LOCAL ROUNDUP

Babe Ruth 14’s still in regional mix

Posted 7/30/14

The Cranston Babe Ruth 14-year-old all-stars missed an opportunity Monday night but are hoping to get another one at the New England Regional in Westfield, Mass.

Playing in the winner’s bracket …

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LOCAL ROUNDUP

Babe Ruth 14’s still in regional mix

Posted

The Cranston Babe Ruth 14-year-old all-stars missed an opportunity Monday night but are hoping to get another one at the New England Regional in Westfield, Mass.

Playing in the winner’s bracket final, Cranston fell 2-1 to the host team from Westfield and will now have to win three games in two days to capture the regional championship.

“Do I still think we can win this thing? Absolutely,” said manager Bob DeCosta. “But like we told these guys Monday night, we blew a golden opportunity.”

Cranston took a 1-0 lead on Westfield in the first inning thanks to hits by Jake Mellor and Mike Doire, but it stranded two runners in that frame and two more in the second. Starting pitcher Jake Palazzo struggled with his control but managed to keep his team in front until the fifth inning. Westfield tied the game in that frame on a sacrifice fly.

In the sixth, two walks and a single loaded the bases, and Westfield scored the go-ahead run on another walk. Cranston put a runner on in the seventh but he got picked off, and Westfield finished off the win with a strikeout.

Cranston will play the loser’s bracket final on Wednesday, against the winner of Tuesday’s game between Trumbull and Pittsfield, Mass. A victory there would move Cranston into Thursday’s championship round, where it would have to beat Westfield twice.

“It’s going to be difficult, but if we can start swinging the bats like we’re capable of, we’ll have a chance,” DeCosta said.

Cranston opened the tournament Friday with a 7-6 victory over Plymouth, who was the regional runner-up last year. Brett Traficante tossed a complete game, while Doire and Griff Mason delivered key hits. Against Trumbull on Saturday, Cranston won 6-1 behind a strong performance by pitcher Steve Rocchio, who struck out seven.

CLCF 12’s finish as

runner-up

CLCF earned its first-ever World Series berth last Thursday when the 10-year-old team won its regional, and the league nearly made it two in the same night. The 12-year-old team came out of the loser’s bracket to play in the championship round of its regional in Dover, N.H., but fell to perennial powerhouse Danbury, Conn., 10-2 to finish as New England runner-up.

Playing in the 50/70 division for just the second year, CLCF beat Newtown, Conn., in its regional opener then topped Exeter, N.H., for a spot in the winner’s bracket final. It ran into Danbury there and lost but stayed alive last Wednesday with a victory over Methuen, Mass. Danbury ultimately had too much for CLCF in Thursday’s rematch.

Danbury will represent New England at the Cal Ripken 12-year-old World Series in Aberdeen, Md.

CLCF team members were: Cameron Alves, Nick Barbarino, Matt Carvalho, Domenic DeLuca, Braydon Dolbashian, Massimo Feroce, Andrew Florio, Garrett Jackman, Aiden Kermen, Gianfranco Messina, Joseph Ortiz, Cory Rittal and Josh Shaughnessy.

ESE Juniors bounced at states

After a run to the district championship, Edgewood South Elmwood’s Junior League All-Stars went 1-2 and bowed out of the state tournament last Wednesday.

ESE lost its opener 15-4 to Barrington before staving off elimination with an 8-5 victory over Cumberland. Last Wednesday, ESE had to square off with Barrington again and made it closer but lost 15-9 in the loser’s bracket final.

Barrington went on to beat Chariho twice to capture the state championship.

CNB makes playoff round, falls to N.Y.

Cranston National Budlong’s 12-year-old softball all-stars survived pool play at the Little League Softball East Region championship but were bounced in the quarterfinals of the playoff round.

CNB, which made an undefeated run through states, lost its first game at regionals but bounced back to win its next two games in New England pool play. It lost its pool play finale 3-0 to Connecticut but still advanced to the quarterfinals as the third-place team from the New England pool.

Matched up with New City Little League of New York, the second-place team from the Mid-Atlantic pool, CNB fell 3-0. New York pitcher Kaitlyn Fudge struck out 13 in the shutout and though CNB kept New York close, it couldn’t get over the hump.

New York advanced to a semifinal game on Friday and fell to Robbinsville, N.J. Robbinsville went on to beat Exton, Penn., to capture the region championship.

Cranston Babe Ruth 15’s set for regional

The state champion Cranston Babe Ruth 15-year-old all-stars will open play at the New England Regional in Manchester, N.H., on Saturday.

Cranston will play the Eastern Massachusetts champion in its tournament opener at 1:30 p.m. The tournament runs through August 7.

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