Cunningham's Chopper Decides Battle of Arlington

David Cunningham simultaneously played the hero and the villain Thursday night at Summer Street Field.

With bragging rights on the line, the Arlington Pond Rats catcher beat the in-town rival Arlington Cardinals on a two-run, walk-off single with his team down 5-4 and the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh inning.

"It feels great," Cunningham said moments after sealing the 6-5 win. "They always thought they were the better team, so it feels great to come out on top."

The Pond Rats swept the season series, as the team beat the Cardinals 9-8 at Spy Pond Field in Senior Babe Ruth action earlier this summer.

"This was a big win for us," said Pond Rats coach Jim Robillard.

The Pond Rats, now 11-10, still need to win one of their final three games in order to be assured a spot in the playoffs, while the Cardinals, at 12-9-2, appear to be in good shape.

With Cardinals starter Sean Boyle still on the mound, 15-year-old pinch-hitter Sam Donnelly singled to start the Pond Rats rally in their last at bats. Lead-off hitter Jonathan Mancini and first baseman Shawn Power then walked and singled, respectively, to load the bases for Cunningham with no outs.

A rising junior at the Belmont Hill School, Cunningham chopped a ball over the head of Cardinals shortstop Mitch Cummings to end the game with the speedy Mancini on second.

Pond Rats hurler John Lepore, 15, picked up the win in relief of starter Christian Riera. Lepore came in to squelch the Cardinals four-run rally in the fifth inning and didn't allow a run in the game's final two innings.

The Pond Rats took a 3-1 lead in the second inning on RBI singles by J.P. Calcaterra, Kyle Hood and David Largenton.

The Cardinals came back in the fifth inning to go on top 5-3. First baseman Dan Fitzgerald recorded his second RBI of the game; third baseman Brian Mazzola hit a two-run single; and catcher Jon Byrne hit an RBI double.

The Pond Rats scored a run off two errors in the sixth inning to pull within one before their final at bats.

Both teams ended their regularly-scheduled season Thursday and are in the process of scheduling makeup games for next week.