Weekly Sports Roundup, August 8-15

With the Intercity Baseball League regular season reaching its conclusion last week, the Wakefield Merchants found themselves in a two-way scramble for second place—and a coveted first-round bye in the playoffs. As the baseball gods would have it, the whole thing came down to the final game of the season between the Merchants and the Andre Chiefs of Medford at Tufts University on August 9.

The Merchants (19-11-2) needed a win or tie against the Chiefs (18-13-1) to clinch second place and secure the playoff bye, and in a game that featured a grand total of five basehits and two of the league’s leading twirlers, the contest was ultimately decided by walks and errors.

Wakefield’s Dennis Bisso (6-2) ended up edging Jared Freni (7-2) for the win, as the Merchants waited their way to a first-round playoff bye with a 3-2 win.

Trailing 1-0 in the fifth inning, the Merchants first batter was retired uneventfully before Freni issued free passes to Andy Hartung and Jon Davison. Bob Losanno then reached base safely thanks to an error at first, but Freni recorded the inning’s second out by fanning Brooks Townsend. Then things started to unravel for the Chiefs. A wild pitch allowed Hartung to score the tying run, and both Scott Searles and Mike Sorrentino walked, forcing in the go-ahead run. Now trailing 2-1, the Chiefs lifted Freni in favor of Rob Machado, but the new moundsman picked right up where the departed one left off, issuing a walk to Lorenzo Papa and bringing around Losanno with Wakefield’s third run of the frame. All scored without the benefit of a single basehit. 

The Chiefs would peg one back in the sixth, but Bisso had enough left in the tank to see off the threat, and the Merchants will face an as yet undetermined foe on August 15 at Walsh Field in the second round of the postseason.

Mystic Runners Lake Q 5K

The weekly 5k run around beautiful Lake Quannapowitt was held on August 10, and the top spot was garnered by Wakefield’s own Peter Kikelly. The 24-year-old harrier finished the course at 19.12, good enough for first place overall. Medford’s Cam Manning, 36, pulled down second with a 19.28 mark, while Bob Powers of Burlington came in third at 20.31. Billerica’s Dennis Daly took fourth at 21.08, while Nathaniel Smith of Lynnfield rounded out the top five with a time of 21.47. Wakefield’s Pat Dooling pulled off a top-ten finish, crossing the finish line at 22.15, and taking tenth place. Ashley Toland of Tewksbury was the fleetest female, as the 18-year-old placed ninth with a time of 22.06.