Red Sox 11 Phillies 7, Red Sox 8 Phillies 7 (13 inns)
The Ashland Red Sox pulled off perhaps the biggest championship round upset in the history of the
MetroWest Adult Baseball League with a rollicking doubleheader sweep of the 20-1 Medway Phillies
Sept. 24 at Medway.
The late-charging Red Sox swept all five of their playoff games after finishing 9-9 on the regular
season.
Red Sox 5 Mariners 3, Red Sox 10 Mariners 0
The Ashland Red Sox swept the Holliston Mariners 5-3 and 10-0 at the Ashland field Sunday, Sept.
17 to move into the MetroWest League finals.
The doubleheader featured some strong pitching by the Red Sox starters, along with a hitting attack
that gained momentum as the day wore on.
Steve Triveri worked 8 strong innings in Game One, allowing one run on three hits to collect the
win. It was the husky right-hander’s longest outing of the year.
Inning-addicted Steve Saraceno grabbed a one-pitch save in Game One, then came back to sling a
three-hit shutout in Game Two -- his second shutout of the playoffs so far.
Game One
Sox starter Triveri cruised for most of his eight innings on the mound. In the third the Mariners’
Tim Foster doubled and Pete Daly walked with one out. Triveri retired the next two batters to escape
harm. The only Mariner run off Triveri came in the sixth when Ed Wright doubled and eventually scored
on a wild pitch.
The bottom half of the Ashland batting order (a combined 6-for-11) accounted for all 5 Sox runs
in this game. In the fourth inning Victor Saraceno (1-for-1) singled, Chris Cronin (2-for-2, run,
rbi) singled, Steve Saraceno hit a run-scoring grounder, Steve Halzel (2 runs, rbi) doubled, Carl
Hakansson singled, and Brian Farrell (double, 2-for-3) singled to put the Sox up 3-0.
Ashland plated solo runs in the seventh and eighth off lefty starter Tom McCabe, who delivered a
strong performance. The late tallies proved important.
Trailing 5-1 entering the ninth, Holliston scored two runs on five walks, loading the bases with
two out. At this point Steve Saraceno came in to induce Mike Breslau to ground to first baseman
Wayne Sylvia for the final out.
“The pressure was on,” said Saraceno after the game, muttering to himself. “I argued strenuously
for playing 9 innings as opposed to 7. If the Mariners came back to win at that point I would have
never heard the end of it.” The aging righthander shook his age-withered head. “If that isn’t
motivation to get somebody out, I don’t know what is.”
Game Two
Catcher Brent McKenzie led the Red Sox offensive attack in Game Two, going 4-for-4 with a double,
three singles, two rbi‘s and two runs scored. McKenzie also cut down another base runner stealing
and turned in his usual strong game behind the plate.
Other standouts included Dan “Book ‘em Dano” Phelan (double, walk, rbi), Mike “Sauce” Donfrancesco
(1-for-3, two defensive gems in left), and Steve “Southwick” Southard (1-for-2, double, two runs
scored).
The Sox built an early lead which they never relinquished.
Starting pitcher Saraceno collected his second shutout of the playoffs, giving up three hits and
a walk. After Mariners Dana Waterhouse and Pete Daly singled to start the fourth, the shaky-legged
submariner retired every Holliston batter the rest of the way, excepting one ground ball error.
“Our defense threw the leather around today like a moving crew in a defunct tannery ,” Saraceno
said afterwards., somewhat laboriously. “Steve Slowik has to be the best shortstop I’ve ever
seen at going back on pop-ups. Our five man outfield of Brian Farrell, John Badaracco, Keith
Cheverie, Steve Lawless, and Chris Cronin is the strongest I’ve seen in this league in years.
Even if I take two men out of that outfield and just leave three out there, they are still pretty
strong.”
Saraceno shook his head. “I ain’t by nature a cheating manager but lordy it is nice to see five
outfielders out there.”
The Red Sox meet the Medway Phillies next Sunday for the League Championship.
The Sox would like to congratulate the Holliston Mariners on a successful season. They showed a
lot of class in yesterday’s long twin-bill. Also a tip of the old fedora to the Framingham Orioles
for their run of five years at the top -- an outstanding achievement in any league.
“And they did it without five outfielders out there,” Saraceno noted. “Now that’s amazin’.”
Phillies 8 Braves 4, Phillies 9 Braves 8
It was a great day for baseball so the Phillies and Braves decided to use every hour of daylight
to decide the National League Championship. The teams were on the Medway High School field from
9:30 to 5 slugging through a tough first game and a 13 inning marathon of a second game. The teams
agreed to two 9 - inning games instead of the optional 7. Nobody really counted on playing 22
innings on the day however. It's yet to be determined how many players were banished to the couch
last night as a result.
Game 1
The Phillies used the proven formula of solid pitching and defense, aggressive baserunning and timely
hitting to move out to an 8-1 lead against Brave's starter Rich Moran. Jamie Nix turned in his usual
excellent performance on the mound, holding the Braves to 1 run until late when the Braves Chris Faletra
launched a moon rocket double to clear the bases and make the score 8-4. That inning ended with
Lagos thrown out at the plate on a perfect relay to keep the score there. Nix gutted it out to
finish the full nine innings and earn the win.
Game 2
Note - some of the details may be off a bit - doing this without a scorecard. The Braves took
advantage of some chances and jumped on Phillie's starter Will Goulart for 3 in the first. After
that Goulart settled down and would keep the Braves scoreless until he hit his fourth batter of the
game, forcing him from the mound in the fifth inning. By that point the Phils had chipped away at
the lead leaving it 3-2. With men on first and third Rick Huckins made his return to the mound from
the DL and served up a well-timed K to strand the runners. In the following frame however the
Braves got to Huckins for 3 to make it 6-2. Braves starter Steve Smith pitched a great game until
the 7th where he seemed to tire out a bit and lost the strike zone, allowing the Phillies to pull
even at 6. In the bottom of the 7th Chris Decatur took over on the hill for the Phillies and got
out of the inning unscathed. The Phillies used some well-placed hits including a bomb of a triple
from Nix to pick up single runs in the 8th and 9th and move to the bottom of the 9th with a 2 run lead.
The Braves came up big in the bottom of the 9th with the key hit being a line double to right by Mac.
A couple more hits, some shoddy defense and the game was tied at 8. In the 10th Huckins returned to
the mound and held the fort for 3 more innings. Both teams had chances in virtually every extra
frame. In the top of the 12th Braves centerfielder Chiodo made a perfect throw home on a potential
sac fly to nail the go-ahead run at the plate and end a bases-loaded threat. In the bottom half of
the inning the Braves had a guy on second with no outs when Mac hit a line shot that had single and
ballgame written all over it. Second baseman Rob Pisano reach up and snagged the liner, doubling the
runner off second. Huckins then got the last out of the inning to end the threat. Finally in the
13th the Phillies scraped a run together on a combination of timely hits and walks. With the bases
loaded Mark Anderson hit a hard grounder at a drawn-in infield. It couldn't be handled cleanly and
a run scored to give the Phillies a 9-8 lead. 7 hours after he threw his first pitch of the day Nix
returned to the mound for a perfect bottom of the 13th to end the game and the series.
Round 1, 09/10/2006
Red Sox 2 Indians 0
The Ashland Red Sox beat the Marlboro Indians 2-0 in an exciting, well-played first-round playoff
game at the Ashland field Sunday, Sept. 10.
Ashland’s Mike Donfrancesco came in with one man on and nobody out in the ninth to pitch out of an
eventual bases-loaded jam, saving the three-hit shutout for starter Steve Saraceno.
“Sauce showed a lot of cool out there,” said manager Saraceno after the game, referring to
Donfrancesco. “He made a good play on a topper to get a force at home. And he threw strikes when
it counted.”
The game came down to Indians manager Jerry Guerra at bat with two outs and the bases loaded.
Guerra hit a sharp grounder at Sox second sacker Hak Hakansson, who collected a short hop and
threw for the force. Game over. Sox advance to second round.
“It‘s always like this whenever we play Marlboro," Saraceno said later, sitting alone typing
this recap. “Yes, yes,” he said. “Larry Rosoff may be gone but the excitement remains.”
The Red Sox got all the runs they needed in the first when mid-season pickup Dan Phelan stroked a
two-out single up the middle to score centerfielder John Badaracco. Previous to the hit, Indians
starter Dave Prybyla (7 strong innings) appeared to have picked Badaracco off second. But Badaracco,
a colorful base runner, broke for third and slid in safe by inches.
The Indians played solid defense all day. An error in the second, however, led to the second Sox
run. Offensively for the Sox, Phelan led the 19-man attack with his rbi single and a walk. Third
baseman Joe Casula contributed a single and a perfectly executed suicide squeeze bunt (though no
run scored on the play.)
Over the first eight innings Sox starter Saraceno scattered three hits, walking none. Just one
Marlboro runner reached second. After setting down the Indians’ number 2, 3, and 4 batters on a
total of three pitches in the eighth, the grey-pated, round-bellied Sox workhorse seemed stronger
than ever.
But Saraceno walked Hugh Cornwell to start the ninth. At this point catcher Brent McKenzie called
time and made the decision to bring in Donfrancesco. Saraceno reluctantly agreed, though he later
claimed to have taken himself out of the game on his own, “in order to give Sauce some work.”
The Red Sox host the surprising Holliston Mariners in a second-round doubleheader at the Ashland
field Sunday Sept. 17. The Mariners beat the Framingham Orioles 10-5 Sunday, slamming the door
on the Orioles’ bid for a sixth-straight MetroWest League championship.
Mariners 10 Orioles 5
In what can only be regarded as an upset, the Mariners defeated the Orioles 10-5 at Bowditch Field
in Framingham on Sunday, ending the Orioles’ amazing string of five consecutive league championships.
With only four wins during the regular season, the Mariners had something to prove against the
defending champions. In the first inning, the Mariners scored two runs thanks to three two-out hits
from John Gatti, Tom McCabe and Chris Shatas. The Orioles came right back in the bottom of the inning
to tie it, but only momentarily.
The pesky Mariners notched three more runs in the second inning. With two outs, Chris Shea smacked
a double into the gap, plating two runs. Leadoff man and shortstop Sean Farrell, who has been the
team’s sparkplug all season, drilled a single to score Shea.
The pitcher’s mound belonged to Gatti on Sunday. He turned in a masterful performance against a
powerful Orioles lineup. Gatti scattered eight hits as he went all nine innings. Always poised to
stage a comeback, the Orioles were stymied by some solid Mariners defense, which included two double
plays and sparkling gems by Shatas and second baseman Joe Goldman.
By the end of the seventh inning, the Orioles had clawed within a run. (“Bunky”?) Smith and (
Brendan Doyle had big hits in the inning as the Orioles, who finished in first place in their
division during the regular season, made it a 6-5 game.
The Mariners were able to rebound in their half of the eighth. John Moore continued the team’s
string of clutch hits with a sizzling liner down the right field line scoring McCabe and Ed Wright.
The underdogs scored three in the inning to extend their lead to four runs. After the Orioles went
down quietly in the eighth, the Mariners tacked on one more in the top of the ninth.
After the Orioles got their leadoff batter on in the bottom of the ninth, it seemed they were ready
to chew away at the five-run lead. However, Gatti’s gritty determination on the mound and the steady
defense behind him squelched any possibility of a stirring comeback.
For only the second time in the team’s history, the Mariners will play in the divisional championship
series as they face the Red Sox.