Warriors doubled up in Division III opener

CENTRAL FALLS – Even after suffering an 18-9 loss to Classical in her Division III-A season opener at Macomber Stadium on Monday afternoon, second-year Central Falls High head coach Carmen Ruiz remained remarkably upbeat.

Her Warriors amassed only two hits and made a whopping 10 errors in the field, but Ruiz explained it was a far cry from what she had witnessed the previous campaign, when Central Falls dropped 11 of 13 league contests.

“I’m proud of them; there’s no other way to say it,” she stated. “It’s probably the best I’ve seen them play. Last year, for me, it was a learning experience. I didn’t know anybody, all the players were new to me, so I had no relationship with them. I had to get used to them, and them to me.

“I wanted to take the program in a different direction,” she added. “Our tryouts were different, and so were the practices. I didn’t want anyone missing games or being late to practice. I stress ‘student’ first and ‘athlete’ second. I wanted to tighten the reins, and I took it right back to Softball 101 for a lot of the players.

“I stress fundamentals. This was only our first game, and I’ve already noticed they’re playing more like a team – they’re cheering each other on, they listen to my instructions and are paying attention. They’re more focused in the batter’s box, they were waiting on pitches. It used to be that they’d get up to the plate and, being nervous, they’d just swing at pitches. They were more patient (Monday), and for that, I give them a lot of credit.”

Junior righty Shanelle Germosen collected the win with a two-hitter, but she also walked 11, threw five wild pitches and struck three Warriors while fanning 11.

The key for the Purple (1-0) came from the offense. Germosen’s classmate/catcher Haley Butler went 2-for-4 with two doubles and five RBI, while Germosen herself finished 3-for-5 with four RBI and a run scored.

Senior Emily Helgerson chipped in a 2-for4 outing with four runs; junior Chantal De Los Santos went 2-for-5 with five runs; classmate Marian Reyes 2-for-3 with an inside-the-park homer and three runs; fellow junior Libby Sullivan 2-for-3 with two runs.

All came off of sophomore righthander Kelsea Moran, who yielded 13 hits, nine walks and two wild offerings. She, however, did allow only six earned runs and whiffed a quintet.

As for CF’s offense, Moran closed at 1-for3 with two RBI and a run, while senior backstop Ana Santos went 1-for-3 with three stolen bases and a pair of runs; senior co-captain Daijah Smith 0-for-1 with two “freebies,” a hitby-pitch, two robbed bags and three runs; junior Lucy Vicente 0-for-1 with two walks, a stolen base and run; and classmate Gabrielle Cruz 0-for-1 with a pair of walks and a run.

“Like I said, we’d be more timid last season, but we were aggressive on the basepaths,” Ruiz said. “In the past, a lot of those walks would’ve been strikeouts, so we’re definitely seeing more discipline, and it resulted us in scoring more runs.”

Classical jumped out to a 4-0 cushion from the get-go, as leadoff batter Helgerson walked, stole second and scored on a pair of errors. De Los Santos reached on another miscue, Butler walked and Reyes laid down a bunt single to load the bases.

Germosen followed with a two-run single to center, and Sullivan drove in Reyes with a hit. With two runners in scoring position, however, Moran struck out two and forced another to ground out to the circle to close the frame.

The Warriors sliced the gap to 4-1 in the bottom of the first when Smith walked, robbed second and scored on consecutive wild pitches, though the Purple tacked on two more in the second on Butler’s RBI groundout and Germosen’s crushed hit to right-center.

It also notched three more in the third, courtesy of Kaylee Beato’s groundout to first and Butler’s two-run double to left-center. That gave the visitors a commanding 9-1 advantage.

CF responded with a quartet in the back half. Sophomore and No. 9 hitter Savannah Anibal and Smith both drew one-out walks, and Moran whacked a two-run single to short center. Santos contributed another soft hit, and those two scored on passed balls to slice it to 9-5.

Classical managed a run in the fourth (Sullivan singled and scored on a misfired pitch), and a trio in the fifth. Highlights included De Los Santos ripping a single to left and racing around the bags on a three-base error, and Reyes crushing a dinger to deep left, giving it a 13-5 lead.

The Warriors knifed into the deficit when Vicente walked, moved to second on a passed ball, and – after getting stuck in a pickle – scored on an infield throwing miscue.

The Purple manufactured five more in the sixth, with help from Butler’s two-run two-bagger to left, and she hustled home on Germosen’s hit to right. That lifted it to the 186 lead, yet CF didn’t fold.

With that patience Ruiz had raved about, the lineup accepted four walks (without a hit) and ran itself to three runs – Gabby Cruz scored on a passed ball, Smith on a second and Santos walked, robbed two bases and sprinted in on another wild pitch.

Umpires nevertheless stopped the game after the sixth, as – according to R.I. Interscholastic League rules – no new inning may start after two hours of action. Still, CF avoided 10-run mercy-rule verdict, doing so with spunk.

“It may have helped if we had (junior) Dianna Jimenez available,” noted Ruiz of her first baseman. “She suffered a concussion in our scrimmage at Juanita Sanchez last Thursday, but we’re hoping to have her cleared by our trainer on Wednesday.

“We’re going to Exeter/West Greenwich on Thursday.

“I was very pleased with how we battled,” she added. “The girls showed some fight and never stopped working. That’s definitely a plus.”