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Saints topple Townies |
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Saturday, 19 April 2008 |
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By MICHAEL PARENTE Sports writer EAST PROVIDENCE — With two games behind them this week, and one more looming on the horizon Saturday, the Saints got exactly what they needed from Drew Given on Friday morning.
The senior left-hander pitched a complete game five-hitter in his first start of the season as the Saint Raphael Academy baseball team cruised past East Providence, 9-1, at Pierce Field.
“I tried to mix my fastball, curveball and knuckleball,” Given said. “It worked for me.”
Given spent the first two weeks of the season playing the field, but the Saints (4-3 Division I) needed him to join the rotation Friday — and give them a quality start — because they’re scheduled to play four games in six days, culminating with today’s 11 a.m. showdown against Woonsocket at Barry Field.
Aside from one minor speed bump in the bottom of the fifth inning, Given never ran into any serious trouble Friday. The Saints jumped out to a 4-0 lead after three innings, allowing him to settle into a groove and mix up his pitches to keep the Townies off balance.
“This was the week we had four (games), so we needed him to go seven,” Saints head coach Tom Sorrentine said. “That was big today. He pitched real well.
“He did a good job pitching. He wasn’t just out there throwing. He was mixing it up. He’s got a little knuckleball and a curve, and his fastball moves a little bit, so he can do some things on the mound.”
Given didn’t throw particularly hard, but he mixed speeds well and worked the outside corners of the plate. The Townies (3-5) never adjusted offensively, either swinging late at his fastball or jumping out way ahead on his off-speed pitches.
“Soft lefty,” East Providence head coach Alex Kanelos said. “He was on the outside corner all day and got ahead of us. We haven’t been hitting the ball all week, so we mixed up the lineup today, but, unfortunately, when you go into a hitting slump sometimes you’ve got to grind your way out of it. Our offense wasn’t there. We had guys on base; we just haven’t gotten that key hit when we need it.”
The timing of Given’s first start of the season couldn’t have been better. The Townies feature a predominantly left-hand hitting lineup, including first baseman Bryant Soderberg and designated hitter John Graham, who finished a combined 0-for-5 against Given with three strikeouts.
“We didn’t know they had that many lefties, but it worked out in our favor,” Sorrentine said.
“To those guys, those soft-tossing lefties are tough,” Kanelos said. “Sometimes, they’re tough on everybody, but left-handers even more so.”
Saint Raphael’s offense provided more than enough support for Given, scoring six earned runs on nine hits against starter Jeff Cantrell. The sophomore right-hander allowed only one walk, but hit three batters and failed to get out of the sixth inning.
Nick Gaj did most of the damage offensively for the Saints, finishing 2-for-2 with four RBIs — all in the first three innings. Tom Votta went 2-for-3 with two runs and John Kashmanian doubled twice and finished with two RBIs.
Gaj gave the Saints a 2-0 lead with a two-run single in the top of the first and made it 4-0 in the third with another two-run single, this time with outs. He also walked twice.
“Gaj came up with those two big hits early. We got some key hits when we needed them,” Sorrentine said. “We didn’t really move runners well bunting-wise, but we wanted to get (Given) some runs, and he pitched great for us.”
The Saints broke it open in the fourth when they scored four more runs on RBIs by John Robbins, Brandon DeCesare and Kashmanian. Another run crossed the plate when Votta got caught in a rundown between first and second and stayed alive long enough for Given to score from third. Votta eventually reached second base safely when Soderberg’s relay throw hit him in the back.
Given ran into trouble in the fifth when the Townies loaded the bases with one out on two singles and a walk, but he quickly settled down and got Nate Lovett and Derrick MacLeod to ground out to end the inning. Lovett’s grounder to third drove in East Providence’s only run.
“After that, I just relaxed and kept going,” Given said.
The sophomore worked quickly through the sixth and seventh, and got help from his infield on a 6-4-3 double play off the bat of Mike Fisher to end the game. Given not only led Saint Raphael to a much-needed win following Wednesday’s loss, but may have also set himself up for another start down the road.
“We like bringing in a lefty in certain situations, so it’s great to have one,” Sorrentine said. “If he’s going to give us outings like this, then he’ll be right in the mix.”
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Saint Raphael 202 401 0–9 11 1
East Providence 000 010 0–1 5 1
Drew Given and John Robbins. Jeff Cantrell, Cameron Costa (6) and Derrick MacLeod. 2B – John Kashmanian 2.
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 22 April 2008 )
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