Hornet comeback falls short against Lynnfield in quarterfinals

Published June 13, 2019

By DAN PAWLOWSKI

LYNNFIELD — The 2019 NRHS baseball team was used to fighting back all season.

After all, they did start the year 2-6 before winning 10 of their last 13 games.

So, down 4-0 in the 6th inning against the best pitcher in Div. 3 wasn’t quite enough for North Reading to quit.

Ryan Connor, Jack Keller and Matt Capozzoli all drew walks with one out to load the bases. Lynnfield left fielder Luke Martinho made a fine sliding catch on a sinking liner off the bat of Michael Vittozzi, but even facing two-out, 0-2 count, Cole Doke ripped a two-RBI double.

Unfortunatley for the Hornets, as he had done all game, lefty flamethrower Fernando Gonzalez buckled down and got out of it with a groundout.

It was North Reading’s best chance to get back into the game and nobody could say they didn’t leave it all on the diamond.

“We’ve faced Gonzalez for four years, we know he’s a phenomenal pitcher,” said NR head coach Eric Archambault. “We’ve worked the last few days on just trying to hit that velocity and trying to battle and compete every single pitch. If he’s going to get us out we’re going to make him work for everything. We definitely made him work, had baserunners and had chances. It’s one of those things, just a couple more hits with runners in scoring position and I think the complexion of the game changes.”

The Hornets brought plenty of fire to LHS from the start.

The dugout combined with a strong turnout of Hornet fans made plenty of noise as North Reading got to Gonzalez in the first inning. They loaded the bases with the first three hitters as Joey Frammertino walked then beat Gonzalez’s throw to second on a sac bunt by Keller. Alex D’Ambrosio was then hit by a pitch.

As he has done plenty of times against the Hornets and every other team in the Cape Ann League, Gonzalez seemed to be fueled by the chaos and the stage as he got Ryan Connor to fly out, struck out Matt Solecki and got Capozzoli to ground out.

“If we scrape across a couple in that first inning then maybe the game changes a little bit but credit to him (Gonzalez) he got out of it,” said Archambault.

Doke got the start for North Reading and started strong, sitting down the Pioneers in order in the first.

Doke’s first hit of the game came with one out in the top of the 2nd but the Hornets couldn’t rally.

Lynnfield broke the tie in the bottom of the 3rd. A walk and a sacrifice bunt put a runner at second. Doke got a flyout but Lynnfield’s Clayton Marengi hit an RBI single. That brought up Gonzalez in the cleanup spot. The big lefty smashed a back-breaking two-run homer to right center, giving the home team a 3-0 lead.

“After Fernando hit that homer I thought it gave him a little confidence on the mound,” said head coach John O’Brien.

That may have been a bit of an understatement.

Gonzalez followed up his homer with a 1,2,3 top of the 4th and a statement that he wouldn’t be beat in this one.

Lynnfield rode the momentum one more time to get some insurance in the 4th.

After a walk to start the inning, Demetri Boulas got the ball in relief for the Hornets. Following a comeback grounder, Martinho hit a two-RBI gapper to give Lynnfield a 4-0 lead.

Gonzalez again sat the Hornets down in order in the 5th.

Boulas ended up with a fine stat line (3 IP, 1 H, 3 BB 1 K) as he didn’t allow a hit for the rest of the game.

After NR showed their resilience in getting back in the game, Gonzalez fought through a growing pitch count to close the door in the 7th.

In the end, the Hornets, who were ousted from the playoffs for the second straight season by Gonzalez, proved all year they were never out of a game.

“Honestly at 2-6 it would have been very easy to hang our heads, give up and say it’s not in the cards this year,” said Archambault. “We fought back, finished strong and were playing our best baseball of the season. It just unfortunately came to an end today.”

Coach “Arch” was especially grateful to the seniors who were vintage North Reading, always about the team first.

“I’m just so incredibly proud of them. The leadership they brought all four years, the tone that they set; they’re leaving the program in a much better place than it was. They will be missed but their legacy will carry on for a long time here.”

So, to Ryan Connor, Alex D’Ambrosio, Andrew Giannattasio, Matt Capozzoli, Ryan Veneziano, Cole Doke, Matt Solecki and Aidan Wyatt, feel free to roll your eyes at this, but as you enjoy your last summer before heading out on your own, keep these words of Grantland Rice in mind:

“When the One Great Scorer comes to write against your name, he marks, not that you won or lost, but how you played the game.”

Thank you for playing it the right way.