Baseball is back and so are the East Boston Knights. The RRBL Knights opened up their season last Friday and are hungrier than ever. Playing the Medford Titans in a rematch of the finals from last year in which the Knights lost in 5 games the team has reloaded their roster in hopes of adding a 3rd championship to their resume. The Knights played well defeating the Titans 9 to 1 behind exceptional pitching and timely hitting. They then traveled to Stoneham to take on the Waltham Nationals whom they defeated 5 to 1. “The team has worked hard all off season and we came to reclaim what is ours” said General Manager Eric Bellavia. “We have worked hard to add quality players to help balance the already talented roster we have coming back” The Knights are just getting started as the RRBl team is off to a fast start at 2 – 0. The YBL Knights will be starting their season soon as the projected start date is May 9th.
Knights beat Titans
MALDEN, MA – The Knights opened up their season with a rematch against the RRBL champion Titans. With rain threatening all throughout the game, the Knights showcased their new talent as their begin their trek to the playoffs. Billy Riggieri (WP; 4IP, 10K, 2H, 0ER) made his RRBL debut by striking out the side in the first inning followed up by 4 of the next 7 batters. The recent addition did not disappoint in his debut cruising through 4 innings of two-hit ball.
The Knights offense took a trip through the line-up before unleashing their full potential. The new catcher, Alex Carras (0-2; 2K, R), walked to lead off the third inning. He was followed by a hard hit ball by Jose Paulino (0-2; 2R, 2BB, 2RBI) that was misplayed to drive Carras home. Paulino would come around to score after a Geoff Harris sacrifice bunt and the first of four Chris Dowd (4-4; 2R, 2RBI, 2B, 3B) hits.
The Titans would cut the lead to two runs in the 4th inning after an error at short and a wild pitch by Riggieri. The damage would be limited as he would go on to record three more strikeouts in the inning to shut down any chance at a rally. Alex Teal (S; 3IP, 2H, 2K) came into in the game in the 5th for a save allowing only two hits over the last three frames.
The Knights’ bats came alive in the 5th and 6th inning with Dowd leading the charge. His double and triple drove in two more runs. At the end of the game 9 runs would cross the plate for the Knights while only 2 were needed as the pitching shut down the reigning champs. The Knights next game is against the Waltham Nationals in Stoneham.
Knights beat Waltham Nationals
STONEHAM, MA – Looking to ride the high of their opening day win, the Knights traveled to Stoneham to take on the Waltham Nationals in a division round rematch from the 2013 playoffs. The rain held off and turned into a beautiful day for baseball with Sean Hannon (WP; 5IP, 3H, BB, ER) on the mound making his return to the RRBL Knights after a year long hiatus. Even with Hannon firing in mid-season form with a broken bat ground out and two strikeouts in the first inning, the Knights found themselves down 1-0 after two innings.
Newcomer Richard Arias (3-3; 2 2B, 2RBI) smoked a 2-out double to left followed by Clemente Parra’s (1-2; 2B, RBI, K) double down the line to score him. The Nationals kept it close through 3 when the wheels began to come off. After an error and hit-by-pitch, Chris Dowd (0-3; R) scored on a wild pitch and Arias collected his second hit of the day bringing home the Knight’s third run. Arias would tack on his third hit in the 6th inning bringing home another run.
Justin Wojcik (S; 1H, 0R) came in to close out the game pitching two scoreless innings of relief after playing the first five innings at third base. Wojcik ran into a bit of trouble in the 7th inning after an error and single put men on first and second. He induced a ground ball up the middle and started the 1-6-3 double play that would end the game. The Knights have the next two weeks off for the Easter holiday and open back up at Palmer Cove in Salem against the Malden Braves on Sunday the 27th of April.
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