The Toll Gate softball team had its home opener Friday afternoon, but Cranston West made it feel anything but welcome.

The Titans continued their slow start to the 2016 campaign with a five-inning, 19-1 loss to the Falcons at wind-swept Winslow Field.

“It’s a learning process,” Toll Gate manager Shana Willis said. “We have a young team, we graduated seven seniors last year. We have people in different positions this year, we have new people that haven’t played varsity softball. It’s a learning curve for the girls to get together, play together and learn their new rules for the varsity.”

Junior pitcher Camryn Ricci went all the way for the Falcons, striking out four and allowing no runs after a first-inning hiccup. Freshman Katelyn Hawes took the loss for the Titans, tossing three innings and giving up 10 earned runs.

Eight of West’s nine starters drove in at least one run, while eight of nine also scored at least one run. The Falcons’ youth movement led the way, as only two of the 13 total players that saw action against the Titans were seniors.

“The young team can make it hard at some times, but it makes it better because now we have more years to play together and work together and we can get even stronger,” sophomore Marissa Cushman said.

Cranston West began its barrage right from the get-go. Cushman laced a single into left field, and sophomore Danielle Carmody drove her in with an RBI double to give West the early lead.

Cushman had the biggest day of any Falcon, registering four hits, two RBIs and four runs scored.

“It’s really good, because it builds the confidence,” Cushman said of her start to the season.

Carmody got to third on a fielder’s choice before scoring on an errant throw from senior third baseman Cassondra Messier. Senior captain Giuliana Hathaway was able to reach on the error with the Falcons ahead 2-0. She came around on another miscue later in the frame.

The Titans got a run back in the bottom half of the first, with Messier making up for her mistake. With sophomore Kendra Silvia on first after a leadoff single, Messier crushed a triple to right field that brought Silvia all the way to the plate. Messier would get stranded at third, though, as the Titans lone hit the rest of the day would come in the fourth inning.

West, meanwhile, kept up the offensive. Senior captain Jenna Palmer reached on a one-out bunt single and stole second base, where she scored on an RBI single from freshman Livia Feole. Feole would go to third on Cushman’s double, and Hathaway brought them both home on a two-out, two-RBI bloop single. West held on to a 6-1 lead after two, and it would only keep climbing.

“It really feels good,” Cranston West manager Jeffrey Smith said. “The kids have been anxious for this first start, and they had some real good at-bats. They went deep in the count when they had to, they weren’t swinging at any bad pitches, maybe one or two, but for the most part good pitch selection, and [we] just kind of hit everything that [Hawes] was throwing.”

Ricci kept dealing while the West bats kept getting hotter. After Alyssa Ragosta grounded out to start the third, the Falcons reeled off four straight singles, the last of which being Cushman’s RBI base hit up the middle. With the bases re-loaded, Carmody smacked a sacrifice fly to center field, bringing Palmer home for the 8-1 lead.

Sophomore Mackenzie Beyer and Hathaway followed that up with RBIs of their own, while Ragosta later made good on her second at-bat of the inning. She drilled a two-RBI single up the middle to score Hathaway and freshman courtesy runner Julia Hazian. West led 12-1, but had yet to see its most explosive inning.

That would come in the fourth, when they plated seven runs and sent 11 batters to the plate for the second straight frame. Sophomore Quinn Freeman came in to pitch for Toll Gate, but things didn’t get any easier. The Falcons again achieved four straight singles, with Cushman and Carmody picking up RBIs on theirs.

Carmody would score on an error, while Keara Pedroso’s RBI walk sent Cushman home. Caitlin O’Brien made it 18-1 with a two-RBI double. Freshman Rylie Bessette closed out her 2-for-2 inning with an RBI single up the middle.

Ricci struck out two and forced a soft grounder in the fifth inning, sending the Falcons to a resounding first victory.

“She’s gonna be a starter,” Smith said of Ricci. “We have another freshman [Feole] that’s in the wings ready to go. She’s a freshman and she’ll be our backup pitcher, and she’s also batting really well.”

The Titans looked to bounce back against Westerly on Monday afternoon at 3:45 p.m., but results were unavailable at press time. West was scheduled to meet with reigning D-I champion Coventry on the road Wednesday at 3:45 p.m., but those results were also unavailable at press time.