Alibrandis batting has stepped up to the plate, helping to give the team good placement in the division ranking.

By Ben Cassidy

For much of the 2014 Yawkey Baseball League season, the Somerville Alibrandis’ offense has mirrored the uneven and, at times, dismal weather conditions under which the team has played. During a four-game stretch in early June, for example, the Albriandis managed just six runs over four games; the squad subsequently tallied 21 runs in its next three contests.

However, as an erratic New England spring has given way to a mostly pristine early summer, the Alibrandis’ bats have heated up. Last week, the Alibrandis scored a total of 20 runs in just three games. Assistant manager Cameron Lynch doesn’t think it’s a coincidence.

“Now that we’ve played consecutive weeks [in a row]…guys are seeing more pitches,” Lynch said.

This increase in games and at-bats has led improved plate discipline throughout the lineup and leadoff batters frequently reaching base, he said. It has also created a welcome predicament for manager Bernie Driscoll and Lynch: According to the latter, the Alibrandis have “thirteen guys who can play every night,” making it a challenge to fill out the nine spots in the batting order for any given game.

It would be difficult to argue with the Somerville staff’s decisions last Friday against the visiting South Boston Saints. In Somerville’s 9-4 victory, seven Alibrandis batters had at least one hit, and six drove in at least one run. The Alibrandis scored one, one, three, two, and two runs in the first five innings of the game, leading 9-1 after five innings.

Perhaps no hitter has better exemplified Somerville’s recent offensive surge than Bobby Barrett, who had two hits for the Alibrandis. Barrett utilizes a “calm” yet “aggressive” approach at the plate, allowing him to bat “anywhere” in the order and yielding a number of clutch hits, Lynch said.

The Alibrandis were also lifted by starting pitcher Chris Foundas, who went six innings and picked up his fifth win of the season. His only loss in the past two years came against South Boston earlier this season. As a result, Lynch felt Foundas was “hungry” to face the Saints on this occasion. “He wanted that game,” Lynch said.

The Alibrandis’ victory against South Boston followed an 8-7 defeat to the visiting Revere Rockies last Wednesday. Somerville blew a 5-0 lead in the game, ending the squad’s four-game winning streak. The loss was a small setback for a team trending in the right direction.

“As long as we get in the playoffs, it’s going to be tough for teams to beat us,” Lynch said.

The Alibrandis play the Brighton Braves tonight at Rogers Park. They were to have played at the Savin Hill Dodgers on Monday and hosted the Dodgers on Tuesday.