WESTERLY — As it did a year ago en route to the league title, the East Providence High School baseball club will have to pursue a second consecutive Division II championship from the losers' bracket after the Townies fell to top-seeded Westerly 3-2 on the road in a Pod 1 game played Thursday night, May 31.

The host Bulldogs scored all three of their tallies in the bottom of the fourth inning off of EPHS starter Tim Robitaille. The locals scratched one back in the top of the sixth and another in the seventh off Westerly starter and winner Michael Poole, but could get no more.

Robitaille threw four innings and allowed three earned runs on 54 pitches before giving way to Kyle Desrosiers. The Bulldogs finished the night with seven hits, they walked twice and struck out five times.

Poole tossed the seven-inning complete game. Neither of the EPHS runs were earned. He fanned 10 and issued just one free pass.

Neither team could muster much offense until Westerly came to the plate in the home half of the fourth.

Jack Tenuta led off the frame with a double to right. He stayed at second when Robitaille got the next hitter on a pop out, but he scored when Zach Miner singled to center. He then moved to second on ground out before coming around Nicholas Tria after singled to center. Jayden Parker singled to put Tria into scoring position. Both moved up on a wild pitch. Josh Ferando drove in Tria with a base hit to left.

The Townies' run in the sixth came with one out. Brian Rutkowski singled and stole second. He went to third on a wild pitch then scored on Aidan Martins' ground out to first.scored on

EP's last gasp came in the seventh. Robitaille, who remained in the game as a hitter, reached on an error to tlead off the inning. Jayden Healey entered the game as pinch runner and proceeded to steal second. He moved to third when the third strike to Nolan Lorenz was dropped. Lorenz was given second unabated by the Bulldogs.

Poole, however, retired the next three batters to get out of the jam and preserve the win. He sandwiched strikeouts around a RBI groundout to Gavin Palombo to end the game in the Bulldogs' favor.

Westerly advances to the Pod 1 championship round where the Bulldogs must be beaten twice in the double-elimination format. The Townies have a rematch with Johnston, whom they beat 2-0 in their pod opener on May 28. The Panthers stayed alive with 6-5 home win over Burrillville in the losers' bracket also on May 30.

(Updated/corrected, 9 a.m. Friday, May 31) EP next is home to Johnston in the losers' bracket final Saturday morning, June 1, at 11 o'clock. Despite being the lower seed, five to the Panthers' four, the Townies  get to host the game because of their 2-0 victory over Johnston in teams' meeting earlier this week to open the main draw.

Last spring, the Townies fell to Chariho in the Pod 1 winners' final to Chariho before rallying to defeat Westerly in the losers' bracket then beating the Chargers twice in the championship round. East Providence then beat East Greenwich 2-1 in their best of three league title series.