Wizards’ Knott shuts down Burrillville in crucial D-II game

Broncos had chances to tie game late; host St. Raphael Monday afternoon

WEST WARWICK — With the regular season drawing to a close, the West Warwick baseball team is looking simply to improve with each passing game in what has proven to be a rebuilding process for an up and coming squad.

Entering Sunday night’s contest against the Burrillvile Broncos at McCarthy Field, the Wizards managed to benefit from timely hitting and clutch pitching from starter Colby Knott, as they held on for a 5-2 win, running their record to 5-10.

Knott recorded all but one out on the mound before freshman Mason Provoyeur came into the game with two on and two out and struck out sophomore Tyler Crandall on three pitches to seal the win.

The Broncos fell into an early 3-0 hole, but managed to pull to within a run at 3-2 before a two-run bloop single off the bat of Nick Pecchia reupped the West Warwick lead to 5-2 in the sixth.

It was a difficult loss for the visitors who now sit at 6-9 on the year and find themselves teetering on the edge of playoff contention.

Burrillville coach Brian Lyonds gave credit to Knott for keeping his team relatively quiet on the scoreboard.

“That kid threw well, nice strikes. They made their plays. We weren’t very patient at the plate, but they played well,” he said.

For the Broncos, Cameron Toti got the ball, but the sophomore didn’t make it out of the second inning.

The Wizards pounced on their Broncos in the first, with first baseman Charlie Tashjian driving home a pair of runs on a two-out base hit to make it 20. Chris Gaipo got the rally started with a two-out single to right before promptly stealing second.

A ground ball to third off the bat of Travis Caddick appeared to bring the inning to a close, but the throw from third pulled first baseman Michael Keable off the bag, with Gaipo moving to third to put runners on the corners. Caddick took second uncontested before Tashjian drove both of them home.

Toti started the second, but was quickly replaced by junior Keith Doucette after the Wizards put runners on the corners with nobody out. A throwing error by catcher Sam Hetu allowed West Warwick to take a 3-0 lead, but Doucette was able to keep them in check from there. He would pitch the next two frames before Keable came on in the fifth.

After plating an unearned run in the top of the third, Burrillville caught a break in the sixth when Knott was called for a balk, allowing a run to score with only one out, but Zach Lefebvre and Hetu would each fly out to end the frame.

After falling behind 5-2 following Pecchia’s bloop base hit, the Broncos attempted one more comeback, but ultimately fell short.

Senior Josh Dichiaro reached on a two-out single before Jason Cabral drew a walk, resulting in a pitching change with the tying run coming to the plate, but that would be as far as the visitors would get. Provoyeur retired Crandall on three pitches, bringing the night to a close.