Spy Ponders Keep Streak Alive

The Arlington High baseball team is headed for familiar territory.

The team clinched its 23^rd straight appearance in the North Division 2 tournament Monday with a sloppy 16-10 win over visiting Bedford.

"It's a huge accomplishment for us," coach Dan Hirsch said of the streak.

After a slow start, the Spy Ponders are now one of the hottest teams in the state, winning nine of their last 11 games.

"We're definitely playing good baseball at the right time of year," Hirsch said. "Hopefully, it continues."

Arlington (10-7, 7-2) leads the Dual County League's Small Division by two games.

On Monday, aggressive hitting combined with poor fielding accounted for the 47 total base runners and 26 runs in the nearly three-hour game.

Arlington got 19 hits from 13 different batters, drew three walks and reached base on three errors and a hit-batter. Both teams left the bases loaded twice. Bedford (2-16, 1-9) did so with one out in the third inning and then again with one out in the fourth.

After an RBI single by Christian Sleeper put Arlington up 1-0 in the first inning, the Spy Ponders' offense exploded in the second.

Sixteen batters faced Bedford starter Ben Richter and reliever Sam Bigda-Peyton in the inning. Seven of them, Mitch Coiley, J.P. Calcaterra, Jack Powers, Mitch Cummings, Rob Shea, Kyle Hood and Zach Leem had an RBI, including Coiley and Hood with two.

Cummings also knocked in a run on an error late in the inning to give his team an 11-0 lead.

Bedford came back in the third inning, scoring five runs against Arlington starter Sean Boyle, but a bases-loaded double play ended the threat.

After Arlington got three more runs in the bottom half of the third, off RBI from Hood, Coiley and Lee, Bedford threatened again down 14-5 in the fourth inning.

Boyle let in two runs, making it 14-7, and then put two men on before he was relieved by teammate Brian Mazzola with one out. Mazzola walked one to load the bases but then struck out the next two batters on devastating curveballs.

After that, Bedford never pulled within six runs. The visitors got one more in the sixth and then two in the seventh from right fielder Kevin Cargiano, who had four RBI in the game.

Arlington pinch hitter Jonathan Matos knocked in two in the sixth inning on a single to left field; he was the ninth Spy Ponder to record an RBI in the game.

Hirsch said his team's focus now shifts to securing a home playoff game with three games remaining.

Arlington travels to Weston for its next game at 4 p.m. on Wednesday.