Reading Bulldogs

By Jeff Pierce  Daily Times Chronicle 

Reading (6) – Cataldo 4-1, Conti 4-0, Manzi 4-1, Talis 3-3, Taylor 2-2, Fischer 2-0, Buitkus 2-0, Hartwell 3-2, O’Leary 1-0, Castoldi 4-0, Zajac 2-0, Totals 31-9 

Lexington (16) – Curley 2-1, Aramo 1-0, Wright 4-1, Gath 4-3, Graham 2-1, Mirabella 1-0, Ahern 2-0, Abraham 1-0, Viguers 4-3, Morgan 1-0, Everett 3-1, Walsh 2-1, McKenna 4-2, Healey 1-0, Capra 2-0   Totals 34-13 

Reading                020 200 2  -6

Lexington              036 700 X -16 

Doubles: Wright, Gath, Viguers (2), Taylor, Manzi

Home Runs:  Talis, Taylor, Graham 

WP- Bodnar   LP-  Church  

Wrap: The short-staffed Bulldogs went down to the first place Blue Sox in a game that got out-of-hand early, losing 16-6 at Lexington High School on Wednesday night. The Bulldogs had no available regular starting pitchers going into the den of the champion Blue Sox team and a weather postponement would have been beneficial, however inexplicably Lexington was barely touched by the wild weather and the game went off under perfect field conditions. Reading had a nice start enjoying a 2-0 lead in the second inning when Zac Talis and Mike Taylor hit back to back home runs off one of the league’s premier pitchers Steve Bodnar. The lead didn’t last long as the Blue Sox quickly took a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the inning after Reading native Steve Gath’s two-run double. The next two innings were a nightmare for the Bulldogs who had to use a string of 4 relievers in place of one of their starters, and free passes were a problem all night. In a two inning stretch the Bulldog pitchers issued 7 walks and hit two batters, and in the fourth inning Lexington scored seven runs after the first two batters of the inning were retired. The Bulldogs wasted another good hitting outing as they managed nine hits off the top pitching staff in the league and had thirteen base runners reach. Reading is off until Sunday where they host Medford whom they are battling with for a playoff position.