Reading Bulldogs

Reading vs. Melrose Americans  8-4-13 at Morelli Field

 

Reading (5)–  Hartwell 4-3, Oringer 4-1, N. Conti 4-1, Padovany 4-0, Gganon 2-0, Wolfsberg 2-1, Halsey 3-1, Z Conti 2-2, Kelley 2-0  Totals 27-9

 

Melrose (3)-  Ma. Adessa 1-0, Smeglin 3-0, Gray 3-2, Perry 3-3, Mi. Adessa 3-3, Powers 3-0, McConnville 3-1, Kalfopoulos 3-1, Esposito 3-1, Fusco 3-2  Totals 29-11

 

Reading  001 022 0  -5

Melrose  000 003 0   -3

 

Doubles – Z. Conti, Hartwell, Mi Adessa

 

WP- Padovani

LP- Fusco

 

 

Wrap: by Jeff Pierce Daily Times Chronicle

 

The Bulldogs (16-10-2) broke out of their three game losing streak with a rain shortened 5-3 victory over the Melrose Americans on Sunday afternoon allowing them to keep control of the final bye position with two games left.

 

With six games in eight days the Bulldogs went to one of their top hitting position players, Dante Padovani for the important start.

 

The versatile Padovani who was both a position player and occasional pitcher for Bentley College this past Spring, pitched five shutout innings before allowing three runs in the sixth for his first victory of the season.

 

The game was moving very quickly through the first four with Reading holding a 1-0 lead on a Zac Conti double whom then scored on an infield single and overthrow.

 

In the fifth the Bulldogs went up 3-0 on a Nick Kelley sacrifice fly and a Darren Hartwell rbi single.

 

Hartwell who is the league's top three in five offensive categories including second in batting average (.404) had a big day with three hits, a double, two steals, rbi, and threw a runner out at the plate from centerfield.

 

Then in the sixth the Bulldogs scored what turned out to be the winning runs on rbi hits from Ryan Wolfsberg and Zach Conti.

 

The runs turned out to be huge when Melrose scored three times in the sixth to cut the lead to 5-3.

 

The torrential rains followed after the Bulldogs were retired in the seventh, and the game called after 20 minutes when the field was deemed unplayable.

 

The Bulldogs faceoff with Lexington on Tuesday night at Lexington HS which will essentially decide second place and who get the bye into the semi-finals.