Arlington Back in Intercity League

Arlington and baseball go hand-in-hand, from the town's wildly popular Little League and Babe Ruth teams to the high school team's state record of 23 straight postseason appearances.

However, one thing has been missing in recent years, according to Ed McDonald, a former Arlington Catholic catcher, a summer-league team where local collegiate and post-collegiate players could hone their skills and entertain baseball fans, young and old, in the community.

"I wanted to bring competitive baseball back to Arlington," he said recently.

McDonald, now a rising-junior catcher at Assumption College, founded and now plays for the Arlington Trojans, an Intercity League team that recently began its inaugural season.

The team will battle the league's eight other teams, located in suburbs north and west of Boston, during a 32-game regular season schedule and subsequent playoffs in mid-August. Most of the league's games are played on weekday evenings or Saturday afternoons. The Trojans will play their home games at Summer Street Field.

McDonald saw the need for expansion after riding the bench for the league's Andre Chiefs, a Medford-based team, much of last year. "A lot of good players were on the bench," he said, "so I just decided to start my own team. I figured I had nothing to lose. Hopefully it works out now and gives younger kids in Arlington something to look forward to."

After the tough task of raising money from sponsors, McDonald began to assemble a team with coach Joe Hart, a former player at Babson College and an AAU and Legion coach, and assistant Brian Murray, who played on Arlington's former Intercity League team, which folded about a decade ago.

The team's pitching staff is anchored by a number of former Arlington High hurlers, including Joe Martini, a teammate of McDonald's at Assumption, Blake Yee, who now throws and plays third base for Massachusetts Bay Community College, Mike Griffin, a pitcher and outfielder at Endicott College, and reliever Connor Bishop. Winchester native Matt Olsen, now of Stonehill College, also takes the mound for the Trojans.

The team found shortstop Morgan Brown, one of its best players, at its open tryout. Brown, a New Hampshire native and Harvard University-standout, most recently played in the Can-Am League. The team's elder statesman, Brown now resides in Arlington.

Outfielder Rich Newton, of the Belmont Hill School and now Colby College, also starts for the Trojans.

The Trojans got off to an 0-3 start before beating the Woburn-based Mooney Dental Tanners 6-2 last Friday. "Hopefully that gets things clicking, and we're able to compete the rest of the way," McDonald said.

The Intercity League, established in 1950, is a wood-bat, amateur baseball league. McDonald said it's one of the best around.

"It's right on par with Division II baseball," he said.

The team's full schedule can be viewed at the website.