CALL pounds 21 hits, clubs North Smithfield's best
jbaker@pawtuckettimes.com
CUMBERLAND – Prior to Cumberland American’s R.I. Little League All-Star District IV Tournament opener against North Smithfield on Saturday night, skipper Anthony Martin asked his troops not to look ahead but concentrate only on the task at hand.
“I told them, ‘I want you to play this game! We’re going to take it one game at a time,’” he stated. “I also said, ‘Stay focused and play the type of baseball Cumberland American is capable of playing.’”
The CALL lineup didn’t fail their head coach; in fact, they pleased him and his staff so much it almost hurt.
Martin’s bunch racked up 21 hits in all, including 10 for extra bases, and took advantage of 10 miscues to coast to a 30-0 “mercy-rule” triumph over NS at Garvin Field. Umpires called the tilt after righty reliever Alex Iannuccilli struck out the side in the bottom of the third inning.
According to national Little League rules, if a team is ahead of a foe by 10 runs or more after the bottom of the fourth frame, officials will end the game. If the eventual victor is leading by 15 or more, it should be brought to a halt an inning earlier.
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The mound duo of righties Anthony Martin III and Alex Iannuccilli combined for a one-hitter (without a walk) and fanned seven; the lone single went to Anthony Paiva with one out in the first.
As for the offensive stalwarts, Martin III finished 5-for-5 with two doubles, a dinger, five RBI and five runs, while batterymate Luke Plumer went 4-for-4 with a pair of two-baggers, a “tater,” five RBI and four runs.
Other key standouts: Iannuccilli closed at 3-for-5 with three RBI and two runs; Andrew Ray 3-for-5 with two RBI and three runs; Evan MacKenzie 1-for-2 with a blast, three RBI and two runs; Andrew Nocera 1-for-1 with three RBI and two runs; Kyle Larson 2-for-2 with two RBI and a run; Diego Benitez 1-for-3 with three runs; and Jack LaRose 1-for-4 with a homer, two RBI and four runs.
“The kids have worked really hard, and it showed here,” Coach Martin noted. “I was extremely pleased with how we hit the ball. It didn’t surprise me, because I knew we could hit it a ton.”
In essence, the story of the evening wasn’t how CALL ripped North Smithfield, but its mindset entering the second round of the tourt ney: It will travel the short distance to Randy Hien Field to face perennial D-IV powerhouse Lincoln at 6 p.m., Monday night. d “Lincoln is a great team and it’s going to
be a heavyweight fight on Monday,” Martin d the elder said. “Obviously, it’s going to come down to us hitting the ball again and playing well defensively. It’s a great program that’s been well-coached for a long, long time, so we’ll see what happens.”
(For the record, Lincoln skipper Dale O’Dell and assistant Joe Conti took in the conr test to witness what CALL had to offer. They must have left impressed – but undaunted).
As for the game itself, the NS defense didn’t help southpaw starter Casey Norton much in the top of the first. He fanned the first batter, then allowed Martin III a base hit to center. LaRose followed with a fly ball to right, which was dropped, and Martin III scored the first on an errant throw.
After Norton whiffed Benitez, Plumer walked and Iannuccilli ripped a two-run hit to left. Joaquin Cardoso then reached on another dropped pop before MacKenzie bashed a three-run bash over the left-field fence – one that caused his mom to cry tears of joy – but Norton escaped the inning with only a 6-0 deficit.
While CALL held a commanding lead after the first, sending 10 to the plate, it pushed 14 into the batter’s box while racking up 11 more in the second. Highlights included two NS errors and nine hits, among them Larson’s tworun single; Ray’s double; Martin III’s two-run two-bagger; LaRose’s two-run dinger; then a Benitez hit and a Plumer opposite-field, tworun crush.
That made it 17-0.
The “visitors” then tacked on 13 more in the top of the third, courtesy of eight hits and four miscues. Righty reliever Anthony Paiva forced Iannuccilli to pop out to the hill to end the second, but started the third with passes to Cardoso and Danny Eberson.
Naturally, walks can be tremendously costly, and he paid for it when Nocera smoked a three-run homer to deep right. Two batters later, Martin III ripped another two-run blast to virtually the same spot. After 18 hitters trekked to the plate and NS recorded only one out, umpires called the top half of the frame and allowed NS to bat for the final time.
“This was a good win for us, but all we’re going to do now is report to practice (Sunday at 6 p.m.) and just try to keep getting better,” the senior Martin offered. “In this tournament, you can’t dwell on anything.”