The South Boston Saints traveled to Eastie on Monday to face off against the Knights. These 2 rival teams are off to a hot start this year and went head to head at “The Stadium” for the first of 3 this season. The Knights sent Shawn Carlson to the bump to face off against Luke Geoghegan. The Knights struck first with 2 runs in the bottom of the 2nd inning on a Victor LeBron single and steal and scored on a Willie Mercado 2 run single to give the team an early lead. Southie plated 4 runs on some sloppy defense and took a 4-2 lead in the very next frame. The Knights then scored 11 unanswered runs in the next 3 innings to take a 13-4 lead. John Tangherlini relieved Carlson and pitched 3 no hit innings earning his first YBL win before giving way to Jon Shepard who slammed the door shut. Offensively Victor Lebron and Jose Paulino had 3 hits and 5 RBI combined. Willie Mercado also chipped in with 3 RBI. Knights win 13-4.
The Knights also faced the Revere Rockies on Wednesday. Shawn Carlson got the start against veteran right hander Chris Sandini. The Knights got off to a quick start scoreing 2 runs in the 1st and 2nd to take a 4-0 lead. The story of the game was the Knights pitching in this one. Shawn Carlson, Joel Santos, Branden Eaton, Jon Shepard and Jeff Allsion combined for a 2 hit 16 strikeout performance against the solid Rockies offense. Once again the offense was lead by Victor LeBron and Wilson Mercado. Kenny Polanco chipped in with 2 solid doubles and 3 RBI. Knights win 8 to 1. “Once again the pitching has been phenomenal. When you can trot out 5 pitchers and they all perform the way they did speaks volumes about the depth we have as a pitching staff.” Said Manager Eric Bellavia
All in all the Knights went 2 and 1 on the week dropping a 7 to 2 heartbreaker to the Al Thomas A’s. The A’s had a 4 run 1st inning against rookie Mike Calzetta and that was all they needed. Old friend Matt Rodriguez capped the win with a 3 run homerun in the top of the 7th to put the game out of reach for the Knights. The Knights got within 2 on a 2 run error by left fielder Steve Lambert but the offense stranded runners all evening and could not hit in the clutch.
The Knights are now 5-2-1 on the young season and remain a threat to win on any given night. Said manager Eric Bellavia “The YBL has vastly improved the last few years, any team can win on any given night and you have to be ready to play every night to compete. I believe we have just as good a team than anyone right now and hopefully we can continue to play smart baseball.”
RRBL Knights game recap:
6/6/4/14
PEABODY, MA – Without consecutive wins since April, Knight Nation has been struggling in the middle of the pack for their conference. The loss to the Indians last weekend hurt, but the Knights get their chance for revenge with this Wednesday night game in Peabody. The Knights sent Ruben Sanchez WP (6IP, 0ER, 8K, 3H, 2BB) to the mound for his first start as a Knight. The big lefty showed how important he will be to the squad the rest of the season as he shut down the potent Indians offense allowing only 3 hits and no earned runs.
The Knights line-up were missing some familiar faces but with Brian Maynard (2-3; HR, 3RBI, R) batting in the three spot, that was all the run support needed. Maynard singled in the first inning to put up the first run and hit a mammoth home run in the 3rd inning driving in two more. John Scull (2-3; K, SB, R) continued his hot streak with another 2 hits on the day. The Knights also saw the debut of Gus Polidor (1-3; 2R, SB, K), the brother of fellow Knight, Eduardo Colmenares (0-3). Polidor was on base for both of Maynard’s hits and added a stolen base in the first before scoring.
Colmenares (1IP, 2K, BB) also came in for the save in the 7th inning marking his first appearance as a pitcher this season. With this with, the Knights put themselves 4 points back of second place in the conference with 2 games in hand. With a string of late afternoon and night games coming up, the Knights are poised to take back the top spot in the conference.
RRBL Knights upcoming games:
Sunday June 8th vs the Newton Royals at TBD 1pm
YBL Knights upcoming games:
Friday June 6th vs the Brighton Braves at Maplewood at Malden Catholic 8pm
Monday June 9th vs the West Roxbury Nationals at East Boston Stadium 8pm
Wednesday June 11th vs the Savin Hill Dodgers at McConnell Park 8pm
Follow the East Boston Knights:
www.ebknights.com
www.yawkeybaseball.com
www.rrblbaseball.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ebknights
Twitter: https://twitter.com/RRBL_League