Upper Deck finishes season
Legion team enjoyed successful campaign
LINCOLN – Perhaps the best way to summarize the Upper Deck Post 86/14 Junior Division team’s solid campaign comes in the form of Blake Zaniol, a Lincoln High senior-to-be and shortstop.
According to UD mentor Joel Landry, Zaniol unknowingly had suffered a broken leg early on in the Lions’ varsity season but didn’t realize it.
“He played on it for three games with Lincoln before he was diagnosed, so had to sit out the rest of the season,” Landry stated. “He also had to sit out our regular season, and you could tell it was killing him. He wanted to play.
“The doctor finally cleared him for the Legion playoffs, and he contributed at the plate and defensively despite that hiatus,” he added. “The kid is tough as nails.”
That also can be said of the entire UD squad. The campaign didn’t end as it had hoped, not after Gershkoff/Auburn Post 20 of Cranston defeated it twice in the championship game and “if-necessary” contest (by scores of 11-1 and 6-5, respectively, at West Warwick’s McCarthy Field on Friday, July 28.
Landry’s kids nevertheless provided the coaching staff – and themselves – with a truly memorable season, one that closed at 15-6 overall.
“I thought it was very successful, and that the kids played very well,” he said.
“We had one string of about eight games in seven days because of all the rain, and we went 6-2 in that stretch. I had to pitch some of the younger guys, those who hadn’t pitched all year, because the playoffs were about to start; we wanted to rest our usual starters.
“The kids were down after that final loss,” he continued. “My message to the team was ‘Sure, it’s disappointing, but overall, we did have a great season, so you should all be proud. You fought all year long, you busted your tails, but you can’t win every game.’
“I have to tip my cap to the Gershkoff squad, which won the regular-season title with a 14-1-1 record; they’re very well-coached and they’ve got a lot of talent, some really good arms. They came up with timely hits and played super defense.”
UD had rolled to an 11-4 regular-season mark, then opened the state tourney with a 4-3 victory over South Kingstown Post 39. La Salle sophomore-to-be Kyle DeLuca headlined that decision, hurling 6.1 innings to gain the win, while Sam Ferranti manufactured a double and two walks while being beaned by a pitch and scored a run. Angelo Landry chipped in two RBI with a single and sacrifice fly.
In the second tilt, Landry’s crew earned a thrilling, 2-1 walkoff triumph over R&R Construction Post 18 of Newport. With the score knotted at 1 in the back half of the seventh, Mike Clapprood singled, took second on DeLuca’s sacrifice bunt, gained third on a passed ball and hustled home on Evan
“‘Sure, it’s disappointing, but overall, we did have a great season, so you should all be proud. You fought all year long, you busted your tails, but you can’t win every game.’” – Upper Deck coach Joel Landry
Kirkpatrick’s sacrifice fly to deep right.
Ferranti, a righty, tossed a completegame four-hitter with two walks and five strikeouts.
That gave UD (which captured the league’s Northern Division crown) the No. 3 seed for the Final Four, but it couldn’t carry that momentum forward. Gershkoff forced the if-necessary contest with the 11-1 “mercyrule” victory.
Still, Post 86/14 immediately jumped out to an early 3-0 cushion when Josh Slaney, Adam Bertherman and Jeff Lisi all reached to juice the bags, and Angelo Landry clubbed a sacrifice fly to plate Slaney. Ferranti followed with a two-run double.
Gershkoff sliced the deficit to 3-2 in the fourth, then tied in with a solo run in the fifth, yet UD regained the lead at 53 in the sixth. Ferranti and Slaney both reached, and Zaniol smoked a deep fly to center. When two outfielders converged on the ball, one dropped it, allowing both to scamper home.
The hosts, however, plated three in the bottom of the seventh to clinch the title. Each run scored on via an error.
“Our pitchers were fantastic,” Coach Landry said of Ferranti, DeLuca, Bertherman and Clapprood, all righties. “Kyle actually had shut out Gershkoff, 6-0, in a regular-season game at Cranston West. Mike was also our clos- er, and he was dominant.
“Our catcher, Evan, caught every game in the playoffs, and every game during that stretch of eight games in seven days,” he added. “Sam was 6-0 overall on the mound, was our war horse out there, our iron man. We gave him the ball, sent him out there and left him alone until he reached his pitch count. Sammy was Mr. Set-It and Forget-It.
“Kyle was 5-1, and he had a phenomenal curveball and great movement on his heater. Angelo hit well over .500 for most of the season, Adam was Mr. RBI and Jeff Lisi was our best extra-base hitter. The lineup was driven by our first two batters, Josh Slaney and Jason Marolla.
“All of these guys were a thrill a minute to watch.”
Those who made up the UD roster include Slaney (Mount St. Charles senior); Marolla ( Lincoln junior); Bertherman ( Cumberland senior); Lisi (LHS senior); Landry (Lincoln senior); Sam Ferranti (LHS sophomore); Alex Ferranti (LHS frosh); Nick Toro ( Lincoln freshman); Kirkpatrick ( CHS sophomore); Clapprood, Vincent Tarara, Aiden Heaney and Zack Leduc (all CHS freshmen); Ryan Slaney (MSC freshman); and, finally, Zaniol.
Landry’s coaching staff included Kevin Dicomitis and Rob Sharkey.