Mt. Hope scores eight in the sixth to sink Prout, 8-3

Huskies clinch D-II title, look for deep playoff run

Photos and story by Richard W. Dionne, Jr.
Posted 6/13/21

The Mt. Hope baseball team exploded for eight runs in the bottom of the sixth inning, to beat Prout, 8-3, in their senior day game at Guiteras Field on Thursday afternoon. The win improved their …

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Mt. Hope scores eight in the sixth to sink Prout, 8-3

Huskies clinch D-II title, look for deep playoff run

Posted

The Mt. Hope baseball team exploded for eight runs in the bottom of the sixth inning, to beat Prout, 8-3, in their senior day game at Guiteras Field on Thursday afternoon. The win improved their first place record to, 12-1, in Division II. The win also clinched the division title for the Huskies and gave the team, the number one seed through out the playoffs. The team will play Tiverton in a home preliminary round, playoff game, on Sunday, June 13, at 4 p.m.

“Not having baseball last year was tough on the players,” said head coach Mike Mazzarella. “I’m really happy for the guys. They have worked hard to get better every day. It’s been fun for the coaching staff, to be a part of.”  

 

Huskies score eight runs in the sixth 

Mt. Hope was in desperate need of runs, trailing, 3-0, in the bottom of the sixth inning. Crusaders senior right hand pitcher, Mason Bissitt was dealing a four hit shutout, with five strikeouts and didn’t look to be slowing down. Huskies senior three hitter, Ryan Nappi had singled earlier in the game and did so again to lead off the sixth. Cleanup hitter Cam Conner hit a grounder to Crusaders shortstop Mike Bogosian and he started the double play. Prout got Nappi out at second, but Connor raced down the line and beat the throw to first. First baseman Matt Brackett stepped to the plate and was due. The senior was hitless till that point and he crushed a single to right field, giving the Huskies, runners on first and second, with one out. Sophomore AJ Jones singled home Connor, to make the score, 3-1, Prout. Senior Ethan Leary loaded the bases with a grounder to Crusaders third baseman, Devin Kazarian, who bobbled the ball and made an attempt to throw to first, but Leary beat the throw. Kazarian proceeded to make two more errors in the sixth, for three in a row. Ryan Hopkins hit another ball to Kazarian and he made another error. Brackett scored to make it 3-2. Sophomore Parker Camelo also hit to Kazarian. Another error scored Jones, knotting the game, 3-3. Senior Dave Benevides smashed his second hit of the afternoon and scored Leary, to give Mt. Hope their first lead of the game, 4-3. 

Huskies two hitter, Jack Standish hit a grounder to first base for the second out of the inning. Hopkins scored on the play, to give the Huskies a, 5-3, lead with runners at second and third. Nappi stepped to the plate for the second time in the sixth and smacked his second straight hit. This time for an RBI single, scoring Camelo to make it, 6-3, Mt. Hope. Connor kept the Huskies rally going, singling home Benevides, to make it, 7-3. Brackett up for his second time in the inning, hit a single to score Nappi and give the Huskies an, 8-3, lead. Bissett got jones to hit a fly to Kazarian and he finally made a play to end the inning. When the dust cleared, Mt. Hope led 8-3 and sophomore AJ Jones, the Huskies closer of late, was making his way out to the mound. 

 

Mt. Hope pitchers hold Prout to three runs

Senior starter Ethan Leary pitched three scoreless innings with three strikeouts and two walks. Senior Seth Cloutier pitched the fourth and struggled. Prout managed two hits and a run before Cloutier got Noah McParlin to fly out to Benevides in centerfield. McParlin hit the ball to shallow center, and the speedy Benevides  made a sliding catch for the out. 

Jones came on for the fifth and promptly walked the first two batters. The sophomore then hit Prout lead off hitter, Jaden McCoy, to load the bases. Prout scored a run on an infield fly and another on a passed ball, to give Prout a, 3-0, lead. Jones got control of his nasty fastball and struck out, Prout three hitter, Jack Kesner and four hitter, Kazarian, to get out of the inning with out any further damage. The big righty struck out two more Crusaders in the top of the sixth. 

Jones walked out to pitch the top of the seventh with a shiny new 8-3 lead. He went to work straight away, getting Prout’s Derek Gesmondi to fly to Standish in left field for the first out. Jones struck out McCoy for the second out. Bogosian singled and Jones struck out Kesner on three straight fastballs to end the game. 

“Our pitching staff did a great job of keeping us in the game,” Coach Mazzarella said. “The bats exploded in the sixth. It was a nice way to end senior day and the regular season.”

 

 

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