Warriors walk off against rival Shea

PAWTUCKET – After Shea High had plated five runs in the top half of the seventh inning to gain a four-run cushion during Tuesday afternoon’s drizzle, Central Falls coach Carmen Ruiz – deep down inside anyway – already had begun assembling her post-game speech to her girls. That is, how they had needed this win to help them qualify for the upcoming Division III post-season tournament, but also how proud she was of them for continuing to battle valiantly, and do so with undying cheer and spirit. Turns out, she never had to use that soliloquy, not after the Warriors manufactured an astonishing fiverun surge in the back of the pivotal frame and grab out of thin air an improbable 12-11 walkoff win over Shea at Max Read Field. “Oh, my God. I feel like I’ve run a marathon!” Ruiz laughed after two unearned runs had crossed the plate to clinch the verdict. “Before the inning started, I just told the kids to do anything to get on base. I said, ‘Don’t do them any favors and swing at bad pitches; if you walk, you walk. Just take it.’ “But for it to happen this way, it blows my mind.” Describing what occurred in that bottom of the seventh would be as painful for Shea fans to hear as thrilling as it would be for Warriors’ followers to tell. The Raiders, with junior righty Ashley Torres in the circle, held an 11-7 lead after that huge previous half-frame, but Torres allowed senior Lucy Vicente a ground double down the left-field line, and she took third when freshman Savanna Martinez reached on an infield error. Junior Tamalee Torres then drew a walk to fill the bags, but Ashley Torres struck out junior Savannah Anibal for the first out. She, however, walked junior Kelsea Moran to score Vicente before classmate Tamara Negron bounced to shortstop Antonette Cooper, who threw out Martinez at the plate. Senior Dianna Jimenez sliced the deficit to one with a two-run single to left, then stole second. That’s when the incredulous happened. The talented righthander struck out junior clean-up hitter Sydney Gibbons with a low curveball, one that caromed off the dirt, but she took off for first as any alert player would. Shea’s junior backstop, Mishayla Culhane, promptly retrieved the ball and threw to first baseman Niulka Pagan, yet she wasn’t awaiting the toss for the third out. It got past her, and Negron scampered in with the tying run, with Jimenez earning the clincher. “I can’t believe it; we needed this win so badly to make the playoffs,” Ruiz said after CF upped their league mark to 5-7. “We also need to beat Times2 on Thursday (in our season finale). This was incredibly important to us; it was a high stakes game. “I’m so excited,” she added. “I think our defense helped keep us in it. We made a lot of good plays out there.” Amazingly, Ashley Torres had to accept the loss, despite yielding only four hits. However, she did walk 10 batters, strike five more and toss five wild pitches in her seven-inning outing. She also whiffed 10. As for Moran, the triumphant pitcher, she yielded 12 hits, includ- ing three for extra bases and all 11 runs (five earned), but issued only three passes while striking out seven. Simply put, she was more accurate. Jimenez paced the CF lineup, going 1-for-4 with two stolen bases, three RBIs and two runs scored, while Negron went 1-for-4 with a theft, two RBI and two runs; Vicente 1-for-2 with two robbed bases and two runs; Moran 0-for-3 with a pair of walks, two stolen bags, an RBI and run; and Tamalee Torres 0-for-0 with two walks, two thefts and two runs. According to Ruiz, the contest also served a purpose for the Central Falls community. “We had decided long ago that we wanted to make a donation to our local food bank at Progreso Latino, and decided this would be the game to do it,” she explained. “Because it was also our Senior Day (home game due to soil contamination at Macomber Stadium), we wanted to get fans here, so I gave the girls a mission. “I told them they had to go around school and take two selfies each of them with one other person, and they had to hold up a sign promoting this Senior Day,” she continued. “It also said we would donate $5 for each stolen base we had in this game, and we ended up with 13, so $65 will be going to the food bank.” She stated that money would come from the money they raised during a few fundraisers this spring. As for the tilt itself, for Shea, Ashley Torres finished 2-for-2 with a dinger, two walks, an RBI and four runs; classmate Fayth Charon 2-for3 with a double, two RBI and a run; Pagan 2-for-4 with two RBI; Culhane 3-for-4 with a triple, RBI and three runs; and sophomores Sophia Panzo and Yasmine Santos 1-for-4 with a run. The Raiders jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the first after Panzo belted a leadoff triple and scored on a throwing error. Culhane and Ashley Torres also reached on infield hits and scored on two additional of four miscues in the frame. CF sliced the deficit to 3-1 after Negron walked, robbed second, took third on a wild pitch and scored on Jimenez’ groundout, yet Torres walloped a two-out homer deep over the left-field fence in the third to push the advantage to 4-1. The Warriors knifed it to 4-3 in the fourth after Nayaliz Albiza walked and reached third on consecutive wild pitches. Vicente was hit by a pitch and stole second, and – with two down – Merlyne Gil was struck as well. Anibal plated Albiza with a walk, and Vicente scored when Moran reached on a dropped fly to first. Shea fought right back with a pair – and with two outs. Culhane smoked a hit to left and Ashley Torres accepted an intentional walk, and Charon drilled a two- run double down the leftfield stripe to push it to 6- 3. CF countered with a run in the fifth after Jimenez drew a pass, robbed second, took third on an error and scored on a wild delivery, then finally gained the lead at 7-6 with a trio in the sixth. Tamalee Torres and Anibal both walked and moved up on thefts, and Negron’s opposite-field hit to right scored both; Negron eventually cane in on two more miscues. Trailing 7-6 in the top of the sev- enth, skipper Steve Cooper’s crew had to respond, and did in style. Santos poked an infield single, and Culhane tripled her home. Ruiz then decided to intentionally walk both Ashley Torres and Charon, and it came back to haunt her, as Yesly Jimenez reached on Moran’s fielding error Pagan then played the role of heroine (at least temporarily) with a two-run single to left, and there were still no outs when she robbed second. Brianna Andrade, however, popped out to Tamalee Torres at second, who promptly tagged Pagan for the unassisted double play, and Antonette Cooper bounced out to short. That merely set up CF’s stunning final half-inning. “This is heartbreaking for kids like Ashley and Mishayla, players who live for the game, but it’s painful for all of us,” coach Cooper said after his club fell to 5-7. “I told the kids (following the game), ‘We’re still in the playoff hunt. We have one more to go (against Classical at home on Thursday).’ They’re pretty good, but we’re capable of beating good teams. “We also talked about the fact we made too many mental mistakes, and we have to remedy them; we have to be more focused.” He hesitated, then added that – losing on a strikeout/error – “it does it make this all the more painful.” Shea 301 020 5 – 11 – 12 – 10 Central Falls 100 213 5 – 12 – 4 – 6 Ashley Torres and Mishayla Culhane. Kelsea Moran and Sydney Gibbons. 2B – Fayth Charon, Lucy Vicente. 3B – Culhane, Sophia Panzo. HR – Torres.