Oakers too much for Tigers
Salzillo homers for third straight contest in D-I home loss
PAWTUCKET — Coventry softball coach Chris Daigneault has spent the season pitching both freshman Sierra Ricci and sophomore Diana Petrarca in nearly every game, but Tuesday afternoon, Petrarca pitched too well to be relieved.
After giving up a mammoth two-run home run to Tolman senior Megan Salzillo in the second inning, the sophomore only allowed two hits and a run over the final six innings of the Division I contest.
“I thought Diana just kept them off pace the whole game with her change-up,” Daigneault said. “It’s unusual, I haven’t been pitching her the whole game, but I figured if I put Sierra in they would hit her because she throws a little faster and that’s what Tolman does. Honestly, I called three pitches inside and one of them was hit to Guam, so we just stayed with changeups and stayed away.”
Coventry grabbed the lead in the first inning with three runs and never looked back. Sophomore centerfielder Jordan Dwyer had three hits and scored two runs, while junior catcher Jess Dabreo had three hits and scored a run to lead the third-place Oakers to a 7-3 win over the Tigers at Slater Park.
Tolman (7-9 Division I) came into Tuesday’s game having won its last three games since a home loss to Woonsocket last week. The Tigers have proved to be a difficult opponent for the Oakers since they moved up to Division I, but the home side struggled to mount an attack against Petrarca.
Salzillo led the way with her two-run home run to cut her team’s deficit to one, while senior Hannah Caliri had an RBI single and junior centerfielder Ally Larson added a single and a run scored.
“Coventry is a real good hitting team and we fell behind early,” Tolman coach Craig Giarrusso said. “We battled, but we just didn’t have enough to come back from a 3-nothing deficit. Going into the playoffs, we need to re-focus as to what our individual jobs are. We need to figure out what we’re trying to execute and play softball the way we’re capable of from the beginning of the game.”
Coventry (12-3 Division I) knows it will be the No. 3 seed in the playoffs with a win either against Bay View on Thursday or Pawtuxet Valley rival West Warwick on Friday. Daigneault, who has coached the Oakers to three state titles and five finals, expects to be in the same half of the bracket as reigning state champion North Kingstown.
Daigneault would like to avoid a single-elimination game one season after his fourth-seeded squad lost to No. 13 Smithfield.
“Moses Brown is the best team – without a doubt,” Daigneault said. “They hit and they have three pitchers they can use anytime they want. Hopefully, we get a bye in the first round because that’s usually scary for us. My pitchers have both brought their ERAs down from the first five games, but we’re going to give up a few runs every game.”
The Oakers jumped all over Caliri in the opening inning, as Dabreo singled and scored on a triple to left by Dwyer. The speedy sophomore scored on a Marisa Allen single. Caliri was forced to leave the game when Cassie Lukowicz lined a ball off the senior’s left thigh.
Caliri returned in the sixth inning to single in Larson.
“It hit her directly in the side of the thigh and hopefully it hit all muscle,” Giarrusso said. “I reentered her to get an at-bat and she didn’t limp when she hit that single, so hopefully it’s nothing major.”
After setting down the Tigers in order in the first, Petrarca ran into trouble in the second when Brittany Baptista singled and Salzillo followed with a two-run home run to left field. Salzillo has now homered in three straight games after homers in wins over Smithfield and Chariho.
“There’s not many that fly out of here,” Giarrusso said. “She got all of it. It was a good swing on a good pitch.”
Coventry responded with a home run of its own in the fifth inning when Ricci lined a ball to the fence in left field. Dwyer followed with a bunt single and scored on a double to left by Tarah Dawley.
“We came out hitting right away against their first pitcher and then we had to make an adjustment to the other pitcher,” Daigneault said. “Later in the game, we made those adjustments and we started hitting the ball again.”
Coventry added a pair of runs in the seventh inning thanks to Dawley’s second double of the game and an RBI single from senior shortstop Carly Furtado.