FILE PHOTO
Fernando Gonzalez and the Pioneers earned their sixth victory of the season.
By ANNE MARIE TOBIN
NORTH READING — If there’s one thing baseball fans can count on, it’s that any game between the Lynnfield Pioneers (6-0) and the North Reading Hornets (3-2) is bound to be a memorable one. Yesterday’s game at Carey Park, won by Lynnfield 6-2 in eight innings, added another chapter to the rivalry.
North Reading took advantage of three major Pioneer miscues to score two unearned runs and hold a 2-0 lead going into the top of the sixth inning. It could have been worse.
The Hornets had the bases loaded with no outs in the bottom of the third inning. Alex D’Abrosio ripped a one-hopper to third baseman Mike Stellato, who threw home to catcher Bryant Dana to get the lead runner, then Dana whipped it to first baseman Matt Fiore for a double play. Jeff Mejia advanced to third on the play and scored on a wild pitch, but starter Fernando Gonzalez got out of the inning with a strikeout.
Gonzalez wasn’t as lucky in the fifth when the Hornets added another run on a botched pickoff attempt.
The Pioneers stranded seven runners through the first five innings. They let a huge opportunity slip in the fourth when Stellato was thrown out at the plate trying to score from second on sharp single by Mike Federico.
Their hard luck continued in the next inning when Jonathan Luders was stranded at third.
That all changed in the sixth, and that was all Gonzalez needed.
Stellato led off with a walk. Matt Collins pinch ran and stole second. Dana followed a single with Collins taking third. Dana stole second, giving the Pioneers two runners in scoring position. North Reading starter Mike McCauley buckled down and got the next two batters on strikes. He wasn’t as fortunate with Federico, who ripped a 2-run double double to tie things up at two all.
“Federico came up with a huge double there, after we had shot ourselves in the foot and gave them two runs,” said Lynnfield coach John O’Brien. “Once the kids got over the shock of that, they started to grind out the at-bats.”
Gonzalez carried the momentum and cruised through the next two innings, to send the game into extras.
The Pioneers wasted no time in the top of the eighth. Dana led off with his second single of the game, then stole second. With one out, back-to-back singles from Fiore and Federico loaded the bases for Joey Mack. He came up clutch with a sacrifice fly that scored Dana with the go-ahead (and eventual game winning) run. Luders kept the rally going with a single that scored Fiore and made it 4-2. Federico scampered home on a wild pitch with Luders advancing to third, making it 5-2, then Hawes ripped a stand-up triple to right to bring home Luders with an insurance run that made it 6-2.
Gonzalez sealed it with his 10th strikeout of the game.
“To his credit, the way we gave those runs away most kids would have gone in the tank, but he buckled down and pitched a great game. At the end, he was reaching his pitch count, but he wanted to go back out there,” O’Brien said.
Gonzalez’s numbers were impressive; he pitched eight innings, giving up just three hits, two runs (both unearned), three walks and hit one batter.
Luders (RBI, run, stolen base) and Federico (2 RBI, double) had three hits each while Dana (2 runs, 2 stolen bases) punched out two base hits.
Lynnfield hopes to improve to 7-0 Saturday, when Rockport comes to town.