Post 311 falls, Post 10 is victorious
PROVIDENCE — After getting down early, East Bay Post 8 rallied on the strength of its hitting, defeating host Providence Post 56, 9-8, in a back in forth Rhode Island American Legion Baseball League battle Tuesday June 30, at Hope High School.
Post 8 (6-4 overall) had many opportunities in the first couple of innings to put multiple runs on the board but could not take advantage. The locals got one run in the first inning after Brian Cook’s liner up the middle scored Adam Speakman, who doubled with one out. With runners on second and third and two outs, Austin Brown popped out to center ending the threat.
Post 56 put up two runs in the bottom of the first to take the lead. In the second East Bay again had a golden opportunity to put runs on the board. Corey Lescault led off the inning with a single up the middle but was thrown out trying to steal second. After Ricky Lima popped up, the next three batters would reach loading the bases for Cook. This time Providence pitcher Brendon Juangs got Cook to fly out to deep center.
Post 56 led off the bottom of the second with a boom when Rocco SantoPietro crushed a ball to left that rolled down the hill in the outfield allowing him to get an inside the park home run.
East Bay pitcher Brenden McNaught struggled early on to find his control and it would show in the inning, as he would plunk the next batter Matt Brown in the back. Brown would move to third after a bad pickoff attempt got by the first baseman allowing him to get to second. He would then take third on a steal.
A Josh Okolowitz walk led to a bizarre sequence of events rarely seen in any baseball game. Okolowitz stole second easily on the next pitch but after being called safe started to walk back to first. This got him into a rundown allowing just enough time for Brown to sneak home on a close play at the plate to make it 4-1. Providence added another run in the inning to push the score to 5-1.
The comeback started for Post 8 in the top of the third. Steve Crawford ripped a liner up the middle with one-out and ended up on second after a passed ball. This allowed him to score easily on Brown’s deep double to right-center. Brown reached third on another passed ball and scored when Lescault’s grounder to the shortstop was mishandled, making it a 5-3 game.
With the score still the same heading into the fifth inning East Bay continued its rally. Lima’s bloop single up the middle with two-outs plated a pair to even the score at five. Bryan Hughes then un-tied the game by crushing a bomb to left field for a long triple. Next up was Curtis Burke, who smashed the ball to almost the exact spot as Hughes but made it the extra 90 feet for an inside the park home run, making it a 8-5 game. Hughes’ play impressed Post 8 manager Dave Brown, who though he had the best overall game.
“I would like to single out Bryan Hughes, who got two hits. He got a triple, a double, lined out and played great defensively,” said Brown.
The comeback did not last for long, however, as Post 56 tied the game up in the bottom half of the inning. With two on and two outs, Tom Shubert hit a long pop-up to right scoring a run. There was controversy after the play as the Providence bench exploded arguing runner interference on East Bay shortstop Burke, who they said blocked a run from scoring. After the dust settled, Post 56 scored two more runs to tie the score on a Kyle Evans line-drive to left field.
East Bay, though, responded quickly again as the locals took the lead in the sixth. Lescault’s single off the third baseman’s glove scored Brown to give Post 8 a 9-8 lead.
Speakman relieved McNaught in the sixth and shutdown Providence’s bats as frustration was starting to set in for Post 56. Leadoff hitter Okolowitz was thrown out after arguing a called third strike. This frustration carried over to the next inning.
East Bay loaded the bases with no-outs when McNaught, who remained in the game as the designated hitter, drilled a line driver that almost went foul but almost hit runner Adam Snow in the process. The Providence bench thought the ball indeed hit Snow, which would make him out and let the umpires have it, verbally abusing them for the rest of the inning. Post 8 could not take advantage of the situation, leaving the bases loaded in the inning.
Providence made one last push and got runners on the corners with two outs in the bottom of the seventh but Speakman got Evans to pop-out to deep leftfield ending the testy affair.
Through all the controversy Brown thought that his team played well and did not let Providence’s frustration affect its play. As for the reason to all the controversy, the coach thought it had a lot to do with the conditions of the field.
“The win was good for the team. I was really proud of the way the guys handled themselves. There was a lot of adversity, some controversial calls and our guys played the game the way it was supposed to be played and I’m proud of them. I could see the frustration from the other side. The field conditions assisted in the controversy. The issue is the foul line was not clearly marked and we had a number of hits down the line. To the other side they looked like foul balls, but I am pretty confident they were fair,” said Brown.
East Bay sandwiches a busy round of games around the Fourth of July holiday. Thursday, July 2, the locals head to Mickey Stevens in Warwick to face Shields Post 43 at 5:30 p.m. Sunday, July 5, Post 8 heads to Tucker Field in Cumberland to meet Post 12 at 5:30 p.m. Monday night, July 6, the locals are home at Barrington High to face North Kingstown Post 12 at 5:45.
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POST 10 WINS
EAST PROVIDENCE — For the first time in two years, Riverside Post 10 won three games in a row in a given summer, matching the feat of seasons past Tuesday night, June 30, with a 6-2 victory over South Kingstown Post 39 in a Rhode Island American Legion Baseball League contest at Pierce Field.
Trailing 1-0 heading into bottom of the third inning, the locals touched S.K. pitcher Will Dawson for four runs to take the lead for keeps. Riverside (4-4-1 overall) later added two runs in the fifth. Post 39 got one back in the sixth, but it was not enough.
John Villari went four innings to start the game for Post 10 and picked up the win. He scattered five hits. Pat Rock tossed three innings of relief to pick up the save. Rock allowed two hits. The S.K. run during his stint was unearned. Both Riverside pitchers changed speeds often and effectively, continually frustrating the Post 39 hitters throughout the night.
“We’re pitching the ball well right now. Villari was strong right from the start. He worked ahead in the count and Rock did the same thing,” said Post 10 manager Bruce Zarembka.
Post 39 used two singles and a stolen base to bring the game’s first run around in the first inning. In the fourth, Riverside’s Alex Therrien walked and stole second to lead off the inning. Mike Capinieri followed with another free pass. Jarrett Silvia singled to drive in a run. Rodger Lincoln drew another free pass. Joey Carnevale drove a ball deep to left for a sacrifice fly. Villari then singled to plate both Silvia and Lincoln.
In the fifth, Silvia dropped a bunt towards third for a lead-off single then stole second. Lincoln singled and stole second to put a pair in scoring position. Mike Pannozzi hit a sac-fly to right to bring Silvia home. Carnevale then lofted a bloop single to right to bring Lincoln around.
“The guys are playing together. The whole team is showing up. We’ve got the right guys in the right situation. We’re starting to hit the ball. And we’re playing solid defense,” Zarembka said of Post 10’s recent play.
Defensively Tuesday, Riverside made a handfull of nice plays to thwart any potential South Kingstown response. Lincoln turned in the most noteworthy of the night. After Post 39 had scored its unearned run in the top of the sixth, the visitors put two more runners on with two when the Post 10 shortstop went deep behind the second base bag to corral a tumbling grounder, turned and gunned the down the batter for the final out.
Post 10 is scheduled to return to action Thursday night, July 2, in Cumberland at Tucker Field against Post 12 at 5:45 p.m.
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POST 311 DROPS ONE
SEEKONK — What a difference a week makes. Five victories in seven games have lifted the Seekonk Post 311 Senior Division squad from bottom of the District 9 American Legion Baseball League standings to the middle of the pack and, more importantly, back into playoff contention as teams pass the mid-point of the 2009 schedule.
Seekonk’s recent run of success took a slight hit Tuesday night, June 30, when the locals suffered a 7-5 loss to Fall River Post 314, but Post 311 still found itself within striking distance of sixth place and the last spot in the District 9 playoffs with a 5-9 record.
Seekonk reached mid-week a game-and-a-half behind 6-7 Acushnet for sixth place in the league standings. South Attleboro continues to set the pace atop the league with a 12-1 record. New Bedford was right behind at 12-2. Somerset was 8-4 and in third. Norton, at 8-5, was in fourth with Westport in fifth at 7-5. Berkley, like Post 311, was on the outside looking in at the moment at 5-7.
Seekonk is off for the July 4 weekend, returning to action Monday night, July 6, at home at Seekonk High School to face Acushnet at 5:30. The next night, July 7, the locals host Westport at 5:30. Fairhaven comes to town, July 9, for another 5:30 contest.
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