PAL 15’s suffer first-ever state defeat

Posted 7/17/14

For the last two years, the Warwick 15-year-old Babe Ruth all-star team has dominated the state, winning championships as 13’s and 14’s.

Tuesday, Warwick got its first-ever taste of …

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PAL 15’s suffer first-ever state defeat

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For the last two years, the Warwick 15-year-old Babe Ruth all-star team has dominated the state, winning championships as 13’s and 14’s.

Tuesday, Warwick got its first-ever taste of defeat.

After winning a pair of games over the weekend, Warwick squared off with Cranston in the winner’s bracket final and fell 3-2. Warwick scored a run in the seventh inning but left the bases loaded, bringing its two-plus summer winning streak to a halt.

“We just couldn’t get that extra run in. they made some really good defensive plays.”

There were no more important defensive plays than the one that Cranston made to end the game.

With the bases loaded and two outs, and Warwick trailing by a run, Sean Creamer lined a ball back up the middle that would have gone into centerfield had it not been for the fast glove of the Cranston pitcher, who snared it to finish the job.

“Had it got by the pitcher it probably would have won the game,” Bob Creamer said.

The loss dropped Warwick into the loser’s bracket finals, where it was scheduled to take on either West Warwick or Portsmouth Friday. If it wins that, it will get a re-match with Cranston on Saturday, needing to win twice in order to claim a third straight state championship.

“It’s just a bump in the road,” Creamer said. “We’re not out of it. It’s just a little longer.”

Jordan Huntoon got the start for Warwick and pitched 6.1 innings, allowing three runs. Robert Garceau came on in relief and threw the final two-thirds of an inning.

“Both guys pitched a really good game,” Creamer said.

Cranston’s runs came in the second, fourth and sixth innings – with a couple of Warwick errors hurting its cause – while Warwick had a run in the third and entered the seventh inning trailing 3-1.

In that final frame, Anthony Russo drew a walk and Bobby Garceau had a hit, before Damien Mendoza bunted them to over to second and third. Russo eventually scampered home on a wild pitch to bring Warwick within one.

“It was a dogfight,” Creamer said. “It was a good game.”

Yet, Warwick couldn’t push the tying run across.

Despite the loss, the Warwick side is still confident, especially with the way that it’s been hitting the ball.

Even though Warwick scored just two runs Tuesday, Creamer credited Cranston with making a number of strong defensive plays that kept the game tight.

“Up and down, they were all hitting,” Creamer said. “They were just making some really good defensive plays.”

In the loser’s bracket for the first time, Warwick isn’t ready to throw in the towel.

“It’s definitely not over yet,” Creamer said. “We can’t look past Friday night. We have to take care of that then we’ll come back. We know what Cranston has. We’ve seen in the last two years.”

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