Rosa produces walk-off single in 12th

PAWTUCKET — It didn’t look good for the St. Raphael baseball team after two innings against reigning Division II champion Ponaganset.

The Saints, however, battled back and forced extra innings before scoring once in the eighth and three times in the 10th to keep the contest going. Eventually, the Saints found a way to win the game as Ivan Rosa delivered his fifth hit of the afternoon to drive in Pat Fleming in a 1312 12-inning win at Vets Park Tuesday afternoon.

“We had a lot of guys step up in this game,” St. Raphael coach Tom Sorrentine said. ‘We had some great relief pitching from a number of kids and guys had some big hits. We didn’t look good in those first two innings, but the guys stuck with it and we won.”

St. Raphael (8-7 Division II) saw Rosa come up a home run short of the cycle after producing five hits and five RBIs. James Coleman and Fleming each went 3-for-6 with two runs scored and an RBI.

Sophomore Conor O’Brien earned the victory after pitching a scoreless 12th inning.

Ponaganset (9-4 Division II) built a three-run lead in the 10th inning, but the Saints answered with three runs of their own. Sophomore Bellamy Gutierrez started the inning with a single and then Justin Simmons drew a walk. Following a Colmen single, Fleming scored Gutierrez with a single. Brendon Aldridge plated Simmons with a ground out and Rob Costa was hit with a pitch to score Coleman to send the game to the 11th inning.