ALEX CARUCCI and the NRHS baseball team are off to a 4-1 start this season. The Hornets travel to Pentucket on Thursday and will meet Georgetown on Saturday, 2 p.m. in Old Orchard Beach. (Eric Evans Photo)
By DAN ZIMMERMAN
NORTH READING — After reeling off 31-runs in three wins to kick off the 2023 campaign, the North Reading baseball team ran out of offensive steam last Saturday morning, suffering their first loss of the season to Cape Ann League foe Newburyport, 11-1.
The Hornets wasted little time bouncing back, however, handing visiting CAL opponent Triton a walk-off defeat in extra innings on Tuesday afternoon.
Knotted at 6-6 after seven, North Reading freshman Robbie Daley was aboard with a leadoff walk in the bottom of the eighth, immediately stole second, and soon scored the game-winner as Matt Mancinelli, another freshman, laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt that triggered a costly Triton fielding error.
“It was definitely good to get out of here with a win,” said North Reading Coach Eric Archambault, who improved to 4-1 overall, 1-1 in the CAL with the clutch finish. “It was not our sharpest game by any means. A number of miscues gave Triton early runs but for the most part, we were able to buckle down and execute when we needed to.”
North Reading warmed up for Triton with another come-from-behind win over non-league opponent Bedford, last Thursday.
On an overheated, eighty-five degree field, Hornet bats were ice cold at the outset. Bedford, meanwhile, took full advantage of a shrinking strike zone, working Hornet starter Ryan Labb for a trio of consecutive walks at the start. Labb, winner of the season opener over Essex Tech, maintained his composure but was soon in a first inning hole, down 3-0. The Buccaneers added a run in the third on back-to-back hits.
“The umpire had a tight strike zone in that one,” said Archambault. “I thought Ryan Labb did a great job under difficult circumstances.”
North Reading began to chip away at the deficit with a run in the bottom of the third. Ryan McGuire, who beat a throw on an infield grounder, later rounded the bases and scored on an Aldo Vittozzi extra basehit.
Bedford made it 5-1 in the fourth but then the Hornets went to work, scoring a pair in the bottom of the inning and then two more in the fifth to tie it at 5. Labb, McGuire, Alex Carucci, and Jason Curran all scored on the comeback trail.
“We had baserunners throughout the game but just couldn’t get that big hit,” said Archambault. “In the fourth and fifth innings, we were able to push a few runs across. You could almost hear the collective sigh of relief when we tied it.”
North Reading surged ahead with three in the sixth frame enroute to an 8-6 triumph. The game-winning RBI was knocked in by McGuire, who plated Brandon Eng. Also contributing was freshman Dylan Matthews, whose three innings of relief were described as “terrific” by Archambault.
Triton, which came in undefeated at 4-0, had outscored opponents by a wide 39-5 margin and was quickly ahead of North Reading with a pair of first inning runs. The Hornets answered, halving the deficit when Zach Rosatone delivered Vittozzi.
In his third outing, Labb was throwing well but yielded another run on a second inning RBI-double. Once again, the Hornets fought back, closing the gap when Daley scored on a Curran basehit. Triton added a pair off reliever Daley in the fifth frame
but the Hornet response in their half of the stanza was loud, with runs tallied by Rosatone, Carucci, and Max Forristall to even it at 5.
The combatants traded runs in the sixth. In a preview of coming attractions, Daley was able to slide under a tag at the plate to tie the contest heading for the dramatic eighth inning finale. On the mound, he also pitched out of a jam and stranded the Triton go-ahead run at third.
“We went into the game with the mindset that Labb and Daley would split the pitching duties and that’s how it panned out,” said Archambault. “Labb started out pitching awesome and Daley came in and did the job. And Daley had a bit of a base-running snafu and got caught in a pickle but was able to get out of it and score.”
North Reading (4-1) will travel to face Pentucket Thursday morning and then on Saturday, make the trip Down East to face Georgetown in Old Orchard Beach, Maine at 2 p.m.