Aiello and Alves carry Fishermen past Falcons in 15-inning dogfight

They needed every last out of all 15 innings to get it done, but the Gloucester Fishermen showed Monday exactly why they’re one of the most dangerous teams in the state.

Gloucester survived a wild, back-and-forth battle against rival Danvers — led by a Nico Alves go-ahead sac fly and a Pip Emerson double in the top of the 15th — to remain unbeaten at 11-0 on the season.

It wasn’t pretty. It wasn’t clean. But it was a win, and for a Fishermen squad that was teetering on the edge of a first-time loss, that’s all that really matters.

Danvers drew first blood in the second inning with a steal of home — an early sign this would be no ordinary ballgame. Gloucester answered in the third on an Alves sacrifice fly to knot it at one. The Falcons retook the lead in the sixth on a Dylan Weeks double, but Alves singled to center the following inning to tie it again at two. In the eighth, an error handed Gloucester a 3-2 edge — only for Beckett Wodarski to erase it immediately with a sacrifice fly of his own.

Tie game.

Again.

The two clubs traded punches all the way through the twelfth, where another error pushed the Fishermen ahead 4-3, and another Weeks single — his club-high third hit of the afternoon — evened things right back up at four.

But Gloucester’s middle-of-the-order anchor had the last word. Alves, whose number-three spot in the lineup was a steady presence throughout, came through in the fifteenth with the sacrifice fly that broke the ice. Emerson piled on with a double that extended the cushion to 6-4. Danvers scratched one back to make it interesting, but it wasn’t enough for the Falcons to prevail.

Nolan Aiello earned the win in relief, delivering seven strong innings out of the bullpen — allowing just two hits and two runs (one earned) while striking out six and walking four. Wodarski took the loss for Danvers after going seven and two-thirds frames, surrendering three runs on seven hits with 10 punchouts. Emerson started the marathon for Gloucester, going eight innings and giving up three runs on 10 hits, fanning nine.

At the plate, Gloucester racked up 16 hits as a team. Jaylen Severino went 4-for-8 out of the seven hole to lead the club in knocks. Aiello, Trey Marrone, Emerson, and Nash Marshall each had multi-hit afternoons (or nights, if we consider the 4+ hours the game went on for). Michael Marino paced Gloucester with three walks, which was part of a six-walk effort for the team.

Danvers was no slouch either, collecting 15 hits and six stolen bases — including two from Colby Medeiros. Jason Walters went 4-for-6 to lead the Falcons, while Jack Curcuru and Jason Luti chipped in multiple hits. It was a complete team effort that ultimately wasn’t quite enough.