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End of the line for Darlington American |
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Thursday, 09 July 2009 |
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By ERIC BENEVIDES Sports writer
PAWTUCKET --- This one got ugly in a hurry.
Middletown belted three home runs and sent 13 batters to the plate during a 10-run uprising in the top of the first inning of its District II losers’ bracket game against Darlington American at Slater Park.
The end result was a 13-2 triumph by the visitors that was stopped after four innings by the 10-run mercy rule and ousted DALL from the Major Division tournament.
“Middletown’s a very good team,” added DALL coach Jim Mello, who was back at the helm after a seven-year absence to coach the Collette Vacations Post 79’s American Legion squad. “I told our kids after the game that if we play that team 10 times, we may get them once. They’re that good.”
Middletown only collected seven hits in the contest, but took full advantage of five walks, three errors, and a hit batsman.
The visitors had six of their hits in their opening at-bats, and their first two were homers to straightaway center field by the Sullivan brothers, Cam and Brendan, that quickly grabbed the game’s momentum.
Cam Sullivan’s leadoff homer came on a 1-2 pitch by DALL starter Anthony DiBiasio that cleared the fence by 15 feet, while the other Sullivan’s blast came on a 3-1 offering and went two-thirds of the way up a tree in the same location as his brother’s shot.
DiBiasio’s outing was done after the second homer, and he was replaced by Evan Santos, who walked the first batter he faced, Liam O’Regan, on four pitches, uncorked a wild pitch that sent O’Regan to second, and gave up an unearned run when O’Regan raced home on an infield error.
One out later, Middletown made it a 4-0 game when Dylan Smith’s belted a line single to left that was inches away from the reach of third baseman Vin Noriega and allowed Matt Alofsin to cross the plate.
“We had to make a move (after the homers) because there’s no tomorrow if we lose,” added Mello. “We went to someone who has been consistent, but he seemed like he was a little nervous, and we didn’t help him out with our errors and another ball we probably could have caught.”
Middletown soon loaded the bases on a ground single to left by Terry Hogan and a hit batsman, and with two outs, Cam Sullivan laced a ground single to left to drive in two runs and put the visitors ahead by a touchdown.
After Brendan Sullivan’s routine grounder was kicked away for an error and reloaded the bases, O’Regan unloaded them by ripping a 1-1 pitch by Santos into the trees in left for a grand slam homer.
“If that first inning’s four or five (runs), it’s a different game,” added Mello. “With 10, that’s an outrageous number. We’re a smallball team, so that takes that aspect of the game away, because when you’re down 10, you only have so many outs to work with and the 10-run rule after four innings.”
After O’Regan’s blast, Mello brought in another pitcher, Eddy Barber, who proceeded to strike out the first batter he faced to end the inning and five of the six batters that stepped to the plate through the next two innings.
The hosts, meanwhile, tried to take advantage of a touch of wildness from Brendan Sullivan, Middletown’s southpaw pitcher, who held DALL to two singles and struck out five batters, but also issued five walks in the first two innings.
In the first, DALL’s first two batters, Alex Lopez and DiBiasio, tried to get things going with four-pitch walks, but Sullivan came back to get the next three outs on a groundout and two strikeouts.
In the next inning, DALL finally got on the board with the help of some free passes, as Barber drew a leadoff walk, and two outs later, Ryan Maslowski and Lopez also walked to load the bases.
DiBiasio then tapped a routine grounder that was thrown away for an error, and that allowed Barber and Maslowski to cross the plate and Lopez to head to third, but Sullivan soon ended that threat with another strikeout.
“Their pitcher was a little wild in those first few innings,” said Mello. “If we could have chipped away and pushed two runs across in the first and maybe a few more after that, we might have got back in the game.”
In the third, DALL collected its hits when Santos and Nathan Duffy ripped singles to center, but Sullivan retired the next three batters he faced on pop flies.
Middletown finally scored its last three runs and reclaimed its double-digit lead in the fourth with the help of four walks by Barber, a throwing miscue, and a two-run single to center by Hogan.
The defensive play of the night was turned in by DALL right fielder Austin Gordon, when with two outs in the second, Gordon made a diving catch on a shallow fly ball by Hogan that prevented him from having a 3-for-3 day at the plate.
DALL finishes tournament play with a 1-2 record that includes a defeat to Bristol in its opening game and a victory over Barrington in its first losers’ bracket affair.
“We asked a lot of the kids when they committed to this team on June 15,” noted Mello. “We didn’t have many days off, expect for the times it rained, and everyone bought in. I think we kept on getting better, and as a staff, we just tried to teach them the game the right way.”
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Last Updated ( Sunday, 19 July 2009 )
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Saturday night I attended the semi-final girls basketball
game vs Townies Girls team as an aunt of one of the EP players. It was an exciting
all-around game for both teams, and I give credit to my niece and the Townie girls
too for a great season. <br />I just have to say though, that I was
particularly impressed with the talent, poise and unflappable playing style of this
Tolman girls team! It can only speak well of a great coaching staff, and their love
and encouragement of these talented girls. After the game, the low-key humilty that
the Tolman girls displayed, showed real sportsmanship and class. I have a feeling
that this season is the "Year of the Tiger" and hope that they go straight on to
victory in the championship. No matter what the outcome though, they've gained a new
loyal fan in me, and I look forward to following the next seasons with real
interest. This is the way that high school sports should be played! You go Tolman
girls! - Regina Orio
THANK YOU TO THE PAWTUCKET TIMES AND THE WOONSOCKET CALL
FORV THEIR GREAT COVERAGE OF HIGH SCHOOL WRESTLING IN YOUR PAPERS IT IS VERY MUCH APPERICATED!! A SPECIAL THANKS TO TERRY NEAU FOR HIS EXCELLENT COVERAGE OF CUMBERLAND CLIPPERS WRESTLING AND FOP ALL THE GREAT PICTURES YOU PUT IN THE CALL THEY ARE AWESOME!!!THANKS AGAIN!!! - Dawn Lariviere
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