’Canes shut out by Wizards, eliminated from playoffs

Brenton Bauerle
Posted 6/16/15

Sometimes, when a team is just simply overmatched, we say the game is over before it began. Well, the Warwick Veteran’s Memorial High School boys’ baseball team was by no means an underdog coming …

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’Canes shut out by Wizards, eliminated from playoffs

Posted

Sometimes, when a team is just simply overmatched, we say the game is over before it began. Well, the Warwick Veteran’s Memorial High School boys’ baseball team was by no means an underdog coming off a 16-2 regular season, but in its elimination game against West Warwick on Thursday, the old adage rang true, as Vets fell behind by a run in the first inning and failed to score the rest of the way, ending its season in a 1-0 loss.

Warwick Vets starter Austin Lamaire had a stellar outing by almost any measure, striking out seven in seven innings of one-run ball. Unfortunately, his only blemish of the day turned out to be the deciding run, as he allowed a leadoff single to shallow left field, and eventually allowed the runner to score off a bloop single after he moved to second on a sacrifice bunt.

Having scratched across a run in the opening frame, West Warwick buckled down on the defensive side of the ball, shutting down what had been one of the more prolific offenses in the state during the regular season.

“That kid threw a great game on three days rest,” said Warwick Vets head coach Nolan Landy, whose team failed to register a hit until the fourth inning. “He kept us off balance all night, and we just couldn’t execute.”

Vets’ offense reached a new level of futility in the middle innings, as it registered four consecutive strikeouts to end the third and begin the fourth. Even though they finally managed their first hit in the inning, a single by Lamaire, centerfielder David Defusco punched out immediately afterwards, marking five straight outs registered by way of the K.

“We just couldn’t get the sticks going (all playoffs),” said Landy. “We made some mistakes in the field, and we just didn’t hit well enough to make up for it.”

A thrilling top of the seventh inning kept Warwick Vets in the game, as Lamaire allowed a double (the only extra base hit of the day for either team) with the runner moving to third on a stolen base. After a strikeout, the runner went on contact on a ground ball to second baseman Chris Reid, who rifled a throw home to cut the runner down at the plate and preserve the one-run deficit.

Riding the momentum, Vets came up to bat with the middle of its order due up. However, its offensive struggles only continued, as Lamaire grounded weakly to shortstop and Defusco struck out to leave the Hurricanes down to their last out. When Tyler Dipetrillo battled through a 10-pitch at-bat to finally draw a walk, first baseman Shane Kittila stepped to the plate with the tying run on base. Kittila put up a tenacious at-bat, fouling off five pitches and taking three balls that were all mere inches from being strike 3, before striking out to end the game and send Warwick Vets home for good.

Having been the No. 1 seed in the Division II tournament, it is no stretch to say that Warwick Vets’ early exit from the playoff bracket is somewhat of a disappointment. However, in a game in which it simply couldn’t get its offense going, it continuously battled into deep counts, and made myriad plays in the field to keep the game within reach. Such resiliency is something to be proud of, even amid the heartbreak of a playoff loss.

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  • JohnStark

    Nice article, and congrats to Vets on a strong season. But how did the Vets pitcher throw "...seven innings of one-run ball" when WW had two hits in the first inning?

    Tuesday, June 16, 2015 Report this