20 July, 2005

Mariners hoist the main sail

Good things have been happening to the Mariners lately, even though they fell into some old bad habits Monday night in losing in Orleans, 6-5. 

The Mariners won three in a row and have boosted their record to 12-17, not earth-shaking, but much better than where they were. 

The Mariners got few big hits early in the season, but Friday they beat Bourne 3-2 with a run in the ninth, and they clipped Cotuit 5-4 Saturday with two runs in the bottom of the ninth. On Sunday, they shocked Y-D 8-1. 

"We've gotten good pitching," manager Steve Englert said. "With (Tim) Lincecum in the closer role, if we get a lead late in the game, we can go to him and that's good. Some guys are starting to come around. Chad Flack is hitting the ball well. If we can get (John) Shelby and some of the guys in the middle of the order hot, we've got a good chance of making a run. We're still in it." 

On Friday night, Matt Morizio reached on a error with two out in the ninth. The catcher stole second base and scored on Arman Sidhu's single to left. Morizio and Sidhu are teammates at Northeastern during the rest of the year. 

Brandon McArthur and Flack each drove in a run, while Pat Bresnehan (1-0) was the victor in relief of starter Adam Ottavino, who held Bourne to two runs over seven innings. Lincecum picked up his second save. 

Cotuit was leading Harwich 4-3 in the bottom of the ninth Saturday when Chris Emanuele singled to third, stole second and took third on a wild pitch. 

Joe Persichina doubled Emanuele home, then took third and a passed ball and scored on a wild pitch. Persichina had two RBI, and Morizio and Shelby had one each. 

Billy Sittig was the winner with three innings of relief of starter George Kontos. 

Emanuele knocked in three runs in the 8-1 victory over Y-D. Morizio and Jonathan Wyatt had three hits each. Kyle Parker (3-2) was the winner. 

Harwich fell back on hard times Monday in Orleans against the 20-9 Cardinals. Although starter Harold Mozingo held the Cards to three hits over five innings, he walked five and hit a batter. 

Harwich also committed three errors, which led to two unearned runs. Steve Singleton homered as Orleans scored three times in the third to erase a 3-0 Harwich lead. They scored three more in the fifth on two walks, the hit batsman, an error and a single. 

The walks and errors, combined with four Cardinal stolen bases, spoiled Jake Dugger's three-run homer. Flack, who is swinging the bat well, also homered and singled for Harwich. 

Flack's single knocked in a run in the ninth, and when Sidhu walked, Harwich had the bases loaded with one out. Orleans called on Kyle DeYoung, who induced Wyatt to hit a high chopper to second base. David Uribes went home with the ball, cutting down the tying run at the plate. Emanuele grounded out to end the game. 

"We were one hit away," Englert said. "We had too many walks. With their team speed you've got to keep them off the bases." 

Dugger made a terrific diving catch in right to go with is three-run homer. Kontos was brilliant in relief, shutting down Orleans for 3 1/3 innings. He also picked two men off first base, including Emmanuel Burriss, who has stolen 30 bases this year. 

"There's a long way to go," Englert said. "We have 17 games left. Anything can happen." 

Emanuele's the man in Harwich 

Emanuele is one big reason for the recent Mariner resurgence. 

He started the summer as a temporary player for the Brewster Whitecaps, hitting .294 in 13 games, with 5 RBI and four runs. But when the Whitecaps got their full compliment of players, Emanuele was cut free and quickly grabbed by the Mariners. 

He has continued his hot hitting in Harwich, adding more pop to his bat. While he collected only one extra-base hit with Brewster, Emanuele has two homers and three doubles with Harwich. He has hit .350 in 11 games with Harwich, knocking in six runs and scoring five. 

All told, he's 29 for 91 (.318), good enough for seventh in the league, but is not listed among the top hitters in the Cape Cod League because his statistics from Brewster and Harwich were not added. So why has the Mississauga, Ontario native adapted so well to Cape League climes?

Basically, he shortened his swing. 

"A lot of work and a lot of help from the coaches throwing batting practice, helping me out with my swing," he said. "I just have to use my hands a lot more with wood than aluminum and stay behind the baseball." 

Emanuele was actually supposed to play for Harwich last year, but was injured prior to the season. He did quite well for Northeastern this spring, leading the club in average (.340), home runs (11) and RBI (40). 

Not only are there four Northeastern men on the Mariners - Emanuele, Ottavino, Morizio and Sidhu -- but Sidhu and Emanuele are both from Mississauga. 

"We played together on youth teams and were on Team Canada together," Emanuele said. "I went to a Wareham showcase, and a bunch of coaches were there and the Northeastern coach was there. I love Boston. It's a great city. And I love the team. A lot of guys on it are a lot fun." 

Harwich and Cape Cod are OK, too. 

"I love it here. I'm having a great time. I don't want the summer to end," he said. 'The best thing is you get to play against the best players in the country." 

Northeastern is a Division I program, and is moving to the more competitive Colonial League next year. 

"I just want to be more consistent and keep the strikeouts down," Emanuele said. "I want to hit the ball hard and have quality at bats every game." 

The Husky has been doing that, although he has struck out 22 times. 

"We're doing fine," he said of the Mariners. "We've just got to keep playing hard and we'll be fine."