East Boston Knights Rolling Along with 16-2 Record

The East Boston Knights continued their winning ways riding a 6 game winning streak with victories against South Boston, Brighton Black Sox, South End, The McKay Club and Savin Hill (twice). The Knights now 16 – 2 at the halfway point have done it with pitching defense and timely hitting. None timelier than the pinch hit 2 out grand slam that lifted the Knights over the Savin Hill Dodgers last Wednesday night. The Knights who had been scorching the ball all evening right at people finally got the big hit they needed. With 2 out in the bottom of the 5th and the bases loaded pinch hitter Kenny Luongo lost a 2 – 0 pitch deep into the night to dead center field to give the Knights a 6 to 4 lead.  “Kenny Luongo is the definition of hard work. This kid is a gym rat and hitting baseballs 24/7 so I’m not surprised at all” said manager Eric Bellavia when asked about the grand slam. When asked if he expected a grand slam when he put him in to pinch hit “It crossed my mind I’m not going to lie. The night before he hit some deep shots that would’ve been homeruns in smaller parks so I decided to roll the dice. I was hoping he would find a gap” That was not all for Luongo this week. He hit a 3 run shot at “The Stadium” on Monday night as well. For the week Luongo was 4 for 7 with 2 homeruns, a double and 7 RBI.  “He’s just an animal and absolute beast” said teammate Mikey Oliveira. The Knights continue to sit atop the “Yaz” division at 16-2 and hold a 4 game lead over the Al Thomas A’s at the halfway mark of the Yawkey League regular season.

CLUBHOUSE NOTES: The Knights have placed pitcher Sean Hannon on the disabled list and Hannon will now miss the season. Hannon has not pitched for the Knights since 2013……Max Ockner has been activated from the DL.…..Eduardo Colemanares has been placed on the DL with a broken right thumb….Shawn Carlson was removed for precautionary reasons Monday night after feeling tightness in his right shoulder….The Knights have signed pitchers John Tangherlini, Vic Mendez and Mike Hersey for the rest of the season…Marty Dunlap went 2 for 2 Monday night to extend his hitting streak to 16 games.

GAME RECAPS:

East Boston 6

South Boston 4

The Knights traveled to Ronan Park to meet up against Southie for the 2nd time in 2 weeks. New wing Mike Hersey took the mound for EBK and was impressive in his debut. Hersey went 5 innings allowing 3 runs (1 earned) against a pesky Saints offense. The Knights plated 3 runs in the 2nd capped by a Johan Villalona HR. The Saints battled back scoring 2 in the 4th and 1 in the 5th tying the game taking advantage of a Hersey miscue. The Knights came right back in the bottom of the inning to take the lead for good. Jose Paulino scorched a 2 run double in the bottom of the 6th to add much needed insurance. Jon Shepard came on in relief and picked up his 2nd victory on the season.

East Boston 6

Savin Hill 5

Knights host the Dodgers at Maplewood as Jefry Castro got the call to arms for the Knights against Chris Michienzi. Savin Hill would strike first plating 4 runs on only 1 hit as Castro would not make it out of the first inning. Billy Riggieri came on in relief and was masterful tossing 3 and 1/3 perfect innings holding the Dodgers and giving the Knights a chance to comeback. The Knights plated 2 in the bottom of the 2nd to cut the lead in half capped by a RBI single courtesy of Mike Oliveira. The Knights set off some fireworks in the 5th as pinch hitter Kenny Luongo blasted a 2 out grand slam to dead center field giving the Knights a 6 to 4 lead. Jeff Allison came on in relief of Riggieri going 3 innings and in the process picked up his 3rd victory of the season.

East Boston 6

Brighton Black Sox 1

The Knights hosted the Brighton Black Sox at “The Stadium” and welcomed back old friend John Tangherlini. “Tango” faced off against Matt Nicholson and it was a pitcher’s duel early featuring power vs finesse. The Knights broke out in the 4th inning for 5 runs capped by a laser beam 3 run home run into the left centerfield gap courtesy of Kenny Luongo. It was the 2nd homerun in as many games for Luongo who has raked in 7 RBI in the last 2 games. Tangherlini had a no hitter into the 5th inning broken up by an Adam Sudbeck solo homerun. Shawn Carslon and Mike Hersey combined to finsh the game. The Knights pitching staff held the Black Sox to only 1 hit on the evening.

East Boston 9

South End 1

The Knights traveled to the South End to face to Astros at Jim Rice Field. The Knights Jeff Allison got the call to the bump as the Astros sent their ace Jonathan Matos. The Knights struck quickly in the top of the first setting the tone for the game. The Knights got back to back 2 out doubles from Marty Dunlap and Mike Crisostomo capped by an RBI single from Johan Villalona to take a 4 – 0 lead. Jeff Allison was brilliant for 5 innings and didn’t surrender his first hit until the bottom of the 4th inning. Allsion (4-1) did not allow a run on 2 hits and 6 K’s. The Knights muscled out 13 hits in a game shortened by the umpires.

Marty Dunlap collected 3 hits and extended his hitting streak to 16 games!!!

Upcoming games:

Wednesday July 8th vs the Somerville Alibrandis at Trum Field at 8:30PM

Sunday July 12th YBL vs the Cranberry Baseball League in game 1 of the Emass Classic at Campanelli Stadium in Brockton at 1PM

As always you can follow the Knights at:

www.eastbostonknights.com

Kenny Luongo hit a pinch-hit grand slam in a recent victory for the East Boston Knights baseball team that is rolling along this season with a 16-2 record. The Knights play their home games at East Boston Stadium.

Kenny Luongo hit a pinch-hit grand slam in a recent victory for the East Boston Knights baseball team that is rolling along this season with a 16-2 record. The Knights play their home games at East Boston Stadium.

www.yawkeybaseball.com

www.facebook.com/knightsbaseballclub

www.twitter.com/ebknights

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *