Schools
Boys Baseball: Falcons Pound Patriots
Cranston West wins fourth straight game, defeating Pilgrim 12-2
Giving teams more than three outs in an inning is always dangerous. One team found out the hard way on Wednesday afternoon.
The Pilgrim Patriots faced off against the Falcons in a baseball game. Pilgrim's defense let them down, as they committed six errors. Cranston West defeated the Patriots 12-2 in five innings, due to the ten run rule.
In the bottom half of the first, Pilgrim's first error cost them a run. Starting pitcher Kyle Fitzsimmons threw the ball past the first baseman on a grounder, and the Falcons Matt Pagano reached third base. Senior Jeff Diehl brought in the run with a ground out to second base.
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Fitzsimmons cost himself another run in the bottom of the second, when he threw the ball past the third baseman, and the Falcons scored another run, upping the lead to 2-0.
West senior Steven Stravato brought in a run with an infield single and Pagano doubled to right field, driving in another run. The Falcons lead was extended to 4-0.
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The Falcons added another run in the bottom of the third when Pilgrim second baseman Brandon Greenburg dropped a pop up, allowing the runner from third to score.
West's offense was relentless throughout the game. In the bottom half of the fourth, they scored six runs, pushing the lead to 11-0. Diehl notched two more RBI's on a double to right center. The Falcons took advantage of two errors by the Patriots in this half inning.
Pilgrim refused to die and a RBI single by Alex Nadiger cut their deficit to 11-2, and forced West to bat in the bottom of the fifth. Because of the ten run rule, the Patriots needed to score at least two runs in the top of the 5th.
Diehl tripled to begin the bottom half of the 5th, and scored on a wild pitch, ending the game. The Falcons won it 12-2 and improve to 11-5 on the season. The loss drops the Patriots to 9-7.
Falcons starter, Ryan Faria, allowed two runs in 5 innings of work and struck out five batters.
Rob Malo, Falcons head coach, spoke of his pitcher's performance. "Faria threw the ball well today," he said, "The kids are working hard in practice."
