The Cranston West baseball team grabbed a 17-6 win over rival East last week in extra innings, adding another thrilling chapter to the city’s rivalry as each team seeks some momentum toward their respective Division I playoff pushes. 

West put up six runs in the second inning in what looked to be a blowout in the making, but the Bolts battled back to tie the score in the bottom of the sixth to force extra innings. The Falcons’ bats exploded to 11 runs in the top half of the eighth inning which would be more than enough to grab the win.

“What changed for us was our mental approach. After we put the six runs up we got complacent. Knowing that we should have never allowed it to get to extra innings sparked something in us. We batted around the order and felt the energy in the dugout,” said West’s Jack Fontaine, who finished the day with two hits and two RBI.

West senior Chris Barboza was busy in the team’s win, getting the start on the hill and tossing five innings and recording eight strikeouts. On top of pitching duties, he also drove in four runs on two hits and crossed home three times himself.

“Since it was Cranston East versus West, we really just wanted to beat them. It will boost us later on, this will boost our momentum the rest of the season,” said Barboza, who hopes the win will fuel the experienced Falcons in the back half of the regular season. “I love being out here, I love pitching. I grew up with a lot of these guys so I was excited. We should go far this year because we have seniors and juniors. It will help knowing that we all played together, grew up together, having that chemistry helps.”

After falling behind 6-0, the East offense began chipping away at the deficit. The Bolts got a run back in the bottom of the second and added two in the fourth and three in the sixth. Tyler Chisolm drove in multiple runs for East while Joshua Gillen knocked in another. 

East pitcher Damien Wholey threw 5 1/3 innings in relief and would help the Bolts settle down as they worked toward the comeback. Wholey struck out seven batters and shut out the Falcons until the eighth inning.

“He gave us a hard time in relief but we were finally able to get their bullpen,” said West coach Rob Malo, who emphasized the little things in getting the win. “We played some small ball when we had to. In any game baserunning is important, those things in a close game can make a difference.”

Malo, too, hoped that the rivalry win would help propel the Falcons to some wins as they try to shake off a slow start this spring. 

“We’ve been struggling, had a couple of tough losses where we left plays in the field. Our eighth inning today, that’s happened to us a few times so it’s nice to be on the other side of it,” said Malo.

The Falcons were back at it the following day when they took on Coventry and they earned an 8-5 win to improve to 3-4 in league play.

Barboza stayed sharp at the plate as he drove in three runs on two hits. Nick DiLorenzo got the win on the mound, pitching 4 2/3 innings and striking out a pair of batters.