The Cranston West softball team’s unlikely run in Division I came to a close when La Salle held off a late Falcon rally to win 7-5 in the state championship at Rhode Island College.

The Rams started off the game with two home runs in the first inning and would mount a 7-1 advantage heading into the seventh inning. The Falcons scored four runs, including getting a home run from Sam Healy, but the Rams held strong to close out the win and grab their second straight title.

“I’m proud of this group. We had an inexperienced group with only three returning senior starters. Our goal at the beginning of the season was to get to RIC. The first two batters hit home runs, it took us awhile to warm up, but these girls didn’t stop all year. They were resilient,” said West coach PJ Bessette. “It made me proud to see them go down 7-1, and in the seventh they could have gone out 1-2-3, but instead they score four runs. They didn’t give up, they had pride.”

Gianna Dispirito and Nicole Silvestri each drove in two runs in the loss while pitcher Mia Crudale recorded five strikeouts.

West beat East Greenwich the previous day in a 1-0 battle. Crudale had perhaps her best outing of the season against the Avengers, pitching seven innings and allowing just one hit. Sofia Marella drove in the team’s lone run in the first inning, which would be enough as Crudale was sharp in the circle.

With such a young group, expectations were modest as the Falcons were expected to go through a rebuilding season. West won its first four games of the spring and remained toward the top of the standings from start to finish while getting playoff wins over Pilgrim, Prout and EG.

“This is going to carry over next year. We have a lot of starters coming back and those swing players will learn from this. They see what we do and that will go a long way for next year’s team. We’re losing girls like Sofia, but we have some good players waiting in the wings,” Bessette said.

Marella, who will be playing for St. Thomas Aquinas next year, was proud of the young players stepping up and keeping the program afloat this spring.

“Just hard work at practice every single day. We had an amazing group this year, I wouldn’t have asked for anyone else to play my last season with. We have a lot of young girls and it was like I watched them grow up throughout the season. How close we are and the family that we made. How well we worked together,” said Marella, who was happy to play some big games her senior year as she prepares for the next level. “It will help a lot. I’m expecting the same level of competition, if not better, so this will really prepare me.”