The Oakers were desperately seeking a win on Saturday afternoon in order to keep their slim playoff chances alive. A solid outing by their starter gave them a much needed 5-0 victory.
Chariho visited Coventry High School for a baseball game on a sunny Saturday afternoon. Coventry junior Cote Nichols pitched 6 1/3 innings, allowing 0 runs, 5 hits, 4 walks, and notched 5 strikeouts. Their offense took advantage of several errors by the Chargers.
Nichol's single in the bottom half of the first produced the first run when the centerfielder misplayed it. Junior Troy Fredette brought him home with a double down the first base line and Coventry led 2-0.
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The Oakers scored again when the second baseman threw the ball past first base on a grounder by Brandon Sullivan.
In the bottom half of the third inning, Sullivan produced a run with a sacrifice fly to right field. Junior John Croft followed with a single to center extending the lead to 5-0.
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Nichols did not allow a hit until the the top of the fifth. After two consecutive hits, he recorded the third out preserving the lead.
In the sixth and seventh innings, the Chargers stranded the bases loaded, failing to score. Coventry held on for the 5-0 victory and needs a win on Monday afternoon against Portsmouth for any hope of reaching the playoffs.
David Cunningham, Chariho's head coach, has seen progress as the season has moved along. "We are a much better team than we were at the beginning of the year," he said. "Their pitcher made good pitches in tough situations," the coach added.
Coventry's head boss, Leo Bush, spoke about his starter's performance today. "Cote Nichols threw a gem today and had a no hitter going into the 5th inning," he said, "We are getting some timely hitting and taking advantage of other teams’ mistakes."
