MHS 2011 Playoffs: North Kingstown Ends Middletown Baseball Season

After losing to North Kingstown 11-6 on Wednesday night, the Boys Baseball Team went into the second of a three-game series Thursday night facing elimination. This was it. Do or die. A win would have forced a deciding Game 3. A loss meant the team's incredible postseason ride would be over.

Game 2 was as good a baseball drama as one could draw up.

The game remained scoreless until the bottom of the third inning, when Middletown starting pitcher Armand Rugel helped his own cause, ripping a 2 RBI triple to give his team the early 2-0 lead.  The Islanders added another run in the second to take a 3-0 lead into the fourth.

Middletown No. 1 starter Armand Rugel threw all he had at the top seeded Skippers. For five innings he shut them down. But in the top of fifth, NK's Patrick O'Connor ripped a 2 RBI double of his own to cut his teams deficit to one.

Armand settled and got out of the inning allowing only the two runs. His team led the NK squad 3-2, heading into the bottom of the sixth.  

The Islanders couldn't score any more runs in the sixth and allowed the NK team a chance to get back in the game in the top of the seventh.  

They did just that, scoring the run to tie it up and shut down Middletown in the bottom of the seventh to send it into extra innings.

Middletown brought in a new pitcher to replace Armand Rugel. It ended up costing them the game.  

The two teams remained locked at 3. It was in the ninth inning when the real baseball drama began to unfold. 

Bottom of the Ninth

No.13 for NK, Austin Barry, hit an RBI double to break the tie and give his team a 4-3 lead. NK added another two runs to take a 6-3 lead into the bottom of the ninth.

The Islanders could have given up. They saw their first lead disappear. They saw the tie game get broken open by NK's potent bats. Both teams in fact, showed tremendous resolve in the bottom of the ninth. For Middletown, they loaded the bases, knocking in a run and making it a 6-4 game with one out.

With the bases loaded full of Islanders. A 3-0 count amped up the drama another few notches. Another ball and NK would walk in a run.  

NK's #3 Alex Marzilli, who had taken the mound in the seventh, threw two straight called strikes.  

Now the drama was as big as it gets in baseball.

The Final Pitch

Bases loaded. Two outs. 3-2 count. Bottom of the ninth. The Islanders were down 6-4. 

A gapper could win the game or at the very least tie it up.  

Alex Marzilli got set. Pitched from the stretch. Checked the runners. Threw the ball with whatever gas he had left in the tank, striking out the Islanders to end the game, win the series for NK, and end the Islanders 2011 season.

Final score was 6-4, NK winning it in nine innings.

Post Game

With NK winning the series (2-0) over Middletown, they advance to the State Championship Series, which begins on Monday.

For the Islanders, a great 2011 postseason ride is over. They showed great heart down the stretch and should take that home with them, despite the heart crushing loss.

Islander Head Coach Eric Godin shared his thoughts on his teams performance in the elimination game against NK. "Well I think what happens is Armand Rugel sets the tone with our energy level.  You know he battled.  He got the strikeouts when he needed them most, and we kind of feed off his energy on the mound.  You saw him battling late in the game. And then Stu Bramen comes in as a sophomore, and they know his situation, they cheered for him. They battle for him, they were fighting for him in the end. That I think kept us in it the most."

I asked Coach Godin his final thoughts on the 2011 season overall and the great ride they had in the playoffs as a No.10 seed. "It's been a great season. These guys came in in March and they took the challenge. Having gone 14-4 last year, I think they rose to that challenge this year. They saw how those guys were last year, and they put their own stamp on Middletown baseball by playing as well as they have in the playoffs and making it this far."

The Islanders should be proud of the season they had. They battled.  They never gave up or gave in.  The mark of a true champion.