CALL plays for state title today
Western comes back, wins in extra innings
Cumberland faces Cranston for Little League crown
JOHNSTON — The Cumberland America All-Stars had rolled through virtually of their opponents during this post-season, and looked great doing it, posting a 7-0 overall mark.
They nevertheless ran into a buzzsaw in Cranston Western during the make-up cham- pionship clash of the R.I. Little League Major Division (11-12) Tournament at Kennedy Field on Friday night.
CW manufactured a game-tying run in the top of the sixth inning on a passed ball, then erupted for three more in the seventh to claim a wildly-entertaining 9-6 triumph over CALL before at least 400 fans.
In essence, CALL lost in a “homerfest,” with four of the visitors’ 11 hits leaving the park, and three of CALL’s six doing the same. CW, however, took advantage of three singles, an error and a walk to force the “if-necessary” showdown back at Kennedy Field today at 1 p.m.
For skipper Gary Bucci’s bunch (now 8-1 on the summer), Colby Kuzman finished 4for-4 with three dingers, four RBI and four
runs scored, while Vin Healey went 1-for-4 with an RBI and run; Jake Snowling 1-for-3 with a blast and run; and Nick Williams 1-for-2 with a run.
On the CALL side, No. 3 batter Joey Cote closed at 3for-3 with two homers, a walk, five RBIs and two runs; Scotty Penney 1-for-3 with a run; Dante Figueira 1-for-2 with a homer, a walk, an RBI and a run; and Matt Gauvin 0-for-1 with a walk and a run.
Charlie Tarara took the loss; in 1.2 relief frames, he yielded one hit, two runs (one earned) and a walk with a strikeout. CW righty reliever Chris Piscione gained the victory, yielding two hits (one a blast), one run (earned) and four passes while whiffing a trio in 3.2 innings.
Kuzman started the home run derby in the top of the first, walloping starter Jack LaRose’s second delivery of the contest well over the leftfield fence, but CALL responded in kind.
In the back half, after Tarara had drawn a one-out walk, Cote drilled righty starter Perry Gaudreau’s 1-2 pitch into the woods in left to give the District 4 champions a 2-1 advantage.
In the second, Dante Figueira ripped another blast (with one down) over the same wall to raise the CALL lead to 3-1, yet Kuzman led off the third with a solo homer to virtually the same spot to slice the deficit to 3-2.
Head coach Tony Tarara’s crew tacked on three more in the fourth. Matt Gauvin reached on an infield error, Scotty Penney walked and Cote smoked a three- run homer to straightaway center to increase the cushion to 62.
CW rallied, once more, in the top half of the fifth, with the leadoff Snowling pounded a 3-1 blast to center, Nick Williams singled and Kuzman roped his third homer far past the center-field lights to slice the deficit to one.
That’s when the elder Tarara replaced LaRose with lefty George Sukatos. He escaped that frame, virtually unscathed, but he yielded the tying run after walking Nick Perrotta. He took second on a wild delivery, then third on the same. Sam Lucas walked to put runners at the corners, and Charlie Tarara’s wild pitch plated Perrotta.
In the fateful seventh, Kuzman knocked a hard single to right, but Tarara got both Gaudreau and Piscione to line out to center fielder Sukatos. But he walked Marcus Chung, who moved to third on Healey’s opposite-field single to left (and the resulting throw home), and Chung hustled in when Perrotta reached on an infield bobble.
Lucas’ infield hit plated Healey with an insurance run.
Piscione tossed a flawless seventh, retiring CALL in order.
If Tarara and Co. want to earn a trip to the New England Regionals in Bristol, Conn., it will have to right the ship – and quickly.
CWLL 101 031 3 – 9 – 11 – 2 CALL 310 300 0 –6 – 6 – 1 Perry Gaudreau, Chris Piscione (4) and Justin Weinstein. Jack LaRose, George Sukatos (5), Charlie Tarara (6), Andre Mastin (7) and J.J. Sanzi. HR – Colby Kuzman 3, Jake Snowling, Joey Cote 2, Dante Figueira.