Reading topped by Andre Chiefs in playoffs
Published August 15, 2019
By STEPHEN MARTELLUCCI
NORTH READING — On Sunday afternoon, the Reading Bulldogs baseball team, which feature two players from North Reading, lost to the visiting Andre Chiefs 6-3 at Morton Field.
With that defeat, the Bulldogs trailed the Intercity League first-round best-of-three playoff series one game to none.
They lost game two on Monday night 6-1, officially ending their season.
The Chiefs scored two runs in the top of the first inning and three more in the third in game one.
Reading scored twice in the fourth to cut the lead to three and then both teams plated one run in the fifth frame.
MATT DEBENEDETTO had a great season for the Reading Bulldogs this summer. DeBenedetto (NRHS ‘18) teamed up with fellow Hornet alum Darren Hartwell (’09) to help the Bulldogs make the playoffs where they fell to the Andre Chiefs. DeBenedetto is starting his sophomore year at UMass Lowell this fall where he plays baseball. (Dan Pawlowski File Photo)
The Bulldogs offense had five hits led by Tyler Cedeno who went 2 for 4 with one run scored. Mike Taylor and Liam Merlin had the two RBI.
Zac Talis was 1 for 3 with a run scored.
Jack Wallace was the losing pitcher going three inning. He gave up five runs (three earned), three hits, four walks and he struck out one.
“We came out flat,” said Reading first-year manager Len Ferrari. “We had no timely hits and committed three errors while they had none.”
Reading finished the regular season at 14-12-1 to place fourth in the league while the Chiefs were in fifth going 13-15 in the regular season.
The two Bulldog players from North Reading are Darren Hartwell and Matt DeBenedetto.
In the regular season, Hartwell hit .315 with a team-high 21 runs scored. He is second on the team in steals with nine.
“He is one of the best players in the league,” said Ferrari, about the center fielder. “He is our lead-off hitter and has as ton of speed. He also covers a lot of ground in the outfield.”
Hartwell was a two-sport athlete at Williams College, playing both football and baseball. He is currently a writer at NBC Sports Boston.
DeBenedetto, an outfielder, hit .325 in 14 games with seven RBI’s and five walks. He had a .438 on-base percentage.
“He is a great teammate who would do anything that I ask of him,” said Ferrari. “He throws batting practice every game and is very helpful to me.”
DeBenedetto concluded his freshman season for UMass Lowell baseball in the spring.
