Rams 1 - Townies 1

The Rowley Rams and Rockport Townies locked into an 8 inning pitchers duel at Eiras Field tonight. For Rockport Greg Kistner was outstanding, going the distance giving up just 1 earned on 5 hits, 2BB and fanning 11. For Rowley Shane Johnson made his season debut on the mound, he went 7 giving up just 1R (0ER) on 2 hits with 5BB and 5K's. The only blemish for Kistner came on a Ralph Renzulli solo shot into the parking lot to lead off the 2nd inning. Rockport got to Johnson for their run in the top of the 3rd when Bertolino scored on an RBI fielders choice from Brent Currier. Both Pitchers got stronger as the game wore on, the teams produced just 1 base runner in the 5th, 6th and 7th combined. For Rowley Matt Warden relieved Johnson for the top of the 8th, Robertson led off the 8th with a hard liner that Tim Jean just got to in right center for the first out. After a one out walk Warden settled in and struck out the last 2 batters he faced. In the bottom half of the 8th, Rowley put together 2 singles from Joe White and Ben Brink, with 2 outs and the bases loaded, Kistner retired Rowley clean up hitter Dave Mariani on a hard drive to right played perfectly by Brock Currier, ending a very well pitched and played game. Rockport is back in action in Topsfield Thursday and the Rams have a double header scheduled for Saturday in Rowley against Topsfield.

Rockport 6, Hamilton 3

The Rockport Townies pulled out another win against the Generals late in the game and in dramatic fashion. Bouchie would pick up the win in relief while Drinkwater suffered the complete game loss.

The Generals took a 2-0 lead in the first behind a Jered Stewart deep 2-run HR to right center. Bouchie cut the lead in half with an RBI double in the 3rd. The Townies would take a 3-2 lead in the fourth behind a Robertson 2-RBI double. Stewart would score on a first and third situation in the bottom of that inning to tie the game yet again.

In the top of the seventh Spittle would put the Townies on top for good as he delivered a full count pitch deep into the pond for a 3-run HR. Bouchie would earn the win and retire the Generals in the bottom of the seventh recording 3 scoreless relief innings. The two teams finish the season series Friday night in Rockport, game time is at 7pm.

M/E 11, Tops 6

details to follow

Rams 4 - Giants 3

The Rowley Rams overcame a 5th inning 3 run deficit to pull out the win. Beverly held a 3- 0 lead heading into the bottom of the 5th when the Rams plated 4, giving Joe Katin enough support to earn his 4th win of the season. Katin again pitched well for the Rams working his 5th complete game giving up 1ER on 3H, 4BB's and 4K's. For Beverly, Gill pitched well into the 5th inning and Carr came in to finish things off. In the top half of the 5th Hartunian and Boccuzzi both came in to extend Beverly's lead to 3. In the bottom half of the inning the Rams had 2 in and 2 on with 2 outs, Tim Moore came up with a huge AB fouling off no fewer than 4 2 strike pitches before delivering a 2 run double to right center. Katin retired the side in order in both the 6th and 7th innings. Offensively for Rowley Moore's 2 hits and 2 RBI led the way with Nick Liguori also putting up 2 hits and an SB. For Beverly Boyle had 2 hits, Boccuzzi scored 2 runs and Scialdone picked up a hit and an RBI. Rowley squares off with Rockport tomorrow night in Rowley while Beverly takes on Ipswich in a home game for Beverly played in Ipswich.

Chief's 9, H-W 1

Chief's Pick Up 3rd Win In a Row

The Chief's picked up their third straight win Monday night down the ol' ball yard.

Dave Shoreman took a no-hitter into the top of the 6th against the Generals of Hamilton-Wenham. Shoreman would give up the first hit (double)to Jared Stewart, and that would be the only hit he would surrender. Shoreman gave up an un-earned run in the 4th. The line on Shoreman was CG, 1 hit, 5 K's, and 1 base on balls.

The Chief's offense was paced by Ricky Sotiropolous who was 2-3 at the plate scoring 2 runs, and knocking in 1 RBI. Travis Doty added hit name to the homerun board by smoking a ball into right-center, scoring Shoreman. Anthony Hernandez chipped in 2 RBI's on a base clearing double to right. Tom Radzim, Matt Lane, Andy Knox, and Ryan Montecalvo also had hits for the Chief's.

These two teams square off again Thursday night. The Chief's have a make-up game on Wednesday against Beverly at Ipswich.

Rockport 5 Rowley 2

The Townies defeated the Rams of Rowley on Sunday night by a score of 5-2. Rockport was led by Brent Currier who went the distance on the mound for his third straight complete game and 4th victory on the year. Currier allowed 2 runs on 6 hits with 3ks and 2bbs. Currier (2-3, hr, 3rbis) also hit a 3run shot into the centerfield woods to the pace the Townies offensively along with Mike Bertolino (2-3, rbi, rs).

Nick Ligouri got the loss for the Rams going six innings allowing 5 runs on 8 hits with 10ks and 2bbs. D. Barry (2-3, 2b, rbi, rs) and Thibeault (1-3, rs) paced Rowley's offense.

Rockport improves to 8-5, while Rowley falls to 7-4. Rockport travels to Hamilton on Tuesday night and Rowley faces Beverly at home.

Beverly - 4, Manchester - 3

Luke Deschamps pitched a complete game allowing 3 runs (1 earned) to earn the victory for Beverly. Mike Gibbon allowed 4 runs (3 earned) over 6 innings and was charged with the loss.

Manchester started the scoring in the top of the first with a Nate Bertolino solo homerun. Beverly answered in the bottom half with RBI singles by Jeff Barricelli and Bill Boccuzzi to take a 2 to 1 lead after one.

There would be no more scoring until Beverly plated a run in the bottom of the fourth. Bill Boccuzzi walked, stole second, and scored on a groundout by Rob Freni to make the score 3 to 1 after four.

Manchester tied the game at 3 with 2 runs in the fifth. Ian Buckley stroked a two out, two run double to left center for the tie. However, in the bottom half of the inning Beverly scored a run of their own to go ahead 4 to 3. Mike Freni doubled home Jay Trowt with two outs to score the run.

Deschamps held Manchester scoreless over the final two frames to clinch the victory. Manchester threatened in both innings but could not score. With one out in the 6th, Gibbon lined to center and the tying run was doubled up off second base by Boccuzzi.

Rory Gentile singled to start the 7th but was caught stealing by Chris Freni. Lafata then walked, and Bertolino singled before Deschamps retired the final two batters.

Ipswich over Topsfield 10-1

Kevin Michael pitched 6 innings for the Chiefs allowing only 1 run, which was unearned, on only 2 hits for the Tories. Chris Lane got the save in relief. The score was 2-0 Ipswich going into the fifth inning where Topsfield made some costly errors to break open the score. Zack Lamkin took the loss for Topsfield. The season series ends 2-2 between the Chiefs and Tories who will be very busy with a handful of make-up games in the coming weeks.

Rockport 7 Beverly 6

Townies came back from a 6-1 deficit on Friday night in Rockport to defeat the Beverly Giants by a score of 7-6. It took some work for Rockport to overcome some poor defense early on as they committed four errors leading to four Beverly runs early on. However, the Townies put up three in the 6th and three in the 7th to capture their seventh victory on the season.

Rockport's offense was paced by Chris Bouchie (3-4, 2 2b's and 3rs), Brock Currier 2-3, 2b, 2rs), Dan Greel (2-4, 2b, rs) Jeremy Spittle (2-2, 2b, 2rbis, 2rs) and Mike Bertolino who had the walkoff double in the bottomh of the 7th with two outs to give the Townies a comeback victory. Derek Osmond got the win in one inning of relief, striking two and allowing one hit.

For Beverly, Harutunian, Adams and Baricelli all had one hit a piece.

Manchester - 8, Beverly - 2

Steve Stout pitched 6 scoreless innings for the win. Manchester led 1 to 0 in the bottom of the 5th when Nate Bertolino hit a 2 run homerun to start a 7 run rally that put the game away.

Beverly's runs came courtesy of a Bill Boccuzzi 2 run homer in the top of the 7th. Gary Pisa allowed 4 runs (3 earned) over 4+ innings and was charged with the loss.

Generals bounce back against Rams

Jon Jackson pitched a gem as he was able to out-duel Matt Wile to earn the victory, 6-2. The Generals scored 2 in the first to get the scoring going. Funchion and Jones Scored on RBI's from Stewart & Maloney. The Generals manufactured one in the 3rd, Funchion scored once again on a Stewart RBI single.

The Rams then got two in the fifth to make the score 3-2. White got an RBI single, and Johnson got a RBI on a fielder's choice. The Generals extended the lead to 6-2 in the bottom of the sixth. Jones worked a bases loaded walk, and Provost plated 2 on a hit to left that just dropped after a great effort by the leftfielder. Drinkwater came in to get the 1-2-3 to end the game in the top of the seventh.

makeup games

Rockport @ Hamilton Tuesday, July 14th @ Patton Park 5:45pm start

Hamilton @ Rockport will be played Friday, July 17th starting at 7pm.

Rowley 11 - Hamilton 0

On another damp and rainy night, the Rowley Rams got their first action in 21 days. Rowley showed no signs of rust as they brought 11 men to the plate in the first scoring 6. The 6 proved to be plenty of support for Joe Katin (6IP, 3h, 2BB and 7K's) who picked up his 3rd win of the season. Offensively for the Rams Ben Brink(2 for 3 2RBI), Andrew Barry(2for 3 3RBI, HR), Tim Moore(2for 4 1RBI) and Kyle Willett(2for 4 1Run) all had 2 hits. Devin Barry was 1for 3 with 2runs and 3 RBI. For Hamilton Jensen started on the mound and took the loss, while Luke Painchaud and Justin Tilley also chipped in on the mound. Offensively for Hamilton Maloney had 2 hits and Provost added the 3rd. The 2 teams will meet again tomorrow @ Patton Park as they wrap up their season series.

The only way this game got off tonight was through the hard work put into the field for the 2 hours prior to the game. Special thanks to Dave Leavitt and the numerous Hamilton players that arrived early to assist in getting the field ready. The recent weather has certainly put a spin on this season, it was refreshing to see the 2 teams come together to get the field ready for play, old town baseball at its best. Thanks to all that contributed!

Downtime affects Townies, Mariners continue to roll

Downtime affects Townies, Mariners continue to
By Jason Brisbois - Cape Ann Beacon

CAPE ANN - This is just what Jeremy Spittle was hoping wouldn’t happen.

After a 10-day layoff, it was apparent the Townies weren’t playing with the same fervor as when they had a streak of three wins in five days and pulled just above .500. Last Thursday, Rockport’s entry into the Intertown Twilight League fell to Beverly, 4-3.

“We had that layoff, and the layoff hurt us,” said Spittle, the Townies’ player/coach. “This is what I was worried about.”

Andrew Vafallo pitched admirably in a complete-game effort for the baseball team, but it wasn’t enough as Rockport mustered a total of only four hits.

“If we score runs, we’re going to win,” said Spittle. “But we need to score runs to win the game.”

It was a far cry from the team’s streak from a couple of weeks ago, one that helped them to overcome a slow start and get back on track. With numerous rainouts and postponements dotting the ITL landscape so far this summer, July’s schedule is loaded with multiple games on consecutive days. After seeing the Townies respond positively to playing four or five games in a short amount of time, this could be seen as an advantage for Rockport.

“The schedule starts to pick up from here on out,” said Spittle. “In July, we’ve got a boatload of games. It’s a good, little stretch. Hopefully we can start to get some momentum back.”

The Townies are far from out of it at this point. In fact, at 5-5, they are in third place in the league, with first-place Manchester Essex looming this weekend.

“There are a lot of teams under us who are struggling the same, if not worse,” Spittle said. “It’s not like we’re in danger here. We’re right where we want to be. I’d prefer not to have five losses at this point, but we’re playing catch-up to Rowley and Manchester. Those are the two teams right now. I’d be happy if we take two out of our next three.”

The Mariners, meanwhile, remained in first place with a dramatic, extra-inning victory over Hamilton last Friday. The 6-4 win put Manchester Essex firmly in first place in the league at 9-1.

Ipswich 6, Topsfield 2

Ipswich beat the Tories last night by the score of 6-2. Tonight's M/E & Rockport game has been postponed due to the weather. The teams are looking for a possible makeup date.

Hamilton Generals look to makeup ground in ITL

Hamilton Generals look to makeup ground in ITL
By Dom Nicastro - HW Chronicle

Hamilton - Rain is making for a busy second half of the Intertown Twilight Baseball League for the local nine.

But lumping a bunch of makeup games together because of weeks of rain may not be the worst thing for Hamilton.

According to player/manager Tom Jones, his team’s strength is its depth. And he’s counting on it to carry the Generals past the .500 mark in the latter half. The Generals went 4-6 in the first half and stand in fourth place of the seven-team league as of Monday.

“We have tremendous depth this year both in the field and on the mound, which has really paid off,” Jones said. “We've been in every game this year despite the fact that we haven't had the same lineup once this season. All the guys have stepped up and filled in spots they might not be as comfortable with to help out the team.”

The record says otherwise, but the Generals have been competitive. Of the team’s six losses, all but one have either been by one run or in extra innings.

“We compete in every game, which will start to pay off over the second half, I think,” Jones said. “With all the rain we will be forced to play many makeups in the second half, which I think we will have an advantage because we have such a deep team. It will help a lot to have so many quality pitchers when we start having regular four-game weeks.”

Hamilton’s Mark Provost leads the ITL in batting average so far. Jered Stewart is leading in home runs.

However, the Generals have not been able to get the big hit as often as they would like, Jones said. Last season’s MVP, Jim Maloney, has been out all season due to an injury. Jones said he might return soon.

“He is really missed in the lineup,” Jones said. “Offensively we have struggled as a whole. Specifically we haven't been able to deliver the big key hit as a team. Hopefully in the second half we will benefit from this as we haven't thus far in this season.”

Mike Drinkwater and Jon Jackson have been the team’s best pitchers statistically and are among the league leaders in strikeouts and ERA.

As always, the deeper pitching staff wins in the end, and Jones said his can compete in that department.

Manchester Essex (9-1), Rowley (6-2) and Rockport (5-5) are all ahead of Hamilton thus far.

“The league is really looking competitive from top to bottom this year,” Jones said. “Everyone can beat everyone on any night. Manchester Essex seems to be the team to beat so far based on their record. They've been in a lot of tough games and have been coming out on top. We look to push through and share in some similar success for the second half. There really aren't any easy games on the schedule this year. Teams will be battling for the four playoff spots right down to the wire.”

The Generals most recent win came over Topsfield, 10-2. Mike Drinkwater allowed only two runs over four innings of work en route to the win.

The Generals did most of its damage in the third inning, sending 11 men to the plate and scoring seven times. Jones and Provost had back-to-back RBI doubles. Jeff Jensen also contributed with an RBI double of his own later in the inning. The Generals led, 7-0, after three innings.

The Generals tacked on three more in the sixth. Bryan Vitale and Luke Painchuad both had RBI singles.

Jensen pitched the last two innings for Hamilton.

Jones, Provost, Vitale, Jensen and Painchuad all had multiple hits for the Generals. The teams were set to play Tuesday at Patton Park.

Vitale homered in an earlier, eight-inning 6-4 loss to Manchester Essex. Jered Stewart had an RBI single.