The Watertown Reds defeated the Reading Bulldogs 6-2 at Morton Field Monday night, ending the Bulldogs' first Intercity League run in 40 years.
The Reds had already defeated the Bulldogs 3-0 Sunday night, making Monday's game a must win for the Bulldogs in the best-of-3 series.
Head coach Matt Morrison said Reading's efforts satisfied him, and he has high hopes for the team's future in the league.
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"Before the season started we set a goal to make the playoffs and basically see what would happen, and we reached that goal," Morrison said.
Watertown came out strong when Aqib Shah drove in two runs in the top of the second inning. Another run swiftly followed after Reading's defense committed an error, increasing the Reds' lead to 3.
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The Bulldogs gained momentum in the bottom of the third, scoring twice and narrowing Watertown's lead to two. This turned out to be the last time the Bulldogs would score, however, and the Reds took the series and a spot in the second round of the playoffs.
"I guess we just ran into some veteran pitching who had a little bit more experience than our young guys," Morrison said. "[The Reds] were able to take advantage of some of our defensive errors and that turned out to be the difference in this type of game."
Morrison plans to recruit more veteran players next year to round out the team's experience level.
Reading's involvement in the league was spearheaded by owner and general manager John Halsey, who remains optimistic despite the Bulldogs early exit from the playoffs.
"One of the umpires was saying how it was pretty amazing that we were even in the playoffs, it's not everyday a first year team makes it this far," said Halsey.
In response to the question everyone wants answered: Yes, Doug Flutie will be coming back next season to play for the Bulldogs.
Flutie was unable to attend game 2 of the playoffs due to conflicting obligations to the United Football League, but Morrison has confirmed Flutie's interest in playing next season "as long as he stays healthy."
