Rockport 6 Hamilton 2

Hamilton broke a scoreless tie in the bottom of the 6th with a two run homer by Stewart.  However, Rockport chased Hamilton starter Mike Drinkwater out of the game in the 7th and scored six runs capped off by a three-run Brent Currier homer to give Rockport a 6-2 victory.  Matty Sharon went the distance for the Townies first win in 2012.

Manchester - 1, Beverly - 0 (8 innings)

The Mariners won an extra innings pitchers duel with the Giants 1 to 0 Thursday night. Caulin Rogers led off the bottom of the 8th with a double before scoring the winning run on a Rory Gentile suicide squeeze. For Manchester, Brandon Bell struck out 8 over 6 1/3 shutout innings before giving way to Adam Philpott. Philpott struck out all five batters he faced to earn the victory. Christian Maki was 2 for 3.
For Beverly, Steve Palladino was the tough luck loser allowing 1 run on 6 hits over 7 1/3 innings. Ben McLaughlin was 2 for 3 with a double.

Prior to the final inning both teams escaped jams.  In the top of the 7th McLaughlin led off with a double for the Giants.  Frankie Messina bunted him over to third.  Philpott then entered and struck out the next two batters.

In the bottom of the 7th Maki led off with a single.  The next batter attempted a sac bunt.  Beverly tried for the runner at second but he beat the throw.  The following batter bunted again and the throw to third was mishandled.  Palladino then bore down and got out of the bases loaded, no out jam by inducing a grounder to short, an infield popup, and a grounder back to the pitcher.

Beverly - 9, Rockport - 3

The Beverly Giants beat the Rockport Townies 9 to 3 at Cooney Field Wednesday night.  Josh Levesque earned the win allowing only 1 unearned run in 5 innings while striking out 8.  John Boyle provided much off the offense going 2 for 3 with a HR and 5RBI. Mike LaMothe (2 for 2, 2RBI), Conor Walsh (2 for 4, 3R, RBI), and Ty Besse (2 for 4, 2R) also contributed.

For Rockport, Shutnik hit a two run homer.  Brent Currier doubled and walked twice.  Tommy Robertson singled and walked twice.  McDowell took the loss.

Beverly (2-0) travels to Manchester-Essex (2-0) on Thursday.  Rockport (0-2) goes to Hamilton (0-0) Thursday.

Manchester Sweeps Ipswich

The Mariners swept the Chiefs in their season opening series.  M/E won 2-0 Monday night followed by a 3-1 win Tuesday night in Essex.

Rams- 3, Townies- 2

Trailing 2-1 entering the bottom of the 7th Rowley loaded the bases with no one out.Ralph Renzulli walked to bring in the tying run with one out, with 2 out Tim Moore hit a hard single into center to complete Rowley's comeback.

Mike Sloban started and pitched 5 innings, Joey Martin got the win with 2 innings of scoreless relief.

Brett Smith went the distance for the Townies. Brent Currier drove in both Rockport runs with a long drive to right center in the 5th. Currier, Osmond and Emerson each had hits for Rockport.

Offensively for the Rams, Marco Luisi and Dave Smith led the way with 2 hits each.

Beverly - 1, Topsfield - 0

Opening Day in Beverly featured a pitcher's duel between Beverly's Joe Gill and Topsfield's Mike Gallo. The Giants scored the game's only run in the third inning when Ty Besse scored from second on an Erik Drown infield single. The shortstop bounced a throw to first on a very difficult play. That gave Besse all the time he needed to come in all the way from second.

Joe Gill was stellar all night throwing a 7 inning complete game shutout with 7 strikeouts. Gill scattered 6 hits and did not allow a walk. The Tories' Gallo allowed just one unearned run in 6 innings but was charged with the loss. Gallo struck out 8 while allowing 7 hits and 0 walks.

Beverly's offense was led by Besse (2 for 3, R, SB) and Drown (2 for 3, SB). Topsfield got two hits from Heath (2 for 3).

The Giants host the Townies Wednesday night at Cooney Field. Topsfield travels to Rowley Wednesday.

Opening Day 2012!

Opening Day is here.  There are two games on the schedule

Topsfield @ Beverly 4:30pm
Rockport @ Rowley 5:45pm in a rematch of last year's finals.

Good Luck!

2011 Season Recap

2011 ITL Playoffs

• FINALS
• (2) Rockport vs. (1) Rowley
• Rams Win 3-0
• (4) M/E vs. (1) Rowley
• Rams win series 2-1
• (3) Hamilton vs. (2) Rockport
• Townies Win series 2-1

2011 ITL Standings

• TEAM - W-L-T - POINTS
• Rowley 17-5-2 (36)
• Rockport 14-9 (28)
• Hamilton 13-10-1 (27)
• Man./Essex 12-10-2 (26)
• Ipswich 11-13 (22)
• Beverly 8-15-1 (17)
• Topsfield 5-18 (10)

ITL's Maidment wins coaching debut.

Around the Horn

Matt Williams

New Hamilton-Wenham baseball coach Reggie Maidment doesn't have to look far to find a visual motivator for his players.

All he has to do is point to the outfield.

"Patton Park? It's picturesque. You have the tank out there and pond — not many guys get to play at a park like this, and you realize that and take advantage," said Maidment, whose Generals topped North Reading, 3-1, yesterday at Patton, to give him his first win in his first game as head coach.

The 28-year-old Maidment graduated from Hamilton-Wenham Regional in 2002 and was a multi-sport standout. He graduated from Springfield College, coached baseball at H-W under Doug Hoak the last two years and has been one of Andrew Morency's football assistants at the school, helping the team reach the playoffs in back-to-back years.

Coming home to coach the Generals is a blessing for Maidment, and he hopes the players will feed on his intensity and gratitude.

"It's kind of surreal. I'm really grateful to (athletic director) Don Doucette for the opportunity," said Maidment. "There's tradition and these kids will know I live and breathe being a General. It's an honor."

In Hoak, who is semi-retired and coached the Generals basketball team to its third straight Cape Ann League Division 2 title this past winter, Maidment had an excellent mentor. Hoak led the baseball team for nearly a quarter of a century and won the Division 3 state title in 1988.

"Coach Hoak set us up well. He's run a great program over the years and he's a great baseball guy," Maidment said. "I learned so much playing for him and for coach (Rich) Butterworth."

As an assistant coach the last two seasons, Maidment picked up even more wisdom from Hoak than he did as a player. "As a player you don't see how much these coaches care — and that's Doug Hoak through and through. You don't see all the extra hours they put in after practice or after games," he said.

"We'll still do the same drills. Coach Hoak was always big in the fundamentals and we want to keep that. We have to play sound defense."

The Generals have six seniors, including captains Ryan Foringer, Paul DiMarino and Jimmy Parr. Foringer turned in a quality start on the hill to win yesterday and leads the pitching staff.

Tom Conville, Jack Keegan and Luke Wendt are the other seniors while Hamilton-Wenham is looking for contributions from sophomores Pete Duval and Jack Clay and junior Brian Nicoll.

Parr is a three-year starter in center field and the Generals feel good about Duval behind the plate, providing crucial strength up the middle on defense. Beyond ace Forringer, Hamilton-Wenham is excited about the potential of Wendt, a lefty transfer from Masco coming off an outstanding football season.

"We had 37 at tryouts, which was the most since I've been here, and we have 15 freshman that will play on junior varsity," said Maidment. "Baseball is growing. The numbers in town are up and the number for the Babe Ruth teams are up."

Morency is helping out on the coaching staff while assistant Bruce Lucas has invaluable experience. Mike Drinkwater, who recently graduated from Endicott, will handle the junior varsity.

"We're excited about our youth, not worried about it. We have a great senior class and hope it's going to be an exciting year," said Maidment.

2012 Schedule

The 2012 schedule is set. You can view the up to date schedule on the right column of this page. The schedule is available on google calender by searching for "ITL Baseball." Also, you can add it to your own by clicking the button "+ calender" at the bottom of the calender column to the right.

Dates and times are still subject to change but right now the schedule is up to date. Please check it out. The season is right around the corner!

First-time champs of the ITL

Rowley Rams knock off Rockport in championship

By Jim Sullivan Correspondent

ROWLEY — Rowley's Intertown baseball team won its first championship in team history at Eiras Park last night, beating Rockport 5-2 behind a complete-game effort from right-hander Mike Sloban.

"I just can't say enough about this group of guys, honestly," said Rams coach Jeff Wood. "It's talent, but it's also an understanding of how this game is played and the way you have to do it to have a successful team."

Rockport got on the board first in the top of the second inning when Mike Emerson hit a double to left field, then was brought in by a single from Chuck Anderson.

The Rams didn't let that sit for long, as Dave Smith started things off in the bottom of the frame with a single off Townies starter Brett Smith. Mario Luisi drew a walk, followed by another walk to Andrew Barba to load the bases.

Andrew Fecteau hit a sacrifice fly to center field to plate Smith. A single from Tim Moore loaded the bases again, and Smith walked in a batter for the Rams' second run.

The bottom of the third had a single from Luisi, plating Ralph Renzulli, and that was all for Smith, who was relieved by Derek Osmond.

The Townies struck again in the top of the fourth on a single from Connor Ressell that scored Dan Greel. Rockport would not muster any runs after that, and the Rams scored their fourth run in the bottom of the fourth on a double to deep left from Kyle McElroy that scored Anthony Conte.

The bottom of the fifth saw Fecteau reaching on a single, stealing second and taking third on a wild pitch. Fecteau was then brought home on a single from Jordan Silva, and that was all Rowley would need to go out as champion.

"I wanted to go the distance all year long and haven't had the chance to do it," said Sloban, who threw 95 pitches, had four strikeouts, three walks and eight hits. "But I was getting ahead, throwing strikes, getting my ground balls, and I got the job done."

"I just pitched the clincher game," Sloban said of closing out the Rams' championship season. "There's a lot of guys who came into it; there was a lot of solid defense. We've got a lot of good pitchers on this team."

"It was one of those games where we were in it," said Townies coach Jeremy Spittle. "But we couldn't find a hit. I thought defensively and our pitching, we were in the game. We just couldn't catch a break offensively. (The Rams are) a great team. Woody's done a great job with them. They deserve all the recognition. They're just a better team."

"They're all winners," Wood said of his championship team. "They come from successful programs. There's a lot of Georgetown guys who have won a state championship. There's a lot of (Newburyport) Legion guys that won a championship. They come from successful college programs. They're winners.

"To beat Manchester Essex in the first round and to beat Rockport in the second, those two teams have won the championship for the last 11 years in this league. So that brings a lot of validation to us as a team. To beat those two teams in the playoffs to get this done is a great accomplishment."

Wood's squad finished 18-5-2 to Rockport's 14-10 record.

"We put a lot of work into getting this done," Wood said. "This didn't happen overnight. I can't say enough about the depth. It's a team. I put 18 to 19 guys on the roster at the beginning of the year. A lot of people questioned if we could keep those guys happy. We sit here now with a championship."

1932 Championship Trophy

In researching past ITL Champions we came across the 1932 ITL Championship Trophy. This trophy is on display at the Hamilton-Wenham Community House. The Hamilton-Wenham Community Service team took home the title that year, today they are known as the Generals.

ITL Champions...

We are currently logging all past ITL Champions. We are doing research for all the data, the current list can be found down below on the right side column. If you know of any Championship seasons that are not listed please let us know.

2010 ITL Awards / All-Stars / League Leaders

MVP - Brent Currier -Rockport
CY Young - Steve Stout - M/E
Rookie - Matt Sharon - Rockport & Bolla - Rowley


All Stars

Pitchers
Steve Stout
Nick Liguori
Matt Sharon
Kevin Michael & Gibbon (tied)

Catchers
Dan Greel
Brian Vitale

1B
Mike Cain

2B
Hernandez

3B
Ralph Renzulli

SS
Kevin Hartunian

OF
Jim Maloney
Rory Gentile
Joe Esposito

Utility (4 tied)
Brent Currier
Dave Mariani
Jared Stewart
Renzulli



2010 League Leaders

Batting Average:
Brent Currier Rockport .529
Ralph Renzulli Rowley .458
Rory Gentile Essex .458
Matt Sharon Rockport .444
Justin Bolla Rowley .435

RBI:
Jim Maloney Hamilton 38
Brent Currier Rockport 35
Bryan Vitale Ham 25
Mike Cain Essex 23
John Boyle Beverly 23

HR's
Brent Currier Rockport 9
Jim Maloney Ham 7
Jared Stuart Ham 5
Mike Cain Essex 5
Dave Mariani Rowley 5
John Boyle Bev 5

Pitching:
Steve Stout Essex 48IP 1.60 ERA
Nick Liguori Rowley 49 2/3IP 2.26ERA
Mike Gibbon Essex 33 2/3IP 2.70ERA
Matt Sharon Rockprt 47 2/3IP 3.08ERA
Brent Currier Rockport 29IP 3.14ERA


K's
Nick Liguori Rowley 61
Matt Sharon Rockport 45
Mike Drinkwater Hamilton 42
Derek Osmond Rockport 41
Mike Gibbon Essex 40

SB's
Jim Maloney Hamilton 16
Kevin Harutunian Beverly 16
Mark Provost Hamilton 6
Jim Love Hamilton 6
Mike Cain Essex 6
Tom Robertson Rockport 6

Rowley 5 Rockport 2 - Rowley Takes ITL Title

http://www.gloucestertimes.com/sports/x40349082/Rowley-bests-Rockport-to-take-ITL-title

http://www.wickedlocal.com/gloucester/features/x1837746531/Rowley-defeats-Rockport-to-capture-2011-Intertown-Twilight-League-title#axzz1VNzXbasv

http://www.wickedlocal.com/gloucester/newsnow/x1852621019/Rowley-takes-two-game-lead-over-Rockport-in-Intertown-Twilight-championship-series#axzz1VNzXbasv

Rowley 7 Rockport 5

Rowley defeated Rockport 7-5 at Evans Field on Sunday afternoon.

For more on the game, go to http://www.gloucestertimes.com/sports/x1942921933/Townies-pushed-to-the-brink-of-elimination-in-ITL-finals