Published June 17, 2021
NORTH READING — The NRHS baseball team continued their winning ways last week with big wins over strong Pentucket and Newburyport teams before falling to Lynnfield in a close game in the season finale. The Hornets won five of their final six games to finish with a 9-6 record and an official 9-5 CAL record.
The Hornets finished second in the CAL Kinney Division with 18 points to Newburyport who had 20.
The Clippers beat North Reading 10-3 on May 21 but North Reading got the last laugh on June 10 when they won 12-1 on the road.
The Hornets racked up 13 hits and ran wild with eight stolen bases including two each from Alex Carucci, Ryan McCullough and Michael Vittozzi.
Six Hornets had two hits in this one: Matt Ryan (1 RBI, 2 R), Joe Giacalone (1 RBI, 1 R), Vittozzi, McCullough (2 RBI, 2 R), Carucci (1 RBI, 2 R) and Nick Shea (1 RBI, 1 R).
Ryan Baker earned his fourth win of the season, pitching another complete game while only allowing four hits, one walk, no earned runs and striking out five.
North Reading made a statement in the very first inning with four runs. Ryan and Giacalone led off with singles. A Vittozzi fly out advanced them to second and third. Ryan scored on a Frank Cassarino fielder’s choice and McCullough came through with a two-RBI base hit to make it 3-0. Carucci then hit a liner to center that scored McCullough.
The Hornets added five in the 3rd to race out to a comfortable 9-0 lead.
The win, their fifth straight, came one day after North Reading beat Pentucket 5-3 at Carey Park. That win also avenged a loss in the first matchup that Pentucket won 5-1 on May 6.
On June 9, the Hornets were facing a 1-0 deficit when they put up three in the 5th and then added a needed two in the 6th as Pentucket was limited to one each in the 6th and 7th.
Timmy McCarthy went six innings scattering eight hits and allowing three earned while striking out four. Baker closed it in the 7th.
The Hornets had a balanced attack with nine hits. Eight different players collected a hit in this one with Cassarino leading the way with two. Giacalone and Nick Ciardello both had doubles.
McCullough and Carucci walked and singled, respectively to lead off the 5th. They both advanced to scoring position on a Baker line out and throwing error. Nick Shea put down a squeeze bunt to score McCullough and advance Carucci.
Another squeeze, this time from Ryan scored Carucci to give NR a 2-1 lead.
Giacalone then hit a clutch, two-out RBI double to make it 3-1.
Ciardello’s one-out double in the 6th set up McCullough’s RBI knock to make it 4-2. Baker later reached on an error with two outs to score McCullough.
The Hornets played Lynnfield for the third time this season in an extra game that didn’t count toward their CAL record. North Reading defeated their rivals 2-1 on May 8 and 3-2 on June 3. The Pioneers got a one-run win of their own on Monday at LHS with a walk off home run for a 4-3 win.
The Hornets tied another tense matchup 1-1 in the 6th and would take a 3-1 lead in the top of the 7th before the Pioneers exploded for three runs to walk it off in the bottom half.
North Reading’s run in the 6th was scored by Vittozzi who ran home on a sac fly by McCullough.
Ciardello singled and Shea walked to lead off the 7th. A Giacalone sac fly later made it 2-1 and a Vittozzi RBI knock scored Shea. The Hornets will now get ready to play in the North sectional tournament. Seedings were unavailable at press time.
