Baseball: Thunderbolts Timely Hitting Handles Hurricanes

Cranston East is on the cusp for a post-season berth and needed to take care of business against Warwick Vets on Sunday afternoon. Despite blowing a lead, they were able to produce two late runs, and won the game 3-1.

The Thunderbolts staple all season long has been effective pitching and solid defense. "We keep ourselves in every game because of our pitching and defense," head coach Mike Walsh said.

East junior Josmar Ventura drove in a run on a single to right field in the top of the first, giving the Bolts a 1-0 lead.

The two starting pitchers, Vets Cory Muto and Thunderbolts Brandan Budlong, were both effective and did a great job shutting down the offenses.

In the bottom of the 5th, the Hurricanes' captain Michael Nelson scored on a wild pitch, tying the game at 1, after reaching base with a single.

Thunderbolts junior Paul Spetelunas came up to bat in the top of the 7th as a pinch-hitter with two runners in scoring position. He brought in a run on a fielders choice ground out and Steve Bucci followed with an RBI double, giving the Bolts a 3-1 lead.

Bob D'Arezzo was called upon to shut the door in the bottom half of the inning, and struck out the side perserving the win. 

"We have used him as a closer and his velocity is a good 5-7 MPH faster than all of our other pitchers," Walsh said.

The Thunderbolts improve to 7-10 and wrap up their season tomorrow at Barrington. With the win on Sunday afternoon, Cranston East will likely qualify for a playoff berth.