By Mike Rubin

The Somerville District 12 Little League squad couldn’t find its groove in the opening round of the District tournament.

Brandon Bunker blasted a three run home run as the Medford National squad stopped Somerville in a tough 8-2 defeat in Thursday night’s match-up at Columbus Park.

Somerville will now enter the loser’s bracket and will face its next opponent at a date and time to be determined.

After Bunker nailed a three-run blast, Anthony DiRenzo increased the lead to 4-0, capitalizing off a throwing error.

Facing a 4-0 deficit, Somerville ace Mike McPhearson settled into a grove striking out two batters to round out the inning in escaping further damage.

On the mound, Bunker was also effective, scattering just five hits through five and two-thirds innings of work. Bunker also walked two and struck out six, continuing to frustrate Somerville bats.

Battling back, Somerville closed the gap to 4-1 as Jack Clark, who reached base, managed to score on an RBI groundout by Kyle Gil.

Any hopes of momentum for Somerville quickly fell behind the wayside as Kyle Lynch plated an RBI triple, increasing the lead to 5-1 before Bunker and DiRenzo secured the win, nailing consecutive doubles in the fourth en route to a 7-1 lead.

In the later innings, Somerville managed to push across another run as Justin Barry delivered an RBI fielder’s choice to knock in Matt McCune.

Earning the save for Medford was Anthony Pineda, who registered the final out, striking out Somerville’s last batter to end a scoring threat in the top of the sixth.

By Mike Rubin

The Somerville Alibrandis remain in second place despite their 5-1 loss to the Malden Bulldogs on Thursday.

With first place in the division on the line, the Somerville Alibrandis fell a bit short.

Patrick Shanahan fired a three-hitter through six innings as the Malden Bulldogs cruised to a 5-1 win over the Alibrandis in Thursday night’s Yawkey League showdown at Maplewood Field. With the loss, the Alibrandis fell to 12-4-1 overall and five points out of first place. The Bulldogs currently have 30 while the Alibrandis are second with 25.

“It’s tough because we had a chance to get within striking range of first place,” said coach Rob McDonald. “Their pitcher was solid and he kept the ball over the plate. He was very consistent and managed to throw strikes. Give credit to them, they did a great job and we just have to bounce back.”

With ace Sean Gildea on the mound for the Alibrandis, the Bulldogs staked out to a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first. After Anthony Perry and Evan Tardungo reached on consecutive singles, Brad Tardugno roped a blast that sailed over the left field fence for a three run home run

Securing the win, the Bulldogs added a run in the last of the fifth and sixth innings.

Other offensive contributors for the Bulldogs included Perry and Hunter Caron, who each recorded two hits with an RBI. Gildea, who entered the season with a personal record of 4-0, falls to 4-1 overall.

Offensively for Alibrandis, Adajatay Nyadjroh led the way, recorded two hits and scoring the Albirandi’s lone run in the third. Other offensive contributors included David Scioli with a hit while Bernie Driscoll recorded two walks and a stolen base.

“We just couldn’t get the bats going,” said McDonald. “Their pitcher pretty much kept us off balanced throughout the game.”

After suffering a tough 18-8 loss the night before, the Alibrandis escaped with a 2-1 win over Al Thomas on Monday night. On the mound, Chris Foundas allowed just one run one hit through six innings. Foundas also walked four and struck out seven while Jay Wisner earned his fifth save, striking out two while finishing out the last inning.

“(Foundas) was awesome, and he definitely was in control of the game,’ said McDonough. “He kept the ball over the plate, and he kept their hitters off balance.”

Despite registering just three hits, the Alibrandis were able to still manage two runs. Offensively, Tom McDonough recorded a hit and an RBI while Antony Tomaro added a hit and a run followed by Sal Mendonca (run) and Crisafulli (hit).

In Sunday’s 18-8 loss to the South Boston Saints, Jon Morse took the loss, allowing seven runs on seven hits while lasting just three and a third innings. In relief, Foundas allowed a run through two-thirds of an inning while McDonough allowed eight runs on five hits while recording just one out.

Eddie Dias helped guide the Somerville American Legion Post 19 squad to a 13-12 victory over Medford on Friday.

By Mike Rubin

After a long and arduous start to the season, the Somerville Post 19 Legion baseball team recorded their first victory. Yondo Nyadjroh and Jake Dwyer recorded three hits apiece as Post 19 escaped with a wild 13-12 win over Medford in Friday night’s match-up at Trum Field. With the win, Post 19 improves to 1-10 overall.

“We finally got the bats going,” said third baseman and pitcher Eddie Dias. “For the first seven games or so, we weren’t hitting. I don’t know what it was, but I feel like we’re finally going to turn things around and play the type of baseball we should be playing. We have a lot of talent on this team, but for some reason, we just couldn’t put it together at this point.”

For the first three innings, both teams continued to exchange leads before Post 19 erupted for four runs over the next two innings to grab a six run lead. Battling back, Medford closed the gap within two before key hits by Matt O’Donnell, Nyadroh, Eric O’Brien and Dwyer helped secure a Somerville victory in the bottom of the sixth.

On the mound, Clyde Wayshak started the contest, lasting two and a third innings while Sam Evers followed through with an inning and two thirds. Other pitching contributors included Dwyer and O’Donnell.

“It was a crazy game, but we just started hitting,” said Dias. “It’s great to finally get one in the win column.”

Despite a valiant effort, Post 19 succumbed in a tough 8-7 defeat to Watertown earlier in the week. At the plate, Nyadjroh and Dwyer contributed, nailing three hits apiece while combining for four doubles and seven RBIs.

“We started hitting in the (Watertown) game,’ said Dias. “We kept battling back and after being down by a couple of runs, and we were able to hang in there until the end. The guys are starting to pick it up and rise to the occasion.”

After facing a 4-1 deficit, Post 19 battled back, rallying for a pair of runs in the top of the third before grabbing a brief lead on hits by Dwyer and Nyadjroh.

Watertown recovered and rallied for four runs over the final two runs to secure the win. On the mound, Dias earned the loss, allowing seven runs in going the distance.

“If we had done a little better, we would’ve won, but what can you do,’ said Dias. “We’re out there doing the best we can do, and we’re improving.”