By STEPHEN MARTELLUCCI
NORTH READING — Last season, the North Reading A’s finished tied for 10th place in the North Shore Baseball League with the Marblehead Seasiders as both teams went 8-16 overall.
However, only the top eight teams qualify for the postseason as the A’s missed the playoffs for the eighth straight year.
Nearly half the roster from that team left as coaches Joe Dardeno and Frank Cassarino have seen a big turnover when they opened the year back on May 20.
This summer has been a tough one for the team as, after their 10-8, road loss to the Northeast Tides on July 6, their record dipped to 3-14 overall.
They entered this week in last place (11th).
“We found out the week before the season that our three top pitchers from last season were not coming back,” said Dardeno, who has been with the team for 20 years now as a player-coach. “We hit the ball well but have struggled with the pitching.”
Hitting-wise, the A’s are ranked fourth with a team batting average of .289. However, they are ranked 10th out of 11 teams in pitching with a team earned-run average of 6.02.
Jack Mihalchik leads the team in batting average as the outfielder is hitting .400. He was selected as an All-Star in a game that will take place on July 12.
Luke Martinho, who plays left field, is also an All-Star as he is second in hitting at .395.
North Reading resident, Mike Vittozzi, leads the team in walks as the infielder has eight. Dardeno leads the A’s in RBI with seven.
Cassarino is also an All-Star as the North Reading resident is hitting .381 with three runs batted in and two walks.
Hayden Welch leads the pitching staff this year as he was also selected to the All-Star team. He is 2-3 in 27 innings on the hill. He has struck out 38, walked 20 and has an earned-run average of 2.85.
Along with Dardeno, Cassarino and Vittozzi, the other A’s player from North Reading is catcher Derek Reilly.
On July 14, the A’s host Powerhouse at North Reading High at 6 p.m. The next night, they travel to Cooney Field to take on the Beverly Recs. That game will start at 7:30 p.m.