Softball: Patriots Take Down Thunderbolts

The Cranston East Thunderbolts (6-9) hosted the Pilgrim Patriots (8-7) on Friday afternoon at the Brayton Avenue Complex. In order to reach the playoffs, East needed a victory. Mistakes in the field and squandered opportunities at the plate led to them failing to reach their goal. Pilgrim won the game 4-2 and begins the playoffs next week.

The game started well for the Bolts when senior Jesse Handler gave them a 1-0 lead with a sacrifice fly.

Pilgrim took advantage of East's poor fielding in the top of the second. The Bolts made a total of four errors during the game. Handler received a ground ball and threw it home, but it went to the backstop and two Patriots players crossed the plate.

They added to their lead in the top of the third when junior Tiffany LeGare drove the ball to right field for an RBI single, extending the lead to 3-1.

East cut their deficit to 3-2 in the bottom of the 4th, but squandered a chance to have a big inning. They had the bases loaded with one out, but Patriots freshman starter Witashnan Ellsworth struck out two batters in a row, ending the inning with minimal damage.

"Witashnan is a good pitcher and throws strikes," Patriots coach Will Aquilante said. 

Patriots freshman Christina O'Brien picked up an RBI on a grounder to right field in the top of the 6th, extending Pilgrim's lead to 4-2. This would be the final run of the game.

"We got a couple of clutch hits," Aquilante added.

Thunderbolts assistant coach, Brian Flinn, spoke about the team's inability to get clutch hits today. "We could not take advantage of our opportunities," he said.

"Kaleigh has been a strong pitcher all season and is a talented pitcher," the coach added.