Mariners, Townies occupy ITL’s top two spots

"Mariners, Townies occupy ITL's Top Two Spots"
By Jane Fosberry Enos / Cape Ann Beacon

CAPE ANN - It’s a month later, and it seems the local baseball teams that participate in the Intertown Twilight League have switched places from where they were around mid-June.

It was at this point that Manchester/Essex was on a roll, starting the season with a 7-1 record. It was also at about this point that the Rockport Townies were struggling to find a rhythm, hovering just under the .500 mark and looking for more consistency.

Now it’s mid-July, and the Mariners are still in first place with an 11-4 record, and the Townies are firmly in second with a mark of 9-5. But it’s what’s happening on the field that has switched between the two teams. Now it’s the Mariners who are scuffling to play consistent ball, and the Townies who are on a roll.

“We hadn’t been playing the greatest ball and we were still winning games,” says Mariners’ player/coach Bryan Lafata. “Now, we’re not playing the greatest and playing about .500 ball, splitting series every time. We’re undermanned without our regular starting pitchers.

“We haven’t been that consistent,” continues Lafata. “With the rain and everything, and our pitchers not getting a chance to throw, it’s tough to find a rhythm. We’re still working to get a set lineup.”

In Rockport, the story is decidedly different. The Townies have won four straight and rocketed into second place. With the warmer weather and a schedule tightly packed with games, the Townies have been able to get into that desired rhythm and get back in the race for a playoff spot. And Rockport has been doing it in dramatic fashion, rallying in the seventh inning to break a 3-3 tie and pull out a 6-3 win over Hamilton on Tuesday.

“We’re happy not to have a prolonged break,” says Townies player/coach Jeremy Spittle. “Those are bad for us, as evidenced by the beginning of the year. This is a good group of guys. As we get going, good things happen. With this stretch of games and with this weather, we can get into synch. We’re playing really loose right now.”

If having multiple games packed into a tight schedule is as good as advertised, then the future looks bright indeed for the Townies. Rockport was scheduled to play Rowley on Wednesday, Topsfield on Thursday, will host Hamilton on Friday and then host Ipswich on Sunday. More games will follow on Monday and Tuesday as well.

The Mariners, meanwhile, played Topsfield on Tuesday and will face them again on Friday, and enter into a big series with Rowley next week.

Hamilton ITL team gains ground after rainouts

"Hamilton ITL team Gains Ground after Rainouts"
By Dom Nicastro / HW Chronicle

Rain has wreaked havoc on many summer baseball league schedules, and the Intertown League is no exception.

Hamilton has four games this week alone as it battles to catch up on its schedule and stay in that fourth and final playoff spot. Heading into Tuesday’s action, the Generals were 7-8 and battling with Topsfield (seven losses), Ipswich (eight losses) and Beverly (10 losses) for the final playoff spot.

Hamilton suffered a setback in its last three games when it dropped two, 11-0 at Rowley and 9-1 against Ipswich. Those defeats sandwiched around a 6-2 victory over Rowley.

Hamilton’s Jon Jackson pitched a gem and outdueled Rowley’s Matt Wile to earn the victory. The Generals scored two in the first, thanks to Judd Funchion and Tom Jones runs on hits from Jared Stewart and James Maloney.

The Generals manufactured one in the third, when Funchion scored again on a Stewart RBI single.

The Generals extended the lead to 6-2 in the bottom of the sixth. Jones worked a bases loaded walk, and Mark Provost plated two on a hit to left that just dropped after a great effort by the left fielder, Hamilton player/manager Jones said. Mike Drinkwater came in to get the 1-2-3 to end the game in the top of the seventh.

Ipswich’s Dave Shoreman took a no-hitter into the top of the sixth against the Generals Monday night but allowed a hit to Stewart, the only he would surrender. Shoreman gave up an unearned run in the fourth in the 9-1 Ipswich win.

The Chief's offense was paced by Ricky Sotiropolous, who was 2-for-3 at the plate with two runs and an RBI.

Rowley, playing its first game in 21 days because of rain, showed no signs of rust as it brought 11 men to the plate in the first, scoring six in an 11-0 win over Hamilton.

Joe Katin (6 IP, 3 hits, 2 BB and 7 Ks) picked up his third win of the season. Offensively for the Rams, Ben Brink (2-for-3, 2 RBI), Andrew Barry (2-for-3, 3 RBI, homer, Tim Moore (2-or-4, RBI) and Kyle Willett (2-for-4, run) led the Rams.

For Hamilton, Jeff 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 two hits and Provost added the third.

Beverly @ Hamilton Makeup Game

Friday, July 31st @ Patton Park 5:45pm start

Rockport @ M/E makeup

Monday, July 27th @ Essex 5:45pm start

Chiefs win 8-7 over Townies

Ryan Montecalvo drove in the winning runs in the bottom of the 7th, to get the Chief's the win Monday night in Ipswich.

Dave Doucette recorded his first win of the season.

More details to follow...

Rowley 4 Topsfield 1

Topsfield and Rowley both got great pitching efforts, from Bunker and Katin respectively, in a close game down at Proctor. Rowley held a 1-0 lead through four innings before getting a few key hits in the fifth to take a 4-0 lead. Topsfield would add 1 in the seventh but it was too little too late as the Rams took the third game of the season series. The two teams will meet in their final make up game on Tuesday July 28th at Proctor.

Generals Over Mariners, 3-1

Judd Funchion went 6 strong innings to get the victory, Connor Sullivan worked a scoreless 7th to earn the save. Funchion allowed only two hits on the day, both to Bertolino who had a solo HR for the Mariners only run.



The Generals took a 1-0 lead in the fourth behind a Funchion RBI single that scored Stewart. In the fifth the score was pushed to 2-0. Provost delivered a sac-fly scoring Maidment. Bertolino cut the lead to one with a monster HR in the sixth. The Generals got that run back in the seventh with another Provost sac-fly.

Sullivan took care of business in the bottom of the seventh recording the save and securing the victory.

Rowley - 9, Beverly - 4

Rowley used an 8 run second inning to beat the Giants. More details to follow.

Rockport 4 Ipswich 2

Rockport defeated Ipswich 4-2 on Sunday night at Evans Field. Brent Currier pitched his fourth CG to earn his fifth win on the season.

More details to follow...

Rowley Sweeps Double Header

Game One Rowley 6, Topsfield 2 ,
Trailing 2-0 late, Rowley put up 6 in an inning to back up a complete game from Nick Liguori. Matt Rogers pitched well for Topsfield in the loss.


Game Two Rowley 9, Topsfield 2,
The Rams posted 8 runs through the first 3 innings and Matt Wile pitched six solid innings for the win.

Mariners over Tories

The M/E Mariners beat the Topsfield Tories 10-1 behind 6 strong innings from Mike Gibbon.

Hamilton over Rockport, 12-5

Jeff Jensen pitched a complete game for the Generals on route to the victory. Jensen was able to scatter a handful of Townie hits to minimize damage and only walked one batter on the day. Jensen was able to deliver on short notice in a must win game for the Generals. Vassalo started for the Townies and was charged with the, Osmand and Currier also got some work in on the mound.

The Generals started off quickly, scoring 2 in each of the first two innings. Vitale (2-4, 2 2B, 4 RBI) got a 2-RBI double in the first. Jones and Maidment added RBI's in the 2nd making the score 4-0 Generals after 2.

In the Fourth inning, Jered Stewart delivered a 3-run HR extending the lead to 7-0. The Townies got those 3 back in the bottom of the fourth. Bouchie got a pinch hit 2-run double, and then scored on a Bertolino double. The Townies got another in the 6th, closing the score to 7-4. Bertolino got the RBI single. The Generals then turned a nifty double play to end the inning and the Townie threat.

In the seventh the Generals tacked on 5 more runs to get some breathing room. Provost got a 2-rbi single that was followed by another Vitale 2-RBI double. The Townies managed one more in the bottom of the seventh but Jensen still looked strong and was able to finish out the game, earning the victory.

Townies Top Tories 10-9

The Topsfield Tories dug themselves in a deep hole after the first inning by giving up 7 runs on a few costly errors combined with some aggressive hitting from the Rockport Townies. James "Red" Riordan made his first start in over a month, returning from a foot injury, to go five innings and take the loss. Hausman got the win in relief for Bertolino. Topsfield made it interesting, coming back to take an 8-7 lead on a Scott Lobdell Home Run. Rockport came back in the fifth with hits from Currier (3/4, 3B, 1RUN) and Greel (1/2, BB, HBP), along with a Topsfield error, to regain the lead 10-8. Other notable contributors to the win included Robertson (3/5, 1RUN) and Anderson with a HR. Topsfield takes on Man-Essex at home tonight before a doubleheader in Rowley tomorrow.

Ipswich 8 - Hamilton/Wenham 6

The Chief's rattled off their 5 win in a row tonight defeating Hamilton 8-6.

Kevin Michael picked up the win for the Chief's tonight. Going 6 1/3 before giving way to Chris Lane who picked up the save for the Chief's.

The offense was lead by Andy Knox who had 3 hits and 2 RBI's. Tom Radzim went 2-4 for 3 RBI's. Matt Lane also chipped in 2 hits and an RBI. Both Travis Doty, and Radzim both scored 2 runs.

With the score 8-6 Chief's in the bottom of the 7th, the Generals made it interesting with Mark Provost leading off the inning with a double, which was then followed by a Jared Stewart 2-Run bomb to left. Lane would then enter with Jim Maloney on 1st who reached on an error. Lane would strik out Justin Tilley, give up a basehit to Sullivan, and would then strike out Reggie Maidment to end the game on a called third strike.

The Generals offense was paced by Jared Stewart who was 1-2 at the plate with a HR and 2 RBI's. Mark Provost was also 2-4 with a run scored in the loss.

Ipswich won the season series 3-4, Ipswich travels to Rockport on Sunday night, and the Generals don't play until Tuesday when they face off against Beverly.

Ipswich - 13, Beverly - 6

Ipswich scored 4 runs in the top of the first inning. Fast forward to the bottom of the fourth. Ipswich led 6 to 4. Derek Scialdone produced a 2 out, 2 run double to tie the game at 6. Brad Eaton then came on in relief of Kevin Smolla and got a strikeout with two men on to end the threat.

In the top of the fifth Ipswich erupted for 7 runs to take a 13 to 6 lead that they would hold until the game was called after six innings.

Eaton earned the victory in relief. Gary Pisa was charged with the loss. For Ipswich, Dave Shoreman homered, Tom Radzim and Travis Doty tripled. For Beverly, John Boyle had a three run homer.