Bodington blows away Cougars
Senior lefty fires 1-hitter in 4-0 win
CUMBERLAND – There’s no other way to say it: Cumberland High received a blessing from the heavens when its Division I tilt against North Providence on Tuesday afternoon was postponed due to continued lightning bolts peppering the sky above Tucker Field.
The Cougars had jumped out to annine-run lead entering the back half of the fifth inning, though the Clippers began to surge at that juncture. They had baserunners at second and third with only one out when the lightning arrived, and – according to Rhode Island Interscholastic League rules – as soon as thunder or lightning is seen at a playing site – umpires must tell all players and coaches to evacuate the field and seek shelter; in addition, an automatic 30-minute break in play is enacted.
If another sound of thunder or bolt is heard or seen, the 30-minute delay would restart from that point.
Unfortunately for North Providence, the tilt would not resume in the fifth, but replayed in its entirety, also according to league mandates.
Apparently, NP head coach Mike Tuorto was frustrated by the decision, while veteran skipper Marty Crowley felt lucky for the second chance.
The Clippers made the most of it on Friday afternoon, especially senior captain and southpaw Jocelyn Bodington. She whirled a one-hit, complete-game gem as the Crowley crew coasted to a rather easy 4-0 victory before about 60 fans.
To illustrate further just how stellar Bodington was, she yielded only two walks and four Cougars to reach base, and also allowed only two hits to reach the outfield grass. She whiffed a whopping 10, while seven other outs came via groundout and four via popout.
She also retired 19 of the final 21 batters she faced; the lone players to reach – Emma Fuscellaro in the fourth and sophomore righthander Hannah Doorley in the fifth. Both came on walks.
“I still think there was a chance we could’ve come back (in that Tuesday contest),” Bodington said. “We were still battling, and we would have had not only the fifth but two more at-bats to make up those runs.”
She then was asked, “Do you still feel like you stole one?”
Bodington chuckled, “Well, a little bit.”
There nevertheless was no stopping Bodington in this one, or the Clippers, who put all phases together to improve to 8-6 in league play. Offensive stal- warts included senior Hailey Ballou (2for-3, stolen bag, run scored); freshman Abbie Vallely (1-for-2, sacrifice fly, RBI); senior Ally Pina and sophomore Makayla Chandler (1-for-3, RBI); senior Renae Lacroix 1-for-4, double, RBI; and junior Hannah LaRose and Bodington herself (1-for-3, run).
“Fortunately for us, the rules are the rules,” Crowley stated after the win. “If there’s a lightning bolt in the sky, the game automatically is delayed for 30 minutes. If there’s another, then the 30 minutes begins from that point. We waited around for 45 minutes to an hour, but the lightning started dancing around us. At one point, we thought we could (finish) it. We couldn’t.
“I can understand where North Providence is coming from,” he continued. “They had a 9-1 lead, but Mother Nature interfered. It’s all in the rules.
“As for Jocelyn, that was a spectacular effort. She was right on it here. She threw a lot of innings this week (as CHS had to play make-up or regularly-scheduled tilts), but she was on top of her control, hit her spots. That’s why she’s going to be a collegiate Division I pitcher (at Bryant University).
“Our defense was rock solid, and we hit the ball well. It’s a great way to end the week; we won Monday, lost to North Kingstown, 4-2, on Wednesday, and lost to Pilgrim, 2-1, on a walkoff hit (on Thursday. We really needed this game.”
The visitors nevertheless looked like it would start where it left off in the top of the first. With two outs, Jess Rizzo reached on an infield error, then raced to third on Lauren Morrissey’s opposite-field single to left. Morrissey then robbed second, but Bodington got Fuscellaro on a changeup.
Cumberland responded with three runs in the back half, all with one out. Ballou ripped a single down the left- field stripe, then stole second, and Bodington’s hit to left-center pushed her to third. On the play, the first baseman Morrisey couldn’t catch the throw from the outfield, and Bodington sprinted to second.
Tuorto told his starter Doorley to intentionally walk senior clean-up hitter Gretchen Gilbert, but Pina smoked an RBI hit to left and Chandler another to center before Vallely’s sacrifice fly to right plated Gilbert.
The Clippers tacked on an insurance run in the fourth when No. 9 batter LaRose reached on a bloop hit over third base and Lacroix walloped a double down the left-field line to plate her.
In the interim, Bodington managed five strikeouts and only a pass in the final three frames.
“I don’t know how I did it, but I will say that was one of the best games I’ve thrown, in terms of mixing up the pitches,” she smiled. “I went more with the changeup, and it really worked well. I was able to keep it in the strike zone; there have been times this season I’ve been wild with it.
“I’m not surprised by (the outing), but I’m happy everything went well.”
Next up for CHS: Smithfield at home at 4 p.m., Wednesday. It will be the Clippers senior day. They will close the campaign at Bay View at the same time on Thursday.
“I have to say I’m extremely proud of these kids,” Crowley offered. “They had to wear their uniforms five days in a row this week, and we had some down times, but they showed how resilient they are. They’re so coachable and a really fun group to be around, plus they work hard.
“It doesn’t get any better than that.”
North Providence 000 000 0 – 0 – 1 – 2 Cumberland 300 100 x – 4 – 9 – 1 Hannah Doorley and Jess Rizzo. Jocelyn Bodington and Caitlyn Oliveira. 2B – Renae Lacroix.