West falls to SK in semis

By ALEX SPONSELLER
Posted 6/5/19

The Cranston West baseball team wrapped up its season last week, topping Lincoln 1-0 in the Division I Prelims, then falling to South Kingstown 5-4 in 10 innings in the quarters. Evan Smith shined on the mound in the prelims against Lincoln, pitching a

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West falls to SK in semis

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The Cranston West baseball team wrapped up its season last week, topping Lincoln 1-0 in the Division I Prelims, then falling to South Kingstown 5-4 in 10 innings in the quarters.

Evan Smith shined on the mound in the prelims against Lincoln, pitching a shutout while holding the Lions to just three hits while striking out three. Evan Degaitas, Anthony Cardi and Jake SanAntonio each collected hits in the loss to South Kingstown in the semis.

Despite a rocky start to the season, the Falcons picked up the pace down the stretch and emerged as a contender in Division I.

“You always hope to finish on top, but overall, I was very pleased with the outcome of the season. The kids worked hard day in and day out, they continued to get better. We played well down the stretch in the most important games,” said West coach Rob Malo.

Although the Falcons entered the season with a new-look roster, which lacked a bona fide ace on the mound, Malo was pleased with the way his hurlers stepped up and filled the void as the starting rotation became arguably the greatest strength of the club down the stretch.

“Not knowing what our pitching staff would look like this year, we had maybe 10 innings of varsity experience from last year and for the first time in a few years didn’t have an all-state pitcher returning. The kids stepped it up. Evan Smith, Massimo Feroce, Jack Delehanty, Noah Cook, Dylan Demers and Cooper Krusz out of the bullpen, they all stepped up big and did their job,” said Malo.

The Falcons will now flip the page to 2020. Although they are once again set for some roster turnover, Malo believes that the experience gained during this postseason run will pay dividends for the returning players that are poised to lead the way.

“We’ll return Jack and Massimo as starters and Dylan Demers will be in the mix if he’s not working out of the bullpen. We have four positional players back, we’ll be fine,” said Malo. “This has been huge, to get these guys a taste of that playoff experience, competing in a 1-0 game then losing 5-4 in 10 innings, those games were pressure-packed and one play could make a difference. It will definitely help next season.”

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