CNB shuts down West Side for title game spot

William Geoghegan
Posted 7/8/14

In 2012 and 2013, Warwick West Side’s 12-year-old softball all-stars went 0-3 in state tournament games against perennial powerhouse Cumberland. This year’s team broke that spell with a 4-3 …

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CNB shuts down West Side for title game spot

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In 2012 and 2013, Warwick West Side’s 12-year-old softball all-stars went 0-3 in state tournament games against perennial powerhouse Cumberland. This year’s team broke that spell with a 4-3 victory over Cumberland on Saturday at the Little League state tournament, but West Side ran into a new nemesis the next day.

In the winner’s bracket final on Sunday in Westerly, West Side fell 6-0 to Cranston National Budlong. The team will play Cumberland again on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. in the loser’s bracket final, with the winner moving into the finals and the loser heading home. CNB will have to be beaten twice by whichever team comes out of the loser’s bracket.

It’s not where West Side wanted to be, especially after the tournament opener.

“We didn’t have it,” said West Side manager Rick Bigelli. “We came out kind of slow swinging the bats. We didn’t make contact. And routine plays killed us. Ground balls that should have been picked up, routine outs. All of a sudden, they’re on base and they’re getting big hits.”

West Side scored 35 runs in the district tournament and had just enough offense to get by Cumberland in the state tourney opener. But on Sunday, they couldn’t get anything going against CNB and starting pitcher Caitlin Lopez. Lopez struck out eight in a complete-game, two-hit shutout. On the other side, West Side starter Kaylyn Ciesielski pitched well, but CNB delivered key hits with runners on base to take control, scoring two runs in the third and three in the fifth.

“I’m certainly happy with today’s performance,” said CNB manager Chris Gentili. “I did not expect it across-the-board like that. West Side is a really tough team.”

Lopez opened the game with back-to-back strikeouts on just seven pitches. She induced a weak ground ball to first to finish off a one-two-three inning.

From there, West Side settled in and started putting the ball in play, but few chances materialized. Taylor Suffoletto and Emily Carter had singles in the second inning, but Lopez escaped with an inning-ending groundout. In the third, Sydni Bigelli reached on an error, but West Side couldn’t get her past second base.

Suffoletto walked and stole second with one out in the fourth inning, but Lopez struck out the next two batters to end the frame.

That was the beginning of a surge to the finish. Lopez retired the last eight batters she faced, and ended the game with a strikeout. The second-inning singles were the only hits she allowed.

Lopez also shined with her glove. She made five putouts, including two on throws from the ground after she had knocked down hard-hit balls.

“She’s very tall so she’s got a lot of arms and legs,” Gentili said. “She doesn’t get ahead of herself. Sometimes, the instinct is to react really super quick on the mound and she does, but she doesn’t snap so quickly that she bats it down and doesn’t have a play. She keeps her wits about her. She’s done a really good job and it’s been a huge part of the season because a lot of activity happens in the middle of the diamond.”

CNB’s offense made good on Lopez’s shutout with an opportunistic attack. Bianca Conti knocked a one-out single in the third, stole second and took third on a passed ball. Katy Lewandowski then brought her in with a base hit through the left side. Lewandowski later scored on an error.

In the fifth, CNB added insurance. Lewandowski led off with a walk and beat a throw to second after a misplayed ground ball. Megan Anderson followed with an RBI single and Lopez smacked a two-run single. She was thrown out trying to stretch the single into a double, but the damage was done.

And it was more than enough.

“I’m happy we got the runs when we needed them,” Gentili said.

West Side had won its opener by a 4-3 score, with Dyonna Rodas scoring the winning run on a passed ball to cap a two-run rally in the bottom of the sixth inning. It was one of West Side’s best wins in a multi-year run that’s been full of good ones.

“Cumberland has been state champs for four years running,” Bigelli said. “The team we beat Saturday has been to Pennsylvania twice, to Bristol once. They know how to win. A lot of our 12-year-old girls have been on the losing end of a lot of those games. They took it to them.”

West Side and Cumberland are matched up again in the loser’s bracket thanks to Cumberland’s victory over East Providence on Sunday.

“We’ll be back on the field Monday, have a good two-hour practice and work on the things we screwed up on today,” Bigelli said. “Hopefully, we’ll improve on it. We’ve got a tough battle now to come out and win the states, but that’s still our goal.”

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