Pats stay perfect, move to 5-0 with win over ’Canes

Matt Metcalf, Sports Editor
Posted 4/23/15

The Pilgrim softball team couldn’t have asked for a better start.

A five-run fifth inning helped the Pats to a 7-3 win over rival Warwick Vets on Tuesday afternoon, preserving Pilgrim’s …

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Pats stay perfect, move to 5-0 with win over ’Canes

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The Pilgrim softball team couldn’t have asked for a better start.

A five-run fifth inning helped the Pats to a 7-3 win over rival Warwick Vets on Tuesday afternoon, preserving Pilgrim’s perfect record, which now stands at 5-0.

However, win No. 5 was in question for much of the game.

The ’Canes plated three runs in the top of the third to put Pilgrim on its heels early, but RBI hits by Tayla Ferreira, Olivia King and Taryn Stringfellow in the fifth gave the Pats the lead for good.

Games like Tuesday should be beneficial in the long run for Pilgrim, as it proved that it can battle through adversity and still prevail with its back against the wall.

“I’m happy to see that big five-run inning because we haven’t been able to put many runs together,” Pilgrim head coach Bill Aquilante said. “We’ve been winning games because Morgan (Almon) has been pitching so well, but it was nice to see us bat around and get successive hits. We needed it because playing Vets isn’t an easy game. They have good at-bats and have some good players.”

For Vets, it felt that it let an opportunity to get a win against one of the top teams in the league slip away.

Heading into the bottom of the fifth with a 3-2 lead, the ’Canes felt that they were in good shape, but the crooked five-run inning for Pilgrim put the game out of reach.

Vets’ head coach Paul Kennedy knew that Pilgrim was going to hit the ball and get its runs, but if his team was able to minimize the damage in that fifth inning, the game could’ve been more manageable in the sixth and seventh innings.

Kennedy is also looking for more consistency in terms of his team’s run production.

“Pilgrim hit the ball,” Kennedy said. “They were aggressive and had a bunch of first-pitch hits. That’s something that we’re not doing. I’m more concerned with the fact that we only scored in one inning. I’ll take the blame for the fact that we’re flat too often, but we have a lot of work to do.”

Pilgrim got on the board right out of the gates, as it was able to manufacture a run in the bottom of the first.

Centerfielder Madison Balutowski led off the inning with a single and then stole second.

Victoria Blanchard followed with a flyout that moved Balutowski to third, before a groundout by Ellen McDonnell brought Balutowski home to give Pilgrim a 1-0 lead.

But after that, Vets’ pitcher Kayla Morin settled in, allowing for the ’Canes’ offense to go to work.

In the third, the ’Canes exploded for three runs on three hits and a walk.

After singling to start the inning, Natasha Savage came around to score on a groundout by catcher Emily Walason, tying the game, 1-1.

A single off the bat of Arietta Chevian then scored Morin, before Liz Iadevaia crossed home safely on a wild pitch, giving the ’Canes a 3-1 lead.

Savage was a standout for Vets on Tuesday, making a pair of diving plays at second base and getting on base three times as a catalyst at the top of the order.

“So far this year, she has been our best player – offensively, defensively and base running,” Kennedy said of Savage. “She’s hitting the ball hard and diving to make plays. If the ball is hit in her direction, I know it’s an out. She’s playing very well.”

The three-run inning put the Pats in a hole, but they began to chip away in the bottom of the fourth, when King made it 3-2 with an RBI single that scored pinch runner Emma Hlavacek. Hlavacek came in to run for Almon after she laced a single.

Pilgrim continued that momentum into the fifth inning, where it plated five runs on four hits and two walks.

Ferreira tied the game with a double that scored McDonnell, before King drove in her second and third runs of the game with a single that plated Hlavacek and Ferreira to make it 5-3.

Pilgrim upped its lead to 7-3 when Stringfellow singled home King and freshman Karly Evans.

All five runs were scored with two outs in the inning, as five consecutive Pilgrim hitters reached safely.

The Pats’ tremendous depth throughout their lineup was on display on Tuesday, with eight out of the nine players in their starting lineup getting on base for the game. From the top of the order to the bottom, everyone has been contributing.

“Our freshmen have been great,” Aquilante said. “Karly (Evans) and Olivia (King) are batting down towards the bottom of the order because they’re playing in their first varsity games, but they’re two of our better hitters. We’re strong one through nine.”

Vets looked to chip away at its deficit in the later innings, but Almon shut the door to secure the win.

The sophomore is now 4-0 with a 1.81 ERA for the Pats.

King led the way with two hits and three RBI for Pilgrim in the win. She now has nine RBI for the season – a team-high.

Vets, now 2-3, will look to get back on track on Monday, when it travels to Classical for a 4:30 p.m. game at Al Morro Athletic Complex. The Purple are currently 1-5.

Pilgrim is back in action today at 3:30 p.m. at South Kingstown. It will then get its toughest test of the season thus far on Friday, when it hosts North Providence at 11 a.m. The Cougars and Pats are the only undefeated teams remaining in Division-II-West, as each has a 5-0 record.

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