By STEPHEN MARTELLUCCI
NORTH READING — Last summer, the North Reading A’s (ages 18 and over wood bat league) just barely missed qualifying for the North Shore Baseball League playoffs as they finished 11-13 coming in 9th place, short of a playoff bid by only one point.
North Reading resident, Joe Dardeno, is back for his 18th-year on the team and 10th as the team’s manager.
The biggest change to the league this year is that a 13th team has been added. That team is called Powerhouse and they are based in Hampton, New Hampshire.
Another changes is that there will also be nine teams that make the playoffs instead of eight with the new team added in the league.
Heading into this week, the A’s record is 5-6 as they are tied for 6th place in the league.
“We started off hot going 4-1 but we are not scoring enough runs,” said Dardeno, who is a first baseman and designated hitter. “Our pitching is solid so far.”
In 11 games, the A’s have scored 46 runs while allowing 50.
The next game for the A’s will be on Friday (June 30) as they host the Peabody Champions at North Reading High. That game will start at 6 p.m.
With the Fourth of July holiday early next week, the team will have some time off as their next game will be July 7 at 6 p.m. as they visit the North Shore Freedom at Memorial Field in Essex.
Along with Dardeno, the other A’s from North Reading are Frank Cassarino (utility), Mike Vittozzi (second and third base), Derek Reilly (catcher) and Ryan Baker (pitcher). They all played for the team last summer.
The sixth A’s player from North Reading is newcomer Aldo Vittozzi who is also a utility player. He is Mike’s cousin.
North Reading opened the season on May 21 and will end the regular season in late July. Admission to all home games is free.
The A’s last made the postseason back in 2016.