Survive and advance
Clippers top Pilgrim in D-I 1st-round game
CUMBERLAND — The No. 6 Cumberland baseball team overcame a two-run deficit in the first inning and a one-run deficit in the third to overcome No. 11 Pilgrim, 6-5, in a Division I Regional II first-round game at Tucker Field Tuesday.
The Clippers took the lead for good in the fourth inning when junior second baseman Nick Croteau hit an RBI double and then came around to score on a Zach Fogell single. Fogell, a senior lefty headed to Brown, earned the victory after allowing seven hits and four runs in 6.1 innings of work. He also had seven strikeouts.
“He shut them down after the first inning and kind of got himself out of trouble as the game went on,” Cumberland coach Andy Tuetken said.
“He went deep into the game, which was very important because it saved our bullpen with another game coming up quickly.”
Cumberland is the only team in the winners’ bracket quarterfinals who doesn’t know who it will play tomorrow afternoon. That’s because No. 3 Cranston East and No. 14 Portsmouth were postponed. The teams will meet at Cranston Stadium today.
If Cranston East wins than the Clippers will travel to Cranston tomorrow, but the Clippers would host the Patriots if they pulled off the upset. Regardless of the opponent, talented sophomore lefty Brendan Wright will take the mound.
“It’s a great opportunity for us,” Tuetken said. “Winning the first playoff game is huge, but every game is just as big as the last one. We’re excited for Brendan to pitch his first playoff game.”
Pilgrim will play the the loser of the Cranston East-Portsmouth game Friday afternoon.
Offensively, catcher Reuben Hancock and Evan Marcet each had two hits, an RBI and a run scored.
Reliever Michael Nocera earned the save after allowing a run in .2 innings of work. Nocera stranded the game-tying run at third with a strikeout.
Pilgrim 202 000 1–594 Cumberland 021 300 0–690 William Martino, Nick Laremee (4) and Kyle Denis; Zach Fogell, Michael Nocera (7) and Reuben Hancock.