Lincoln’s comeback kids
Burrillville grabs 7-0 lead; Lincoln scores final 11
Little Leaguers erase 7-0 deficit, top Burrillville
BURRILLVILLE — Down seven runs in the second inning of an elimination game was not where Lincoln Major Division All-Star coach Ken LaBrie wanted to be Tuesday night against talented Burrillville.
But, LaBrie had a simple message for his kids after Marcus Rodrigues stranded a runner at first to end a three-run second inning.
“Honestly, I just told the kids there’s no way the final score was going to be 7-5 or 7-6,” LaBrie said. “It was going to be something like 12-7. I said ‘Let’s slow the game down. Let’s try and go pitch by pitch.’ We ended up doing that. We slowed them down because they were just hitting us all over the place. I was worried at seven, but I was comfortable we could come back with our hitting.”
Lincoln scored six runs over the next two innings against Burrillville starter Josh Simpson before No. 8 batter Elijah Moffat completed the comeback with a grand slam in the fifth inning to give Lincoln its first lead of the contest.
Rodrigues, who belted a solo home run in the third inning, proved to be the star of the game. After giving up three runs in the second, the righty allowed just one hit and struck seven batters over the next three innings to earn the victory in an 11-7 District 4 losers’ bracket conquest at Peck Field.
“Marcus was fantastic,” LaBrie said. “I was not (looking to bring him in the second inning). Our pitching staff is a Chinese menu because I don’t have a No. 1. I have to mix it around. My goal was to have everyone available for Thursday, but he was pitching so well I had to leave him in.”
Burrillville finally felt the impact of playing four losers’ bracket games in the last seven days. While Sunday’s walk-off win over Smithfield was impressive, it came at a cost. Ace Carlo Acquisto wasn’t available to pitch Tuesday, which meant Burrillville had to turn to relievers after Simpson was pulled following the fourth inning.
Offensively, Burrillville received superb contributions from the top of the order. Ben DiChiaro led the way for the eliminated side with a three-run home run in the opening inning. Acquisto added an RBI double and two runs scored, while Cam DeSante chipped in with a solo home run in the first.
“I think we got complacent,” interim Burrillville coach Chris Hall said. “I think that five-run inning in the fifth really deflated our sails. I’m disappointed in the fight we showed at the end because that’s not who we’ve been all along. This is a great group of kids and we went on a nice little run the last few weeks.”
Hall was filling in for coach David DeSante, who was in California for a sales convention. DeSante would’ve been very happy with the text messages he saw after the opening inning because DiChiaro and DeSante blasted back-toback home runs to bounce Lincoln starter Ryan Thompson from the game.
Rodrigues earned the final two outs of the inning, but then he gave up an RBI double to Acquisto and an RBI single to Brayden Desrosiers before Simpson scored an unearned run to finish Burrillville’s scoring.
Simpson used a sharp curveball to set down the first eight Lincoln batters, but then he gave up back-to-back home runs to Gian Coppolino and Rodrigues in the third. Nathan Turcotte (fielder’s choice), Jake Kye (walk), Moffat (single) and Coppolino (fielder’s choice) all scored runs in the fourth to cut the deficit to 7-6.
“We had to make some adjustments at the plate and then we finally started hitting the ball,” LaBrie said. “We moved up to take his curveball away because his curveball was working real well. That seemed to help us a lot.”
Catcher Caden Specht led off the fifth with a single and he came around to tie the game on a wild pitch. With Turcotte on third base, Brady Mellen on second and Jake Foster on first, Moffett launched a 3-1 pitch for a grand slam to put his side up 11-7.
To make sure Rodrigues could pitch in a potential first title game against Cumberland American Saturday, LaBrie brought in Turcotte to earn the final three outs. Turcotte, Thompson and Foster are all available to pitch in the losers’ bracket final against Scituate/Foster.
S/F will likely counter with ace Andy Del Santo, who dominated North Smithfield in his last start 11 days ago.
“I’ve heard a lot of great things about their team. They’re a fantastic team,” LaBrie said of S/F. “They’ve played really, really good baseball this summer; that’s what I’ve heard from a lot of people. I’ve personally not seen them, but they’re a good team.”