Belmont Suffers Close Loss at Medford

The Belmont Senior Babe Ruth team fell 3-2 to the Medford Mad Dogs on Wednesday, as the team's comeback rally in the final inning came up a couple steps short.

With two outs in the top of the seventh inning and Belmont's Collin McNamara representing the tying run on third base, teammate Jamie McLaughlin hit a groundball to the shortstop. The speedy McLaughlin looked like he had a chance to beat the throw, as the shortstop sat back on the ball, but he was thrown out at first by a couple steps to end the pitchers' duel at Medford's Playstead Park.

Starter Evan Nichols kept Belmont in the game, holding Medford scoreless through four innings, and, overall, the young team played well against an experienced 14-4-2 Mad Dog squad, according to its coach, Dan Kelleher.

"We played a great game," he said. "Nichols pitched a great game; he did a nice job changing his pitches."

Kelleher said Nichols has a tendency to rely on his fastball. However, on Wednesday, he said the right-handed pitcher mixed in his changeup and breaking ball, which kept Medford's hitters off-balance.

Nichols allowed one run in the bottom of the fifth inning on a groundball that should have been batted down in the infield. A misplayed ball in the outfield led to two more runs in the sixth inning, giving Medford a 3-0 lead heading into the game's final frame.

Michael Rocha led off the inning with a single. Nichols then helped his own cause, hitting a double to right field to put two runners in scoring position with one out.

The next batter, McNamara, reached on an error, which brought Rocha home from third. Anthony Perrone then made it 3-2 on a groundout that scored Nichols, before McLaughlin's last at bat.

Nichols and McLaughlin had Belmont's only hits before the seventh inning, as Medford's Mike Dixon controlled the game with seven strikeouts. A Boston College High graduate, Dixon now plays baseball at Suffolk University.

Belmont (11-12) hosts the Arlington Pond Rats at 5:45 p.m. on Tuesday at Brendan Grant Memorial Field to conclude its regular season.

Depending on how things shakeout this weekend, the game could decide the eighth and final playoff spot, with the winner moving on and the loser calling it a summer.