By Mike Rubin

With the post-season rapidly approaching, the Somerville Alibrandis men’s summer baseball team continue to click at the right time. After recording a 5-3 win over the Brighton Braves on Sunday, the Alibrandis are in the midst of a five game winning streak while improving to 23-7-1 overall. Closing in on first place in the Bill Stewart Division, the Alibrandis just trail the Malden Bulldogs by a single point (48-47).

“We’re playing some great baseball at the right time,” said coach Rob McDonough. “The guys know that the playoffs are around the corner and everybody’s been really stepping it up. I’m very proud of the way everyone’s been focused and we’re just on a roll right now.”

In Sunday’s win over the Braves, Chris Foundas earned the win, firing five shutout innings while Justin Crisafulli paced the offense. Other offensive catalysts included Dave Scioli, Pat Noble and Tony Tomaro while Bernie Driscoll and Scioli also recorded two hits apiece.

Facing a 3-0 deficit, the Alibrandis tied the contest with a run in the second and two in the third. In the top of the sixth, the Alibrandis engineered for two runs en route to the victory.

After starter Sean Gildea struggled, Foundas regained the Alibrandi’s composure, allowing just three hits through the final innings.

In Friday’s match-up against the South End Astros, the Alibrandis battled to a 3-1 victory.

On the mound, Jon Morse, Foundas and Jay Wisner combined to earn the victory. Wisner, who continues to fare solid in the later innings, recorded his sixth save by firing a scoreless seventh inning.

Offensively, Chad Conner led the way, recording a pair of doubles while Tom McDonough, Scioli and Joey Hadfield also recorded RBIs.

Facing a 1-0 deficit, the Alibrandis tied the contest in the bottom of the second before adding runs in the bottom of the fourth and fifth innings. Also recording extra base hits were Marc DesRoches and Driscoll.

Led by several solid performances, the Alibrandis cruised to an 11-0 whitewashing over the East Boston Knights.

At the plate, Yondo Nyadjroh launched his first Yawkey League home run while the squad recorded a season high 17 hits. Also recording solid performances for the Alibrandis included Matt Deeb, who launched four hits, along with three runs scored an RBI. Recording multi-hit games were Bernie Driscoll, Ted Dzuiba, Tomaro along with Joey Hadfield and Sal Mendonca with two apiece.

In last Monday’s match-up against the Medford Mad Dogs, the Alibrandis battled to an 8-5 win. After a 5-1 lead early in the contest, the Mad Dogs closed the gap within two before the Alibrandis secured the win with three in the top of the seventh. Offensively, Deeb, Conner, Scioli and Noble led the way, recording two hits apiece while Crisafulli, Conner and Scioli each recorded two RBIs apiece.

Earning the victory was Dave Fioretti, who allowed three runs on five hits through six innings while striking out seven and walking three.