IronBirds rule Minors’ nest; All Star play begins
Published in the July 2, 2015 edition
THE IRON OF THE LEAGUE: The IronBirds captured the North Reading Little League’s Minors title by beating the River Bandits, 10-7, in the championship game. Front row (left to right): Garrett Trentsch, Ruari Maynes, Eli Nikoloppulos, Nicholas Jones, John Paolucci, Aldo Vittozzi, LukeBenecke. Back row: Coach Kevin Delano, Owen Delano, Sam Morelli, Jack Conrad, Coach Rob Vittozzi, Coach Kevin Benecke, Coach Brad Jones. (Courtesy Photo)
NORTH READING — Congratulations to the 2015 North Reading Little League Minor League Champion IronBirds, who captured a 10–7 title-game victory over a gutsy River Bandits squad that battled until the final out.
Sam Morelli took the mound for the IronBirds and was masterful, allowing just four hits in four innings. When the ball was put into play, the defense had Morelli’s back. Owen Delano scooped up a few ground balls for outs and was on the receiving end of a terrific throw from catcher Aldo Vittozzi to nail a runner attempting to steal third. Clutch catches from Nick Jones and Cole Bennett helped keep the innings short.
The IronBirds’ bats were hot as well, with both Vittozzi and Morelli going 3–for–3. In the fourth inning, the Birds plated three runs – a rally started by a leadoff single from Luke Beneke and great at-bats by Eli Nikoloppulos and Ruari Maynes that put them on base with a pair of well-timed walks.
The Birds seemed to relax with their lead and Morelli throwing so well, but the Bandits seized the opportunity to say that they were not going down without a fight. They scored five times in the fifth inning – sparked by hits from Andrew Taylor, Andrew Mountain, and Sean Heins. A monstrous triple from Theo Sifikas plated two and was followed by a home run off the bat of Dylan Mills.
Vittozzi then stepped up his game on the mound to preserve the win. He had constant support from Jack Conrad and captain of the infield Garrett Trentch, while a terrific all-round game was played by John Paolucci, who was sound in the field and feared at the plate. He had a single, and then took one for the team off the wrist late in the game.
A tip of the cap goes to a talented River Bandits team for a great effort. Garret Arden played well with two hits and delivered a strong pitching performance. Brandon Eng laced a triple early in the game.
The River Bandits had earned their place in the final with a 10–2 victory over the Red Wings. Taylor had his best hitting game of the spring, going 2–for–3, while Eng collected a double in the third inning, a triple in the fourth, and single in the sixth. Arden went 3–for–3 with three RBI, the last two of which came in the sixth inning with a hard line drive to center that put the game out of reach.
Meanwhile, the Red Wings couldn’t solve Jack Cronin. The young hurler gave up just two hits, allowed one earned run, walked none, and struck out seven during his three innings of work. Arden came in for 1.2 innings of relief and struck out five. Kevin Doble (4 strikeouts), Brady Miller (7 strikeouts), and Ryan Dobbyn (1 strikeout) pitched well for the Red Wings. Ty Parsons and Dobbyn had RBI hits in the loss.
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North Reading’s 13/14-year-old All-Star Team won its first two games in round-robin play and has qualified for the District 13 Championship Game, to be played Tuesday, July 7, at Woburn’s Ferullo Field.
In its opener last Saturday at Carey Park, Alex D’Ambrosio slammed a first-inning triple that put two runs on the board while Ryan Connor threw three innings of pristine relief to help deliver a 7-5 win over Stoneham. D’Ambrosio’s hit to right-center brought home Connor and Derek Reilly, who had both walked. Alex Suny then followed with a single up the middle that made the score 3-0.
Stoneham, playing as the home team, answered with one run in the first inning and two more in the second to draw even. The game remained knotted until the fifth when Matthew Capozzoli drove in the go-ahead run with a sacrifice fly to right field.
North Reading’s lead grew to 5-3 in the sixth on an RBI single by D’Ambrosio, and the Hornets padded their advantage in the seventh with two more runs, one crossing on Connor’s RBI hit and the other scoring on a wild pitch.
On the mound, D’Ambrosio started and pitched into the third inning before yielding to Connor. The righty would last into the seventh, giving up just one hit, walking one, and striking out five to earn the decision. D’Ambrosio, Connor, Suny, and Alex Wallner each had two hits in the victory.
The Hornets then traveled to Woburn on Monday for a showdown with the District’s other unbeaten team and came away with a thrilling 6-2 victory. Reilly fired six stellar innings, Matt Solecki sparkled in center field, and Dan Lignos turned in a titanic effort behind the plate.
Reilly allowed just one run – keeping Woburn off the scoreboard from the second through the sixth inning – while spreading out four hits before reaching his pitch count. He walked two and struck out three.
The Hornets were also terrific in the field, with Solecki leading the way. He had five putouts, including a diving grab to end the fifth that stranded two Woburn runners on base, and then recorded an outfield assist in the seventh inning when Woburn was threatening. Lignos stepped in for Reilly behind the plate and was more than up to the challenge with his play, which included chasing down a difficult popup for a key out in the sixth inning. Overall, the Hornets’ defense recorded 18 outs with plays in the field while committing just one error.
North Reading jumped on top in the first when Reilly, who had been hit by a pitch, came around to score on an RBI single by Ryan Veneziano. After Woburn knotted things up in the bottom of the inning, the Hornets quickly regained the upper hand. Trevor Wilson beat out an infield single to start the second inning and would eventually cross the plate following three straight hit batters.
The score remained 2–1 until the top of the sixth when North Reading exploded for four runs. Lignos opened the frame with a walk, stole a base, and advanced to third on a Solecki hit. Wallner then laced an RBI single up the middle to make it 3–1. Wilson followed with a hot shot that was snared by the Woburn pitcher, but his throw to first sailed wide, allowing two more runners to race home. Connor’s sacrifice fly to deep accounted for the inning’s final run.
Reilly kept the hosts as bay in the bottom of the sixth, but Woburn wouldn’t go quietly when it came to bat in the seventh. The home team strung together four straight one-out hits, but Solecki’s throw to third base erased one runner and then he fittingly caught the final out on a long shot to center.
