Oakers come back to top Woonsocket
Belisle proud of team’s first game back against Division I competition
COVENTRY — Because of postponements for previously scheduled games, Friday afternoon’s showdown between Coventry and Woonsocket served as each side’s official first contest of the season.
Battling through a number of brief rain spurts, the Villa Novans, playing their first game in Division I since moving up from D-II, proved that they have what it takes to compete with a team of Coventry’s caliber. However, despite staking themselves to a pair of early leads, Woonsocket couldn’t hold on to either one of them, as the Oakers, fueled by a Jordan Dwyer three-run blast, rallied for 10-8 win.
Cassie Luckowicz broke an 8-all tie in the bottom of the sixth as part of a two-run inning before the Novans were retired in the top of the seventh.
Despite the defeat, Woonsocket head coach Dan Belisle was proud of his team’s effort, but noted that there are certainly areas of play in need of improvement.
“I thought we hit the ball very well, we weren’t sharp on defense, pitchers weren’t sharp, but that’s to be expected early in the year,” Belisle said.
The visitors jumped out to an early lead, tagging Coventry starter Sierra Ricci for three runs in the top of the first before a successful double steal in the second made it 4-0, giving their own starter, Lundyn Forcier a reasonably comfortable lead with which to work.
The Oakers got back one of the four runs they surrendered in the home half of the second on an RBI base hit to left field by shortstop Carly Furtado, but it would be three batters later that the course of the entire game changed.
Following a double by Leah Giampietro that put a pair of runners on base with two down, centerfielder Dwyer then belted a 2-2 pitch just over the right field fence to tie the game 4-4, as her teammates came during out of the dugout to greet her upon her arrival at home plate.
Coventry coach Chris Daigneault pointed to that moment as one that put the charge back in his team’s bats.
“It was early, but we weren’t necessarily hitting them. I think that fired them up a little bit and we started putting the ball in play,” he said.
The Oakers would need to keep that offensive success going, as the Villa Novans responded in the top of the fourth with their second three-run frame of the day, grabbing a 7-4 lead. Sophomore Holly Letourneau drove home a pair of runs on a double to center before Forcier helped out her own cause with an RBI single of her own.
Offense was not an issue on the day for the Villa Novans, something Belisle spoke highly of after the loss.
“I was happy with the way we hit. I was happy with some of the clutch hits we got. We scored that three-run inning with nobody on and two outs,” he said of the three-spot his club put on the board in the top of the fourth to give them a 7-4 lead at the time.
He has no doubt that his team is capable of competing with anyone in D-I.
“We take away that we surely belong in this league.
A lot of positives there. We’ll take it,” Belisle said.
Trailing once again, the Oakers put together their most productive inning in the home half of the fourth, scoring four times to take their first lead of the day at 8-7. A two-run double by catcher Jess Dabreo and a two-run single by Tarah Dawley highlighted the offensive outburst, eventually leading to a pitching change the following inning, as freshman Lauren Peoloquin took the mound in the fifth.
That ability to keep fighting no matter the score was what left the greatest impression on Daigneault.
“No matter who is out there pitching, we’ve got to never give up. I loved their attitude today. They never gave up, they kept fighting, kept battling,” he said.
Diana Pertrarca replaced Ricci on the mound in the fifth and would wind up pitching the remainder of the game for the Oakers, allowing just one run off the bat of Forcier in the sixth that tied the game 8-8 at the time.
“I thought it was a great job by Diana going in there, finishing the game,” he said.
After Luckowiz drove home what proved to be the game-winning run in the sixth, the Oakers added an insurance run on a passed ball by Peloquin to make it 10-8.