Upper Deck reaches Elite finals
Nocera, Davock pace team in win against NEFL
CUMBERLAND – After Upper Deck had secured a one-run victory over Scituate in the first round of the R.I. 19-20 Elite League state tournament on Wednesday night, skipper Matt Allard and assistants Mike Calabro and Mike Murphy faced a dilemma.
Because the win had delivered them another single-elimination tilt slated for late Thursday afternoon against New England Frozen Lemonade of Warwick, they wondered how best to conserve their usual pitching rotation. Should Allard’s bunch claim another triumph over NEFL, it would have to face the other semifinal victor in a best-of-three championship final set beginning Friday.
The coaches had talked about how to approach it, but recent Cumberland High grad Shane Calabro decided to solve the problem himself.
“Cal hasn’t pitched much all year; I mean, he’s made maybe two appearances this summer,” Allard offered.
“We wanted to save our starters for the final series, for obvious reasons, and Cal just said, ‘Coach, give me the ball. I’ll take it and get you as many innings as I can.’”
Turns out, Calabro did all that and more. Not only did he whirl 3 1/3 frames of four-hit ball, but he also finished a masterful 4-for5 with two RBIs and three runs scored to help pace second-seeded UD to a 13-3 mercy-rule victory over NEFL at Tucker Field.
One fan called it “Upper Deck dominance,” and he wasn’t far off. UD rapped 12 hits in all, including four for extra bases, and eight batters in the lineup managed at least one hit, the same amount scored at least one run and seven of them produced an RBI.
Now that’s production, and Allard and Co. are hoping for more of the same when they travel to Cranston Stadium to face top-seeded Gershkoff/Auburn in the opener of a twilight twinbill beginning at 5:30 p.m.
Gam 2 is slated for 8 p.m., with the winner-take-all clash scheduled for Saturday at a still unknown time.
“They were trying to figure out the best way to get through the NEFL game without using our top two guys, Ben Hale or Kyle DeLuca, so I told them, ‘I want it.’ I wanted to win the state championship, and I’ve been around long enough to know what I takes.”
Calabro did yield three runs (all unearned) and three walks (with one hit batsman), but he also fanned a trio. Once Calabro was pulled, Michael Nocera tossed a near-flawless 2 2/3 after striking a hitter and whiffing a pair.
“What can you say about Cal? He’s our captain; he’s been here four years with another to go, and he just has so much heart,” Allard stated. “But we had a lot of other kids step up, and that’s a testament to the kids working so hard on their hitting.
“It’s been a crazy year for all of them,” he added. “It took them a couple of weeks for us to start hitting the way I thought we were capable, and the last eight-10 games we’ve been on fire.”
That’s for sure. After Calabro, JJ Sanzi went 2-for-2 with a double, walk, two RBI and two runs scored; Nocera 2-for-4 with a tworun triple C.J. Davock 1-for-4 with a dinger, stolen base, two RBI and a pair of runs; Dave Bordieri Jr. 1-for-3 with a double, an RBI and a run; Andy Ray 1-for-3 with an RBI and two runs; DeLuca 1-for-4 with a triple and RBI; and Nick Croteau 1-for-5 with an RBI.
UD took a 2-0 lead, as Calabro led the first with an opposite-field hit, took third when Nocera reached on a bunt single and – when he took off to rob second – Calabro did the same and slid home safely. With one down, Bordieri clubbed a double to the left-center hole.
N.E.F.L., however, didn’t need long to change the momentum in the second. With two outs, Dylan Bourette reached second on an infield throwing error, and Brendan McCaffrey walked. No. 9 hitter Derek Lallo plated Bourette with a single to right, and A.J. Ucci’s bloop hit up the middle scored McCaffrey and Lallo, good for the 3-2 cushion.
UD actually seemed primed for a big inning in the back half, loading the bags with two outs, but it failed to record the key hit. That, however, changed in the third. Davock beat out an infield bobble and stole second before Randall Hien walked. After DeLuca popped to right for the second out, Sanzi drove in Davock with a hit to left, and Ray’s infield single allowed Hien to race in.
Calabro’s single pushed in Sanzi, and Nocera mashed a two-run triple. Just like that, the hosts had a 7-2 advantage, and they added two more in the fourth when Bordieri walked and Davock drilled a tworun dinger well over the left-center field fence. That came off of reliever Tyrell Bernal.
The starter, righty Tyler Parks, went the first 2 2/3 and allowed eight hits, seven runs (three earned) and two walks with a pair of strikeouts.
UD manufactured four more in the sixth when DeLuca crushed a one-out triple to deep right, then scored on Sanzi’s two-bagger to gap in left-center. Ray reached on an error, and he moved to second and Sanzi scored when righty reliever Tom Noonan issued a wild offering.
Calabro’s fourth hit to center plated Ray, and the former moved to second on the throw home and third on a second pitch gone awry. He scored the eventual “mercy-rule” clincher when Croteau roped a two-out single to right.
That sent N.E.F.L. home with a 10-6 overall mark.