Rockport 9 Ipswich 8

The Rockport Townies scored four runs in the bottom of the seventh to come from behind and beat the Ipswich Chiefs 9-8 last night at Evans Field. The Chiefs got off to early leads of 3-0 and 6-2, but the Townies wouldn't go away, scoring 3 in the sixth before rallying in their last at bat to claim victory.

Townies and Chiefs face off again tonight at Linebrook Field in Ipswich.

Hamilton at Beverly Game Canceled

The Hamilton at Beverly game scheduled for 5PM Sunday night has been cancelled due to an unplayable field. A makeup date will be announced.

Mariners Win In Topsfield Friday Night

The Man./Essex Mariners beat the Topsfield Tories Friday night. The win puts the Mariners back in first place by one point.

Rockport - 6, Beverly - 2

Friday, June 13th
at Evans Field

Derek Osmond allowed just 2 runs over 7 innings while striking out 5. Rocky Pisa fell to 2-2 for Beverly as he was charged with the loss, allowing 4 runs (1 earned) over 5 innings.

Rockport struck for a run in the first inning. Chuck Anderson was hit by a pitch. Jeremy Spittle singled moving Anderson to third. Anderson then scored on a fielder's choice grounder by Chris Bouchie when Beverly couldn't convert the double play to end the inning.

Beverly took a brief 2 to 1 lead in the top of the 3rd inning. With two out, Nick Adams doubled down the right field line. Jeff Barricelli followed with a double into the right center trees knocking in two runs.

However, in the bottom of the 3rd Rockport took the lead for good with three runs of their own. The first run scored when Ayers was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. The next batter, Eric Junker, singled home two runs for a 4 to 2 lead.

The score would remain the same until the bottom of the 6th when Rockport tacked on two insurance runs off Beverly reliever Roger Dragani. With two out, a run scored on a Chris Bouchie single. The 6th run scored when Bouchie and Anderson successfully converted a double steal with Anderson taking home.

Genearls Beat Chiefs @ Patton, 13-4

Dylan Durning hit 2 monster HR's and contributed 3 RBI's to pace the Chiefs, but that wasn't enough to keep up with a potent Generals attack from top to bottom. Judd Funchion eventually found his groove and went 5 strong innings allowing only 4 hits with 5k's in recording his second win of the season. Jon Jackson pitched two scoreless innings for the home team in relief. Smolla was charged with the loss in 1 1/3 innings of work.

Things got off to a rough start for Funchion, you could see him working out the rust in the first inning after a long layoff. The Chiefs manged a run in the first thanks to three straight walks, then a hit batter. A nifty double play ended the threat with that being the only damage. Funchion was able to settle down and pitch great the rest of the day in front of the large Patton Park crowd.

The Generals wasted no time in getting the run back as Jim Maloney led off the bottom half of the first with a solo HR to left. Not to be out done, Jered Stewart added a 2-Run line drive HR after a long battle at the plate. Tim O'Leary contributed a sac-fly to make the score 4-1 after one.

Bryan Vitale (4-4, 3 RBI) had an RBI single in the second scoring Provost. In the top of the third the Chiefs moved a bit closer after Durning's first HR to center. Hamilton bounced right back thanks to a Reggie Maidment 2 RBI double making the score 7-2 after 3. Durning again homered in the fifth, this time a 2 run shot deep into the pond cutting the score to 7-4. The Generals answered yet again with 4 of their own in the bottom half. Provost, Stewart, and Vitale all had RBI hits in the inning. Mark Provost added a 2-HR in the 6th to round out the scoring.



Maloney, Provost, Vitale, Jones, & Maidment all had a multi-hit game. Matt Lane had a double and Durning 2-HR to lead the Chiefs offense. Radzim and Montecalvo added the other hits for the Chiefs. The 13-4 final moves the Generals to 5-1 on the season and back to the top of the standings, if only for the time being. The Generals continue a tough stretch with 5 games over the next 7 days starting this Sunday in Beverly (5pm start). The Chiefs visit Evans Field this Sunday as well, starting at 6pm.

Rams top Townies 2-1

The Rowley Rams won a tightly contested game at Eiras field 2-1. Rowley's Nick Liguori(6IP, 8K's, 2H,2BB, 1ER) locked into a pitchers duel with Marques(5-2/3, 4K's, 5H, 6 BB,1ER) of Rockport. A scoreless game into the 5th Brock Currier led off with a walk, advanced to 2nd on a wild pitch and scored on a 2 out single by Junker. Liguori limited the damage to 1 run and the Rams sent 8 men to the plate in the 6th highlighted by Ben Brink's bases loaded walk to break the tie. With 2 outs and the bases still loaded Brent Currier went to the mound and recorded a K in his 1/3 of an inning to end the threat. Rockport's 2 hits were credited to Anderson and Junker. Dave Mariani had 2 hits for the Rams, Dan Berube, Joe White and Jeff Wood contributed hits for the Rams, and Shane Johnson pitched the 7th inning to record his 2nd save of the season.The Rams are off until Tuesday when they travel to Essex to take on the Mariners. Rockport is right back at it Friday night when they host Beverly.

Vitale Field Dedication, Thursday June 19th

Friends and family of former Hamilton resident and town employee Richard Vitale will gather before a newly placed memorial at the Patton Park Babe Ruth baseball field on Thursday, June 19, 5 p.m. Following the ceremony the Topsfield Tories will take on the Hamilton Generals, 5:45pm start.

The dedication ceremony is open to the public and all are welcome to stay for the game.

Vitale, better known as “Richie” around town, died last August after a long battle with cancer. He began working for Hamilton in 1971, serving as recreation director then as director of the Hamilton Public Works Department.

After he retired, Vitale continued to help get the ball fields at Patton Park ready each year by raking the dirt and doing the edging.

Manchester/Essex 5 - Topsfield 3

The Mariners escaped with a 5-3 win in Essex on Tuesday night over the Topsfield Tories. Ryan Marques picked up his first win of the season for the Mariners by going 5 solid innings and striking out 8. Dreesen was the tough luck loser for the Tories going 6 innings, striking out 4 and limiting the Mariners to only 8 hits, all 8 by the first four hitters in the lineup.

Jack Brancaleone pitched a perfect 6th inning for the Mariners and Mike Gibbon closed the door with a perfect 7th inning and recorded his 3rd save of the young season.

The Mariners were led by Joe Orlando's 3 hits, including a 2 run home run in the 2nd inning, and 2 runs scored. Rory Gentile and Nate Bertolino recorded 2 hits each, and Ian Buckley provided a 2 run double in the first inning. Ben Hathaway led the Tories with 2 hits on the night, and Bryan Green scored 2 of the Tories 3 runs. Lampik, Green, Gallugi, and Haines hit safely for the Tories. Hathaway made the defensive play of the night with a diving snag of Kyle Hildebrand's hard grounder up the middle, which started a 4-6-3 double play.

The 2 teams meet again on Friday night, 5:45, at Proctor Field in Topsfield. The Mariners improve to 4-2-1 with the win, while the Tories drop to 0-5 on the season.

Rowley - 7, Beverly - 6

The Rowley Rams (3-3) downed the Beverly Giants (4-2) by the score of 7 to 6 at Erias Field Tuesday night. Dave Leavitt earned the victory allowing 3 runs (2 earned) over 6 innings. Luke Deschamps dropped to 1-1 on the season for Beverly as he allowed 6 runs (1 earned) in 5 innings.

Rowley jumped out to an early 6-0 lead through 4 innings behind the bats of Dan Tomasz (2 for 4, 2RBI), Koby Thibault (2 for 4, 2RBI), and Nick Liguori (2 for 3, 2 runs). Dan Berube also made several fine plays at second base.

Beverly rallied in the late innings scoring 3 in the 6th and 3 more in the 7th. Offensive leaders for Beverly were Nick Adams (1 for 3, 2RBI), Kevin Harutunian (1 for 3, 2 runs), and Andy Hobin (1 for 3, 2 runs).

Rowley hosts Rockport (1-3-1) Wednesday night while Beverly travels to Rockport Friday night.

Generals 7, Chiefs 4

Jeff "Giraffe" Jensen picked up his first win this season by going six strong innings. Mike Drinkwater came in for a perfect 7th to record the save. Chris Lane pitched great for the home team recording 5K's in 4 IP but recorded the loss. The win moves the Generals to 4-1 on the season and in a tie for first, the Ipswich Chiefs drop to 2-2. The two teams meet again this Thursday at Patton Park, 5:45pm start.

The Chiefs got on the board first in the first. Dylan Durning brought in Sitiropolous on a sacrifice fly after Sitiropolous led off with a triple. The Generals got on the board and took the lead in the 3rd scoring 4 times. Potter got things going with a single just off the tip of the second baseman's glove. He was later brought in on a Maloney RBI single. Mark Provost followed with a 2-run triple. Vitale brought in Provost on a fielder's choice.

An Andre Painchaud sac-fly in the fifth and a Jim Maloney 2-out 2-RBI single in the sixth pushed the score to 7-1 Generals. In the bottom of the sixth the Chiefs managed 3 runs to close the gap to 7-4. Montecalvo delivered a deep double scoring Durning, a throwing error brought in another run on the play and allowed Montecalvo to advance to third. Matt Lane's sac-fly scored Montecalvo.

That's how the game ended as Mike Drinkwater came in for the perfect 7th. Hamilton came away with the 7-4 victory. Sitiropolous led the home team with 2 hits. Jim Maloney 3-4, 3 RBI's led the way for the Generals while Mark Provost and Judd Funchion each contributed 2 hits apiece.

Townies 7 Rams 2

On a hot Sunday evening at Evans, the Townies secured their first victory of the young 2008 ITL season behind the complete game pitching performance of Nate DeSantis and a 5-run sixth inning to beat the Rowley Rams 7-2.

Townies travel to Rowley Ram country on Wednesday for a 5:45 tilt.

Manchester/Essex - 6, Beverly - 3

The Manchester Mariners (3-2-1) dealt the Beverly Giants (4-1) their first loss of the season by the score of 6 to 3. Stout (3-0) earned the victory for Manchester throwing 6 innings of 3 run ball. Gibbon earned the save with a perfect 7th. Rocky Pisa (2-1) took the hard luck loss allowing 4 runs (1 earned) over 6 innings.

Manchester scored first in the top of the 1st as Joe Orlando, Byan Lafata, and Nate Bertolino strung together consecutive singles producing a run. Beverly answered with a run of their own in the bottom half of the first when Jeff Barricelli hit a solo homer to center.

Manchester took a 2-1 lead in the 2nd when Ty Haskell hit a sacrifice fly to center. Beverly tied the score at 2 when a Derek Scialdone single scored Nick Adams, who had doubled.

Manchester took another one run lead in the top of the 4th on a Rory Gentile RBI single. Beverly once again tied the score at 3 in the bottom of the 5th with another Scialdone single scoring Adams.

The Mariners scored the eventual winning run in the top of the 6th. The leadoff batter reached via error, then was bunted over to second base. After a strikeout, Rory Gentile delivered a two out go ahead RBI single.

Manchester added two insurance runs in the top of the 7th making the final score 6 to 3. John Boyle was victimized by some bad defense in his ITL debut. However, Boyle did manage to strike out 4 batters in his first inning of work (including an error charged to the catcher).

Beverly 8 Manchester/Essex 3

The visiting Beverly Giants improved to 4-0 with an 8-3 win over Man/Essex. The Mariners got on the board first with a Bryan Lafata homerun in the bottom of the 1st inning to give Man/Essex a 1-0 lead. Kevin Harutunian (1 for 4, HR, 3RBI) then connected for a 3 run homer in the bottom of the 3rd, his 1st of the season to give Beverly a 3-1 lead. With the score 3-2 after 4, Beverly exploded for 5 runs on 5 hits in the fifth inning. Andy Hobin (2 for 3) started it with a double to lead off the inning. The next two men were retired, but Nick Adams singled, Derek Scialdone doubled, and Mike Freni singled knocking in 2 runs to set up Pat Doyle's 2 run homer, his 2nd on the year, giving Beverly the 8-2 lead. The Mariners scratched a run across in the 7th to give us an 8-3 final score.

Luke Deschamps picked up the win for Beverly, going 6 innings, allowing just 4 hits, 2 runs, while walking 2 and striking out 4.

Generals Beat Rams 10-6

The Generals held off the Rams tonight at Patton Park, winning 10-6. Jon Jackson started for the Generals and pitched 4 strong innings. Tim O'Leary and Bobby Karpp pitched well in relief and were able to seal the victory for the home team. For the Rams, Wile pitched well but was charged with the loss, Liguori was also good in relief for Rowley.

Jon Jackson was able to strike out the side in the first, but not before the Rams took a 1-0 lead. Thibault hit a monster triple and was brought home by a Moore single. The Generals answered in the bottom of the first with 3 of their own while only recording 1 hit. Jered Stewart and Andre Painchaud contributed RBI's. Mark Provost added an RBI in the second for the home team.

A Liguori RBI in the second and a run by Tomasz in the third closed the score to 4-3 Generals after 3. The Generals exploded for 6 runs in the fourth while sending 11 batters to the plate. Provost, Painchaud, Tilley, and Potter all added RBI's during the rally.

In the seventh the Rams added two more to close out the scoring. Moore delivered a 2-run triple, but that wasn't enough as the Generals held on for the 10-6 victory.

Hamilton @ Rowley Cancelled

Tonight's game in Rowley has been rained out. The Generals will make up the game with the Rams at a later date. The two teams will play tomorrow night at Patton Park, 5:45pm start.

Manchester/Essex 10 – Rockport 3

On Tuesday night the Mariners were able to break open a close game with 6 runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to secure a 10-3 victory over the Townies in Essex. Steve Stout pitched 6 solid innings to earn his 2^nd victory, while only surrendering only 1 earned run. Mike Gibbon closed out the game with 1 scoreless inning. Pat Clark took the loss while keeping the Mariners in check until the 6^th inning. Andy Marques pitched 1 inning of relief for the Townies.

Offensively, the Mariners were led by Rory Gentile (2 hits, 2sb, 3runs), Bryan Goodhue (2 hits, 2runs, 1rbi), Joe Orland (2 hits, 2sb), and Bryan Lafata and Nate Bertolino combined to drive in 5 runs between them, with 2 of Bertolino’s rbi coming way of a 2 run homer in the 6^th.

Brent Currier led the Townes with a 3-4 night including a solo homer and a double. Dan Greel also contributed 2 hits on the day.