PAWTUCKET --- Tolman High survived a nailbiter with Davies Tech over the weekend and the Tigers are eyeing another thriller this afternoon against Scituate High. But on Monday afternoon, the drama was nowhere to be found in the Tigers' game against neighboring rival Central Falls High.
Brenda Parker legged out three triples and drove in five runs to key a 19-hit attack and help Tolman cruise to an 18-2 triumph over the Warriors in a Division III game at Slater Park's Al Bailey Field that took 70 minutes to complete and was halted after five innings by the 10-run mercy rule.
The victory kept the Tigers undefeated in 13 games and marked the 11th time this season that they put away a team by 10 or more runs.
Since that defeat, the Spartans (12-1) have rolled off eight straight victories (winning six of them by eight or more runs), and Tolman coach Craig Giarrusso is expecting a difficult rematch with them in today's 3:30 p.m. return to Slater Park.
"It's a big game for us," admitted Giarrusso. "If we win it, then we will probably win the division, but if they beat us, I think it's going to come down to a coin flip because I think we're going to be even all the way through (the rest of the season).
"We're going to have to go out and take care of business, and I think we have the potential to do it. We did it once already, but it's just a matter of getting up for this game and playing as well as we're capable of playing."
The Tigers, who entered the game averaging 16.2 runs and 13 hits a game, exceeded both numbers with their offensive attack, which also saw leadoff batter Erin Girouard enjoy a 3-for-3 game with two runs scored, Tabatha Ghazal single, double, and collect three RBIs, and Kayla Therriault add a pair of doubles.
The Tigers made their presence felt right away by scoring five times in each of the first two innings. In the first, Becky Estrella and Parker belted RBI triples and Ghazal added a two-run double, and in the second, Michelle Wheeler laced a two-run single and Parker smacked a bases-clearing triple to the deepest part of center field.
After the Tigers produced four more runs in the third to take a 14-0 command, Giarrusso cleared his bench, and Stephanie Henriques and Veronica LeJeune ended up producing RBI singles later in the contest.
Tigers ace pitcher Macayla Kirylo only worked the first two innings, striking out the final four batters she faced, and Shannon Deighan finished the contest and allowed both of the Warriors' runs in the fourth, as Melanie Velez led off with an infield single and scored on a run-scoring base hit by Holly Webb and Ashley Delgado later scored on a fielder's choice.
The loss was the fourth in a row for the Warriors, who fell to 4-8.
Less than 48 hours after defeating the Warriors, the Tigers posted a come-from-behind 11-5 win at Slater Park over Davies, which fell to 9-4 and entered the week tied for third place in the standings with Central High.
In that victory, the Tigers committed five errors in the first three innings and found themselves down by a 4-1 score after 3 1/2 innings. But Tolman rallied for three runs in the home half of the fourth to tie the game and went ahead to stay by scoring twice in the fifth.
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