Warwick North walks off to capture District 3 championship

Ryan D. Murray
Posted 7/16/15

Warwick North beat East Greenwich, 4-3, in a thriller at Warwick National Park on Tuesday night, and are now the 10-year-old District 3 champs. Thomas D’Andrea’s double in the bottom of the …

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Warwick North walks off to capture District 3 championship

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Warwick North beat East Greenwich, 4-3, in a thriller at Warwick National Park on Tuesday night, and are now the 10-year-old District 3 champs. Thomas D’Andrea’s double in the bottom of the seventh inning was the difference in the championship.

Warwick struck first when it scored two runs in the second inning. First, Bobby Vale hit a single to score a run and then Lucas Hemond followed it with a sacrifice fly to score another run.

Vito Vinciguerra started the day pitching for Warwick North. He pitched two scoreless innings before allowing two runs in the third and eventually being pulled in the fifth after walking a batter.

In the third inning, with East Greenwich down 2-0, Warwick centerfielder Mark Woods made a nice play on a fly ball hit to center. Woods caught the ball and then threw a dagger to catcher Jack Hornstein who was at home plate and prevented a run from scoring. While Warwick did stop East Greenwich from scoring on that play, the East Greenwich All-Stars ended up scoring two runs later in the inning to tie the game at 2-2.

Hornstein came in to relieve Vinciguerra on the mound in the middle of the fifth inning for Warwick. He didn’t let up a run. East Greenwich’s Ryan Marcantonio matched him going scoreless in the bottom of the inning.

After another shutout inning in the fifth for both Marcantonio and Hornstein, both offenses would score a run in the sixth inning.

East Greenwich scored one run on Hornstein but then he buckled down and struck out the next batter to end the inning.

“When I let up that run I was kind of down, but soon I just redeemed myself and I threw that pitch and I got out of the inning,” Hornstein said.

Then, Hornstein picked up the bat. He hit a triple and Colby Barker followed with a RBI-single to score him and tie the game at 3.

D’Andrea came in to pitch the seventh for Warwick. He didn’t yield any runs.

Then, with no outs in the bottom of the inning and the score tied at 3, Warwick came up to bat. D’Andrea led off with a double. Then Marcantonio forced Warwick’s next two batters to ground out.

Hornstein followed by hitting the ball right at Marcantonio, for what should have been a routine play to get out of the inning, but the pitcher’s throw to first base was over the first baseman’s head and D’Andrea scored the winning run for Warwick.

“I thought I was going to get out but I was hustling down the baseline,” Hornstein said.

Warwick coach Tommy Hornstein said his team has been practicing almost everyday since June 27.

“It’s been a lot of work,” Hornstein said. “The kids have been working hard. You got 13 good kids who are chipping in in some way. It was a good win.”

Lenny Kiernan was the starting pitcher for East Greenwich and he went three innings, allowing two runs and recording one strikeout. Kiernan also hit two doubles and scored a couple runs.

Warwick North is a combination of two leagues that were formally separate until this year. Warwick West Side and Warwick National merged to make the new Warwick North. According to Hornstein, the players that make up the team are from six different major league teams.

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