After press time:
North Reading defeats Triton (May 7)
North Reading falls to Bedford 3-2 (May 6)
North Reading defeats Essex Tech 8-4 (May 4)
North Reading defeats Rockport 16-2 (May 2)

 

Published May 2, 2024

By DAN ZIMMERMAN

NEWBURYPORT — While it certainly couldn’t be described as a collapse, the red hot offense that has been the cornerstone of North Reading’s recent baseball fortunes, including a pair of come-from-behind wins, has cooled considerably.

Last Saturday morning, the Hornets suffered their first defeat in two weeks, dropping a hard-fought 4-2 decision to archrival Lynnfield. And several days later, Newburyport added to the decline, handing North Reading a 5-2 loss.

In Lynnfield, the Hornet defense was described as “flawless,” but facing Newburyport on Tuesday, a defensive setback in the second inning yielded a pair of unearned runs for the Clippers.

“Our team defense isn’t where it needs to be right now,” said North Reading Coach Eric Archambault, who is currently 6-4 overall as the season reaches its midpoint. “Some times, we’re playing great, other times, not as much. We just have to continue to improve.”

The defeat in Lynnfield, which snapped North Reading’s five-game win streak, could have easily ended in the Hornets favor if not for a 2-run Pioneers single in the bottom of the fifth. Knotted at two at this late stage in the contest, Lynnfield was able to push across the go-ahead runs and never looked back, improving to 6-2 overall.

Hornet second baseman Ryan Labb, who currently leads the team with 12 hits, 9 RBIs, and a .429 batting average, drove in Christian Lava and Antonio Ricca in the first frame to claim a 2-0 lead. Freshman hurler Ethan Quan allowed a solo homer in the bottom of the first. In the fourth, Lynnfield brought home the tying run on a sac-fly. Quan worked six innings, scattering 7 hits, while walking a pair and fanning one.

On a cold, windswept field in Newburyport on Tuesday afternoon, Dylan Matthews got the call and was immediately set upon for three straight basehits and a 2-0 deficit. In the second stanza, the Clippers doubled the advantage to 4-0, scoring a pair on an errant throw to first. It was soon 5-0 when Labb struggled in relief of Matthews.

Newburyport starter Evan Luekens blanked the Hornets through five, allowing just a pair of basehits. In the sixth, however, he began to run out of steam. He walked pinch-hitter Tommy Gazda, then hit Jason Curran. Both soon advanced into scoring position with a double steal, setting the table for Lava, who crushed a double to deep center. Labb later added a two-out triple, which skirted the first baseline to deep left, but was left stranded.

Trailing 5-2 into the seventh, North Reading threatened. Matt Mancinelli and Ethan Quan came up with hits to get on base. With two outs, Jason Curran, at the top of the order, came to the plate representing the potential tying run but Luekens fanned him to end it.

“This team never quits,” said Archambault who next travels to face 2-6 Rockport on Thursday evening. “We’ve seen comebacks in several games this year and in this one, we believed we could do it, getting keys hits when we needed to. I have plenty of confidence in this team’s ability to bounce back from losses like this.”