CALL, North Smithfield reach semis
4-run uprising in fifth leads NS to victory
NORTH SMITHFIELD — The District 4 Major Division bracket set up for an underdog squad to reach the winners’ bracket final.
North Smithfield could be that underdog.
With title favorites Cumberland American along with powerhouses Lincoln, Burrillville and Smithfield all on the bottom side of the bracket, North Smithfield saw an opportunity to reach its first winners’ bracket semifinal since 2009.
After spotting visiting Cumberland National a three-run lead after two innings Saturday morning at Pacheco Park, North Smithfield scored once in the third inning and then Seth Pickering, Max Mattos, Ethan Harnois and Brendan Pendergast scored runs in the fifth inning of a 5-4 victory.
“This is fantastic. It’s a great feeling,” veteran North Smithfield coach Jason Dubois said. “This year, I do think we have a good bunch of kids. We’re looking at from the approach of ‘You’re all 12 years old and this is your last chance in Little League. Let’s have fun and enjoy this experience.’
“I just want them to do what they do in practice. I think it helps them perform.”
North Smithfield will play in the winners’ bracket semifinal Wednesday night against either Scituate or Glocester at a site to be determined. Cumberland National will play either Burrillville or the loser of the Scituate-Glocester game in an elimination contest Friday night.
The last time North Smithfield advanced this far in the District 4 tournament, they were eliminated by eventual D-4 and state champion Lincoln, 6-0, in 2009.
“I think we’ve got a good shot of doing well, but I’m not looking too far ahead and we just have to worry about the next game,” Dubois said. “I felt like we were in a good spot to start out. This is my sixth or seventh year coaching in Majors and this is the first time we’ve won our first game. I’m very pleased with the group we have.”
After Cumberland National starter Nolan Santos held North Smithfield off the scoreboard, the visitors grabbed a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first thanks to three North Smithfield errors. Brady Hogan delivered a one-out single and then Santos reached on an error. Ryan Galant and Steven Zacaro also reached on errors in the inning.
Andrew Farley increased the lead to 3-0 in the second with a one-out home run, but that was the last run starter Aidan Ahern allowed.
“We made a few physical and mental errors in the first inning to fall behind,” Dubois said. “I told them I knew we could do it and they could recover from it. We have a lot of the kids back from last year and we’re just taking the same approach. We just forgot about the mistakes and took it from there. I felt more confident once we settled down.”
Mattos produced a one-out single and scored on a two-out hit by Pendergast to cut Cumberland National’s lead to two. Troy Senn rebuilt the visitor’s two-run advantage in the fifth after a one-out single.
North Smithfield grabbed the lead for good in the bottom of the inning, as Senn and fellow reliever Hagan struggled to find the strike zone. Pickering, Matos, Ahern and Cole Vowels all drew walks in the inning. Harnois and Pendergast hit one-out singles and both came around to score to put North Smithfield up 5-3.
Harnois, who played on Dubois’ regular-season team, struck out the side in the sixth to secure the win.
“He did not give up a single run all year,” Dubois said. “It’s different at this level because he’s facing better hitters, but I felt pretty confident once I saw he could get their good hitters out. They got a little frustrated and we took advantage.”