahill (leadoff single).
Manchester would strike back in the bottom half of the frame with RBI singles from Tom Connors and Cory Burnham. Lukas Albano then led off with a walk to start the third and was later batted in by Rogers to make it a 4-3 game.
The Mariners went ahead in the fourth on back to back doubles from Connors and Burnham to seize their first lead of the contest at 5-4.
Townies’ Danny Ryan would tie it up in the fifth before Rogers’ clutch RBI an inning later all but sealed the deal for Manchester. Zach Abbott came on to pitch the final seventh stanza, slamming the door in 1-2-3 fashion.
Manchester finished the evening with nine hits, including a game-high three from Connors. Vaughn O’Leary (1 IP, 2 Ks) would snag the win on the mound while starter Kellan Heney settled in after the shaky start to go four innings with four strikeouts.
Rockport is back in action on Friday, hosting a doubleheader against the Beverly Giants. Manchester, meanwhile, is off until Sunday when they head to Beverly for a 5 p.m. tilt.
