Luders, Dana, Merchants celebrate epic walk-off over Costa’s Alibrandis

Alibrandis takes decisive game three

Published August 21, 2019

By DAN PAWLOWSKI

MELROSE — Lynnfield High graduates Bryant Dana and Jonathan Luders helped the Wakefield Merchants win a wild, 12-inning battle against fellow Lynnfield High graduate Chris Costa and Alibrandis in game two of an Intercity League semifinal series. 

With the two teams breaking the three hour mark and starting a race with the Morelli Field lights which would shut off at 11 p.m., Mr. Merchant Mike Sorrentino, playing in his 15th season for his hometown team, stepped up to the dish at 10:40 p.m., a tie game in the bottom of the 12th and the fate of Wakefield’s season hanging in the balance. 

A loss meant Alibrandis was moving on to the Intercity League’s Finals. 

A win would send the series to a deciding third game. 

Sorrentino had already reached base in four of his five at-bats on the night, thanks in part to an as always disciplined strike zone to pair two walks with two singles. 

So with the count at 2-0, his longtime teammate Scott Searles on second and one of his favorite pupils in Bobby Losanno at first, taking a strike seemed like the plan for the smart hitter against a tiring James Cramphin on the mound.

Maybe “Tino” was just done waiting around. 

The ‘98 Wakefield High graduate and Warrior Hall of Famer ripped the next pitch down the third base line, so hot the third baseman would have been lucky just to see it. Searles got a great jump and manager Dave Ellegood waved him in. Searles beat it cleanly, sliding in to home as the Merchant dugout finally got a chance to explode. 

See you at Victory Field.

“Leave it to Tino there,” said Ellegood after the game. “He’s been doing it for 15 years for us now.”

“2-0 pitch, I thought he was going to take it, he must have said ‘Screw it, I’m getting this game over with.’”

Yes, Tino and Searles were great throughout the game, but it was the work of one of the youngest Merchants to get them there.

Wakefield native Colin Jaena, he of about 20 years younger than Sorrentino (sorry Mike), put together perhaps the most dominant pitching performance of the season for Wakefield, and that’s with potential ICL pitcher of the year Joe Maguire on staff. 

Jaena, with the help of Dana who called a great game behind the plate, pitched nine full innings, surrendering just five hits, three walks and one run while striking out six. 

Dana and Luders were plenty familiar with big games involving Jaena from his Austin Prep days as the Pioneers and Cougars squared up in multiple playoff games, including the D3N finals in both ‘17 and ‘18.

All three will be college ball players next year. Dana is entering his junior season at Westfield State, Luders will be playing at Seton Hall, and Jaena is off to Stonehill. 

“Colin Jaena going nine innings was just unbelievable,” said Ellegood, who aside from that, was more or less speechless about his young star’s gem, just like everyone else at Morelli Field. 

Alibrandis starter and Lynnfield native Chris Costa, who pitched at Curry College, allowed just one run in eight innings of work for what was a phenomenal performance as well. Costa surrendered just four hits and four walks while fanning an incredible 11 batters. 

Alibrandis’ only run came in the third, their rally beginning when Losanno lost a fly ball in the lights. 

With the Merchants unable to break the 1-1 tie, Jaena stood tall for as long as the Merchants could have asked for. 

He could only be followed up by Maguire, who just concluded his pitching career at UMass Boston. The flamethrower shut the visitors out for the next three innings, allowing three hits while striking out three and walking one. 

“I guess it was just one of those games where we were waiting for that clutch hit and we had to play D and our pitchers were great,” said Ellegood.

The Merchants have largely relied on their younger players to help them get back to Victory Field in Watertown for game three tonight at 7:30 p.m. Nine of the 13 Merchants who played last night are either on their way to college, in college, or one year removed. 

Yet, for the all the talk about the incredible defensive plays made by the younger guys like Luders at short, second baseman Searles, the Melrose High alum and current head coach, was the one getting the “oohs” and “ahhs” from the crowd with a couple incredible sliding stops and throws from the dirt on his home field. 

Still, credit where it’s due to UMass Boston senior Ryan Collins at third base, who made the defensive play of the game to help his college teammate get out of a jam in the top of the 12th. Collins knocked down a screaming grounder, got to the ball and fired a hose to first, getting the runner by a half step for the third out. A safe call and Alibrandis would have gone up 2-1.

So with the talent of younger guys like Jaena, Collins, Maguire, Dana, Luders and Wakefield native Jake Nardone who made a sweet play on a wicked hop at first to retire the side in the 11th, it was only fitting that Searles singled to lead off the 12th. He advanced to second on a wild pitch with Losanno up, and despite the great game at the plate by Sorrentino who was waiting in the on-deck circle, Alibrandis chose to walk the reigning ICL MVP with first base open. 

Ellegood, who played plenty of summers with Searles and ‘Tino, told another youngster, Steve Rizzuto, to grab a helmet to run for Searles. 

Ellegood ran out to second base for a chat.

Let’s just say the conversation was brief.

Yes, aside from ‘Tino, Searles is the only other Merchant who has the guile to tell his buddy he’s not coming out of this one.

Ellegood was able to laugh about it after the game. 

“Well, he labored in,” poked the manager with a smile. “Thank God he made it!”

Thank God is right. Now the two teams can treat fans to another great game tonight. 

The Merchants actually scored their first run in the first inning. Luders was hit by a pitch and later scored on a two-out Tyler Lyne knock. 

Jaena and Costa largely wrote the story themselves. When they finally exited, the tension and at the same time, excitement seemed to rise to another level, until both lineups once again realized the level of pitching wasn’t dipping with Maguire and Cramphin coming on. If anything, both threw faster than their respective starters – not exactly a welcome sight for hitters in the 10th. 

The Merchants couldn’t capitalize on the momentum as they fell in the third game at Victory Field in Watertown, 4-3.

Wakefield took the lead on a two-run double by Chris Butler in the top of the 6th, but Alibrandis came right back in the bottom of the frame when 42-year-old David Lightbody cranked a two-run homer to take back the lead for good. 

Luders went 1-for-3 with a run scored in that game. 

It was a very successful season for Luders, Dana and the Merchants. Costa and Alibrandis will look to keep it going against ICL powerhouse Lexington in the finals this week.