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June 14, 2007

Baseball playoffs set, Hendricken 4-3 over North Kingstown in 8 innings

EAST PROVIDENCE – The Hendricken baseball team was a strike away from going home last night, instead the Hawks are headed to the Final Four.

Trailing 3-2 with two outs and two strikes on the hitter in the bottom of the seventh, Hendricken tied the score on Alex Verrecchia’s run-producing single then scored the winning run in the bottom of the eight as the Hawks posted a 4-3 triumph over North Kingstown in the deciding game of their Interscholastic League Division I Region 4 qualifying tournament at Pierce Field.

The victory moved Hendricken into the four-team, double elimination Division I championship tournament where they will meet Cranston West, the defending state champion, in the opening round Saturday at McCarthy Field in West Warwick.

Portsmouth will meet South Kingstown in the other opening round game on Saturday.
Dan Gamache’s bases-loaded single up the middle, with no outs, brought home Isaac Alves with the eventual game-winning run in the eighth, but it was a gutsy effort by a trio of Hendricken hitters in the bottom of the seventh that gave the Hawks a chance to send the game into the extra inning.

North Kingstown had broken a 2-2 tie with run in the top of the seventh and it looked that was going to be enough for Skippers starter Cody Normand as Normand struck-out the first batter in the bottom of the ninth then quickly got two strikes on the Hawks next hitter, senior Chris Hardy.

But Hardy, who had been a questionable starter because he was suffering from flu symptoms, fouled off four pitches with the two strikes on him before he finally drew a walk.

“He had an awesome at bat. He came through big-time for us,” Hendricken coach Ed Holloway offered about Hardy, who had two hits earlier in the game. “That was the key to our coming back. He just battled and battled. He had been sick today, but he gave it everything he had for us tonight.”

After Hardy gave the Hawks a base-runner, Normand got two strikes on the first two pitches to clean-up hitter, Pat Freeman. Freeman also fouled off a pitch before he hit a slow roller to shortstop on which the Skippers couldn’t make a play at either first or second..

But Normand moved the Skippers only an out from the Final Four when he got the next hitter on an infield popup. That put Hendricken’s fate in Verrechia hands and after falling behind 1-2, he managed to loop a short, opposite-field fly to left that dropped in front of North Kingstown leftfielder Jamale Horn and allowed Hardy to race home from second with the tying run.

That was it for Normand, who had constantly worked his way out of trouble while holding the Hawks scoreless after giving up two runs in the second inning.

Reliever Dave D’Errico managed to get the final out in the seventh, but in the bottom of eighth the Hawks loaded the bases on a walk and two bunt hits giving Gamache the chance to deliver his game-winning hit.

“We battled and we didn’t give up,” said Holloway.

North Kingstown had jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the second when Mark Moran’s sacrifice fly brought home Horn, who had led off the inning with a walk.

Hendricken came right back with two runs in the bottom of the second.

Gary Hunt’s one-out double drove home the first run and Evan Marzilli’s sacrifice fly produced the other run.

North Kingstown, however, didn’t waste anytime tying the score as D’Errico doubled home the tying run in the top of third.

Normand and Hendricken starter Dave Palms then took turns working their way out of trouble over the next three innings. Hendricken stranded five runners over the next four innings and North Kingstown left six runners on base from the fourth through the sixth.
North Kingstown finally took a 3-2 lead in the top of the seventh when Jeff Cammans reached on a walk, stole two bases then scored on a throwing error of Horn’s grounder to short.

But Hendricken wasn’t finished.

After the Hawks tied the game in the seventh, Alves led off with a walk, Hunt bunted for his fourth hit of the night and Marzilli loaded the bases with another bunt hit. Gamache then delivered his game-winning hit..

“We could have packed it in,” Holloway said. “Their pitcher is really a great pitcher who does a real good job. But our guys fought and came through. It was a great comeback.”

North Kingstown 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 – 3 5 1
Hendricken 0 2 0 0 0 0 1 1 – 4 13 2
Normand, D’Errico (7) and Cammans; Palms, Curran (7) and Adams.

Posted by Thom Cahir  at 9:21 PM to High School | Permalink

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Posted by: elliot cohen at June 14, 2007 11:31 PM

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