The Intertown League's Rowley Rams clinched first place against the Ipswich Chiefs, 10-2, at Eiras Park yesterday behind a complete-game effort from Joe Katin, who allowed four hits, struck out six and improved his pitching record to 7-0.
"Tonight's win was a good win for us," said Rams coach Jeff Wood. "We lost to these guys (4-3) in nine innings (Tuesday) night. We played two extras and lost a tough one. We tied the game with two runs in the seventh and ended up losing in the ninth. But it was a good baseball game. I was confident tonight coming in with Joe. We always feel good about it when he's taking the ball."
The bottom of the first inning saw the Rams' Jordan Silva reaching on a bloop single to left field. Silva then stole second base and was plated by a Ralph Renzulli fielder's choice grounder.
Kyle McElroy led off the bottom of the second with a single up the middle off Chiefs right-hander Mike Patane, followed by a double to right from Chris Esposito that scored McElroy. Esposito made it home on an Anthony Conte sacrifice fly. Marco Luisi was hit by a pitch and scored on an error at second base.
McElroy struck again in the bottom of the third with a double to left, then came home on a single from Esposito. Silva was hit by a pitch to bring in Tim Moore, and a Conte single brought in Koby Thibault to give Rowley a seven-run lead.
The Chiefs were able to cut into that lead a bit in the top of the second when a Greg Doucette single to right scored Jimmy Cadogan and Kevin Michael.
That would be all Ipswich would be able to muster as Rowley's Silva scored Esposito in the bottom of the fifth. Esposito was brought home by a double from Thibault, and a Renzulli sacrifice fly plated Conte.
"Ipswich is tough," said Wood. "They're a good young team. Gardy (O'Flynn) has done a good job of bringing a lot of young players in and they played real tough. I think they're a little short-handed and I think we took advantage of them."
"We've been missing a few of our players," said Chiefs coach Gardy O'Flynn. "But (Rowley) is the best team in the league for a reason. They've got tremendous athletes and their pitcher was as good as anybody we've faced all year. So, it was a tough game but we'll regroup and hopefully end up playing these guys in the playoffs."
"I was locating pretty well," said Katin. "Ipswich is an aggressive team, they swing on a lot of first pitches. They hit pretty well, but it was my day. It was a big win. We had our bats going, we had our defense going. That's what we need for the rest of the year."
An emotional Iverson returns to Philly
Jackson on his desire to be a better leader
Hamels on Harper and free-agency
Manuel is helping the Phillies loosen up
Fans prove they're not fair-weather fans
Sixers confident in their fans
Are the starters feeling extra pressure?
The Sixers are prepared to win or go home
Kelce reflects on his first year as an Eagle
Brandon Bass 1-on-1
Nix talks about going to the DL
Are the Sixers falling apart?
McCarthy and Wheeler recap the Phillies' loss
What is wrong with Roy Halladay?
Bob Ryan doesn't know what to expect in game 6
Phillies on the loss to the Nationals
Phillies on Ruiz's ejection
Brandon Bass dominates the Sixers in Game 5
Sixers PGL crew on the keys to the Sixers' loss in Game 5
The Sixers on their costly turnovers in Game 5
