Panthers Extend Streak To Six Games With 4-1 Win Over Northmen

The varsity baseball team got another strong outing from one of its pitchers on April 21, as Gian Bianchi turned in a 3-hitter against the North Smithfield Northmen in a 4-1 victory. The game had been rescheduled from April 20 due to weather.

On a windy and raw Thursday morning, Bianchi kept his pitch count low — in three successive innings, he threw 6, 7, and 8 pitches — and sophomore Mike Pennacchia and junior Chris Pistacchio each contributed home runs to extend the Panthers' record to 6-0.

"Twenty-one pitches in three innings — that's great," coach Steve DeMeo said after the contest, which ended barely 90 minutes after the first pitch, "and Stash (Pistacchio) iced the game with that two-run homer."

After three scoreless innings to start the contest, Pennacchia — his left eye still looking swollen after catching a defender's knee in the face during the — drilled a no-outs shot over the left field barrier to make the score 2-0 before Northmen hurler Connor Narodowy struck out two Panthers and led Johnston senior Eric Silva to hit a liner to center field for the third out.

Bianchi made quick work of three North Smithfield batters in the bottom of the fourth, with two ground-outs and a caught foul-tip on an 0-2 pitch. Narodowy responded with his own 1-2-3 in the top of the fifth, whiffing Pistacchio, getting Bianchi to pop out to right field, and gathering a grounder off senior Ryan Geraghty to close out the inning.

The score stayed 2-0 until Bianchi gave up a run-scoring grounder to center, bringing the Northmen within one. Right after the score, Bianchi nailed down a three-pitch strikeout.

After senior Steve Almagno grounded to third, sophomore Steven Perfetto walked, and pinch-hitter Joe Bongiovanni popped out to third base in the top of the seventh, Pistacchio teed up the first pitch offered by Narodowy and drove it deep to center to extend the Panther lead to 4-1. Bianchi hit a short chopper back to the mound, leading to the third out.

In the latter half of the seventh, Bianchi looked to be in trouble after giving up a walk. Similar to the April 18 game, though, the Panther defense turned a double play (this time a 1-6-3 initiated by Bianchi), which just about doused their opponents' hopes. Bianchi closed out the game with another strikeout.

Through seven innings of work, Bianchi collected 9 strikeouts, giving up 3 hits and 2 walks. Pennacchia went 2-3 and Pistacchio finished the game 1-for-3, with each player tallying a homer, 2 RBIs, and a stolen base.

Johnston returns home on April 22 for an 11 a.m. game against Burrillville.