Unconventional sweep helps PAL advance in Connie Mack playoffs

By Jacob Marrocco
Posted 8/4/16

After a 13-inning marathon game at Mickey Stevens on Monday night, another thriller was expected between No. 14-seeded Narragansett and No. 3 Warwick PAL in Game 2 of their Connie Mack playoff …

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Unconventional sweep helps PAL advance in Connie Mack playoffs

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After a 13-inning marathon game at Mickey Stevens on Monday night, another thriller was expected between No. 14-seeded Narragansett and No. 3 Warwick PAL in Game 2 of their Connie Mack playoff series.

Instead, fans were left with a bitter substitute for what could have been. The teams waited for umpires at Old Mountain Field for more than an hour, even calling to the stands to see if any fans had umpiring experience, before Narragansett decided to forfeit. That decision conceded Game 2 to PAL, allowing it to sweep the series.

“A 13-inning game is the longest game that most of us, along with the kids, have been involved in,” Warwick PAL manager Mike Martin said. “That was a nail-biter all the way through and to come here expecting to play another tough game, unfortunately the umpires didn’t show up. We waited as long as we could and they knew it was going to be tough either way for either one of us to continue pitching-wise.”

That result was a stark contrast to Monday’s game, which featured 368 total pitches and 20 runners left on base between the two sides. PAL prevailed 2-1 in the bottom of the 13th after Evan O’Connor’s bunt resulted in an overthrow of first base, allowing Dan Reph to score the winning run.

As the game broke the 3-hour mark, Reph worked a walk with one out in the 13th. Zach D’Andrea, who had pitched nine full innings already in the game, stepped in and delivered a bloop single to put two runners on and turn the order over.

O’Connor dropped his bat on a 1-1 pitch and rolled a bunt down the first-base line, which the pitcher tossed over the bag at first. Reph never stopped running, and he crossed home with the winning run.

“We forced them to make a play, and they didn’t make it,” Martin said of the game-winning bunt.

The first seven innings were a duel between Narragansett’s Jeff Christina and PAL’s D’Andrea. The latter had a rocky first frame after he threw 30 pitches and allowed the road team to take an early lead. He led off with three straight full counts, which resulted in a hit batter, walk and strikeout.

Zach Remeaka wasted no time in his at-bat, singling up the middle to load the bases. Extra hitter Scott Embleton got Narragansett on the board first with another quick hit up the middle to reload the bases. D’Andrea showed signs of his dominance to come after that, striking out Christina looking and Jordan Riendeau swinging.

In the meantime, PAL had issues figuring out Christina. The home side had just one hit in the first five innings, an infield single, yet left three runners in scoring position. Warwick had its best opportunity in the second inning with runners at second and third with no outs, but Steve Foster popped up and Brandon Paiva and Owen Kiernan struck out to spoil the rally.

Zach D’Andrea did his part for the rest of his outing. He allowed two hits over the next six innings, walking no one and striking out six. He retired a string of 12 straight batters over that span, between the fourth and seventh innings.

“He struggles a little bit in the first inning, walks a guy or two, but once he settles down, he’s one of the best pitchers in this league,” Martin said of Zach D’Andrea. “He’s our No. 1 pitcher for a reason. That’s why we throw him out there first, because we know he can do the job.”

PAL’s offense was able to lend a little support in the sixth with some help from the ace himself. Zach D’Andrea pinch-hit for his brother, Brett, and started things with an infield single. He advanced to second on a wild pitch, where O’Connor moved him along to third on a sacrifice bunt.

Dillon Bordeleau popped up to center field for the second out after a nine-pitch at-bat, leaving it up to Dylan Palmiotti to drive in the tying run. He delivered with PAL’S first base hit out of the infield. Palmiotti lined the first pitch he saw the opposite way into right field, easily scoring Zach D’Andrea to knot the score at 1.

Then came extra innings, and there would be several chances wasted. Narragansett loaded the bases with one out in the eighth, but Zach D’Andrea found a way to work out of it. Matt Marasco tapped a grounder down the first-base line, but Palmiotti flipped home for the close force out.

PAL caught a break for the final out, too. Scott Camp hit a short grounder off the plate, causing enough confusion to allow the catcher to grab the ball and step on home for the force. 

Warwick had its own opportunity when Bordeleau was 90 feet away from ending the game in the eighth, but Alec Bloomingburgh grounded out to end the threat. 

Baserunning miscues, which included two pickoffs and one runner caught stealing, would plague Narragansett in the bonus innings. Zach D’Andrea walked Christina with two outs in the ninth, but the PAL starter would go out with a flourish. He picked Christina off at first to end the inning and bring his line to a close: 9.0 innings, one run, six hits, two walks and nine strikeouts.

Bordeleau, who was supposed to start Game 2, took over for the 10th. He allowed just one runner to reach scoring position, and he caught him stealing third base. Bordeleau had a pickoff as well in four innings of work, yielding two hits and walking only one, while staving off Narragansett long enough for PAL to notch the victory.

“This [extra] day off is going to help us a lot,” Martin said. “Dan is going to come back and pitch on normal day’s rest, so he’s going to be fine for Friday. Steve Foster is going to be behind him, and Alec and Dillon will be ready to go, too. Dan will go Friday, Dillon will go Saturday for Game 2.”

PAL awaits the winner of the series between No. 6 Coventry and No. 11 Flood Auto (Hendricken). Flood took Game 1 before falling 1-0 in Game 2. The decisive matchup was Wednesday evening at Paine Field in Coventry, but results were unavailable at press time.

“They have a very good team with mostly Hendricken kids, if not all Hendricken kids. They’re a good team,” Martin said of a potential matchup with cross-town rival Flood Auto. “We played Coventry this year, very good team. We beat them once, they beat us once and they forfeited to us once, but good pitching on both sides. Whoever we play is going to be a tough game, but the kids are good players, they’ll be ready to go.”

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