Published in the June 30, 2016 edition
THE “A” TEAM! The Angels showed they were No. 1 by winning this year’s North Reading Little League Majors crown. Front Row (left to right): Justin Bailey, Jackson Dorrington, Zach Rosatone; Second Row: Ryan Rech, Sam Elliott, Andrew Powell, Frankie Trischitta, Garrett Arden, Jared MacDonald, and Dylan Folscroft; Third Row: Coach Chris Arden, Coach Frank Trischitta, Coach Jim Rech. (Courtesy Photo)
NORTH READING — Championship Weekend at Benevento Memorial Fields provided North Reading Little League with an exciting end to its spring season. The feature contest saw the Angels capture their second Majors title in four years by completing a two-game sweep of the Royals.
Game one featured four lead changes until the Angels squeaked out a 5-4 decision. Jackson Dorrington slammed a two-run double in the third inning and the Angels added an insurance tally in the fifth, thanks to a line-drive single by Justin Bailey that plated Frankie Trischitta.
They needed all of it as the Royals closed to within one in the sixth inning on a two-run blast by Nick Ciardiello. Jared MacDonald earned the win, allowing one run over two innings and striking out four.
Game two was all Angels, as exceptional offense and lights-out pitching lifted them to a 22-4 win to clinch the title. Trischitta hit for the cycle, singling in the first inning, tripling in the third, doubling in the fourth and fifth innings, and homering in the sixth. The home run was a bases-clearing slam that marked his 10th round-tripper of the spring.
Every Angels batter had a hit. Standouts included MacDonald with two home runs on the day – one in the first and another in the fourth. Andrew Powell contributed two singles and two doubles, and Dorrington, Bailey, and Sam Elliott each had three hits.
For the Royals, Zach Micciche and James Brooks launched solo home runs.
Bailey recorded the win for the Angels, allowing two runs over five innings of work and striking out 10.
In the NRLL Minors Championship Game, the Lugnuts defeated the Mets, 7-2, the big blast being Noah Pineo’s fifth-inning grand slam. Marty Pierce was the winning pitcher, striking out 11 in a complete-game effort. The NRLL Farm title went to the Blue Jays, who topped the Mets, 17-9, under the Benevento lights.
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In Big Diamond action, the Orioles won the NRLL Junior Division crown and then went on to capture the Middlesex Big Diamond League City Series championship.
The titles were earned with a series of late-inning heroics. In the town semifinals, the Orioles trailed the Rays, 3-2, in the seventh inning until Connor MacIntyre smacked a two-out, two-run double for a 4-3 victory.
In the best-of-three championship series, the Orioles edged the Mariners. Joey Frammartino was victorious in Games 1 and 3, offsetting a fine outing by the Mariners’ Gerry Callagy in Game 2. It still came down to the final at-bat of the series with Evan Steele delivering a towering walk-off shot to the gap that scored the winning run.
The Orioles found themselves down, 7-1, in the City Series semifinals against Wilmington when Nick Shea took the mound in the third inning. He proceeded to shutdown Wilmington over the next five innings, while Steele sparked the offense with a home run to deep left-center at Carey Park in what became a 12-7 victory.
Frammartino then hurled a masterpiece against Lynnfield in the title contest, going the distance and allowing no earned runs in a 72-pitch performance. Trailing 3-2 in the seventh, the Orioles scored three times, the key hit being Aidan O’Sullivan’s two-out double to left that knocked in the tying and go-ahead runs.
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North Reading’s 14/15-year-old Pony League team started 2-0 with wins over Lowell Shed (12-2) and Dracut (14-4). Against Lowell, Matt Solecki hit a two-run homer over the Hood School’s left field fence, and Ryan Connor slugged a two-run double and pitched five solid innings, allowing just three hits while striking out eight.
The Dracut game saw the Hornets pound out 14 hits, including RBI doubles by Dan Lignos and Alex D’Ambrosio and a pair of hits by Dante Centofanti. Dylan Babcock started and worked three effective innings, allowing just one earned run, and added a pair of base hits at the plate.
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The NRLL season continues with the All-Star teams and summer Jimmy Fund teams now beginning play. Stay up to date on schedules and recaps by visiting www.nrll.org.
