Intertown Twilight League Playoffs

“If the first round goes to three games, without this weather we could have been done with the entire series on Wednesday,” explains Cory Burnham.  “The weather has not been favorable for the teams this summer, but you have to make do with what you get.””

ITL Championship Series Begins This Weekend

If Manchester Essex prevails against Rockport in the semifinals of the Intertown Twilight League this week, they would move on to face the winner of the semifinals series between the Ipswich Chiefs and Rowley Rams. Game one in the best-of-five series would be held at Memorial Park in Essex on Aug. 8 (4 p.m.), game two scheduled for 4 p.m. in Ipswich/Rowley on Aug. 8, and game three set for 5:30 p.m. back at Memorial Park again on Aug. 12.

At this point, it might be fair to wonder if the weather is the only thing that could slow down the Mariners.

Manchester-Essex’ entry into the Intertown Twilight League has been dominant for most of the season, amassing a 14-4 record and earning homefield advantage throughout the ITL playoffs.  The Mariners ended the regular season with a statement victory over Hamilton, at once showing that Manchester Essex was capable of not only soundly defeating a quality opponent still fighting to get into the postseason, but also getting the added bonus of knocking the Generals—the reigning ITL champs who defeated ME in the finals in 2025— out of the tournament before it could even begin.

Just three days later, the Mariners began postseason play against Rockport, allowing an early, 1-0 lead off of a solo homer before erupting for five runs in the second and controlling every inning after that with dominant pitching and a couple of insurance runs as the game wore on. Manchester Essex was hoping to keep that momentum going with game two on Aug. 3, but rain cancelled the matchup for Monday, a scheduling conflict with umpires made that game unplayable on Tuesday, so it was settled that the second game in the series was moved back to Wednesday, Aug. 5.
“If the first round goes to three games, without this weather we could have been done with the entire series on Wednesday,” explains Cory Burnham.  “The weather has not been favorable for the teams this summer, but you have to make do with what you get.”

What the Mariners got this time around was another stellar starting pitching performance from Zach Abbot - who went six strong innings - along with reliever Mikey Harris closing out the 7-3 win over Rockport in the first round of the ITL playoffs on Aug. 2.  They also got a five-run bottom of the first that erased an early 1-0 Townies lead and completely changed the complexion of the game.

“Minus that one run that they got early, we were just about in total control after that,” says Burnham.

Manchester Essex scored four of those five runs on doubles-turned-into-triples on overthrows in the field.  Both Caulin Rogers and Theo Ostrowski drove in a pair of runs apiece by taking an extra base on triples that otherwise would have been doubles without the Townies’ errors in the field.

“The win felt well-deserved,” says Burnham of the victory over Rockport.  “The team has worked hard all year, played hard all year. We don’t apologize for playing hard, and it was good to start the playoffs right.”
That tone was set with the season finale against the Generals.  Theo Ostrowski and Nico Alves each hit solo homers in the 14-0 win over Hamilton, while Caz Ostrowski combined with Harris to allow only three hits all game to the Generals.

“It was good to go over there and handle business, do what we have to do and get some momentum going into the playoffs,” explains Burnham.  “They are a better team than their record indicates. There are some serious gamers on that roster, that’s a team I would never overlook.”

Jason Brisbois covers all things sports for the Manchester Cricket.  Contact him at jason@thecricket.com.