Woonsocket Baseball: Villa Novans Lose to Johnston, 2-1

Kory Lawrence pitched a complete game for Woonsocket Wednesday, but Johnston’s Gian Bianchi tossed five innings of one-run ball and collected a pair of RBIs, propelling the Panthers to a 2-1 victory in their home opener.

Lawrence kept the Panthers off the board in the first and second innings, but Bianchi gave Johnston the lead with a two-run single in the third, plating Steven Perfetto and Christopher Pistacchio. Johnston moved another man into scoring position with two outs, but Lawrence got Nicholas Loffredo to end the inning.

“I thought it was a well-pitched game,” said Woonsocket head coach John Marsella. “I thought both sides were ready. We brought our best game out and today Johnston was just better.”

The Villa Novans pushed a run across in the fifth, but they could not score another before Bianchi handed the ball off to freshman Joseph Bongiovanni in the sixth.

The left-hander struck out one in his first inning of work, stranding a runner at second, and fired a 1-2-3 seventh, ending the game with a strike out on a 3-2 pitch to Woonsocket captain Luis Chala.

“We know Woonsocket,” said Johnston head coach Stephen DeMeo. “If we want to win the division, we’re going to have to get a leg up on those guys.”

Lawrence made it tough for Johnston, retiring the first three Panthers he faced in order, and a brilliant defensive play by shortstop William Andino helped keep the Panthers off the board in the second inning.

“[Woonsocket’s] pitcher pitched a very good game,” DeMeo said. “We hit the ball on the button a few times, but they made all the plays.”

Andino stymied Gregory Doutre’s bid for the Panthers first hit, laying out to glove a sharply hit ground ball on the edge of the infield dirt, then getting to his feet and firing a strike across the diamond that beat the Panthers captain to the first-base bag.

Bianchi had to work his way out of trouble in the first two innings before getting some help from his left-fielder, Michael Pennachia. The sophomore took a hit away from Woonsocket’s captain, Kevin Reyes, to begin the third, and both pitchers moved into the bottom of the inning with shutouts intact.

The Villa Novans and Panthers will meet again May 6 in Woonsocket, but they must first close out the week with games Friday. Johnston will take its 1-0 record to Lincoln for a showdown with Davies, and Woonsocket will visit Burrillville in search of its first D-II victory.