Merchants walk off in 12th, force game three tonight
By DAN PAWLOWSKI
MELROSE — How can you not be romantic about baseball?
With the Merchants and Alibrandis breaking the three hour mark and starting a race with the Morelli Field lights which would shut off at 11 p.m. last night, 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.’”
Here’s the romantic part: 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 pitched nine full innings, surrendering just five hits, three walks and one run while striking out six.
“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’ 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, 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 at third 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, shortstop Jon 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.
Alibrandis starter and Lynnfield native Chris Costa shut out Wakefield for the next eight innings as he went nine strong himself.
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 winner of tonight’s game will meet the ICL powerhouse Lexington Blue Sox in the finals as they beat the Andre Chiefs 9-6 last night to secure a 2-0 semifinal sweep.
As for Ellegood’s plan in the clincher tonight, he knows it will take a total team effort to beat a quality opponent like Alibrandis. Nothing is off the table.
“Everybody goes tomorrow. We’re all available.”
