Mount claims Valley battle
Tigers' tough luck continues vs. MSC
WOONSOCKET – The proverbial phrase “adding insult to injury” aptly suits what happened to the Tolman High varsity baseball team on Friday and Saturday.
First, coach Theo Murray and the Tigers were slated to host Mount St. Charles in what was supposed to be a rather interesting battle at 11 a.m., Friday, but because Ted McConnon Memorial Field was still a bit wet and soft due to the previous day’s rain, Murray bent over backwards to move it to 1 or 3 p.m.
He called to try to find umpires who could officiate the game, but according to the person in charge of scheduling, there was no one available at those times. (The reason: With all of the recent postponements statewide, all of the umps had been pressed into duty).
Murray and Athletic Director Frank Laliberte knew they couldn’t schedule the tilt for Saturday, as the Tigers’ home diamond would host an AAU tournament all day.
With no other option, Murray asked MSC mentor Paul Jacques if he could host the game on Saturday, and apparently Jacques said, “OK, but we have a JV game at noon.”
Finally, it was settled. The two would begin at 9:30 a.m., a tough start time given the recent April extreme chill.
After the first pitch, it didn’t take long for the Mounties to gain control. They erupted for seven runs in the opening three frames and rode a fine mound outing by sophomore righty Tim Kenney to coast to a 9-3 victory.
In the end, Kenney lasted six full and yielded five hits, two runs (both earned) and a pair of walks with four strikeouts.
“Tim threw very well here,” Jacques stated after his squad improved to 4-3 in league action. “It was his best start of the season by far. He was able to pound the strike zone with all of his pitches.
“The good thing about Tim, who played varsity last year as a freshman, is his poise on the hill; he’s been phenomenal,” he added. “He pitches with confidence; he isn’t afraid to attack the hitters. He has such immense belief in himself.”
Stated Kenney: “My fastball felt really good; I just trusted it. I could tell during warm-ups that it was going to be a good day; I just felt loose and smooth. My secondary pitches were there, too. I like to mix in my curve and changeup, then come back with the fastball to mess up their timing.
“I’d say my fastball worked the best. With my style of pitching, the most important thing is to get the first pitch over for a strike (because) then I have more options. When I’m ahead in the count, I have more pitches at my disposal.”
So dominant was Kenney, he had a two-hit shutout through the first four frames.
Kenney also provided some punch at the plate, going 1-for-4 with a double and two runs scored, though junior tri-captain Jake Meisner led his contingent at 2-for-2 with three walks and three RBI.
Other key hitters included junior quad-captain Isaiah Lee (2-for-4, RBI, two runs); sophomore Cee-jay Laquerre (2-for-2, walk, hit-by-pitch, three runs); classmate Everett Misto (1-for-3, HBP, two RBI); fellow 10th-grader Trey Bourque (1-for-5, two RBI); and junior Marty Piette (1-for-3, sac bunt, run).
Nothing much went right for the Tigers (1-5 league), especially early on, but junior left fielder Justin Kleman- chuck played inspired, as indicated by his outing (2-for3, double, run). Then again, so did senior Ethan Bernardo, who went 2-for-3 with an RBI and run.
The Mounties made quick work of senior righty Kyle Depatie, who surrendered five hits, five runs (two earned), two walks and a wild pitch with one hit batsman in only 1.2 innings.
It all started to unravel in the top of the first, when Lee roped a hit to right-center, then stole second. He immediately took third on junior tri-captain Alex Gonfrade’s groundout, then raced home on Meisner’s single to center.
Bourque later reached on a fielder’s choice and Depatie hit Misto before both moved up on a wild offering, but the hurler fanned Bryan Testa to escape with a 1-0 deficit.
The Mounties erupted for four more in the second, and it began with Kenney’s double to the right-center hole. Laquerre then walked, and Piette laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt to advance the baserunners.
Lee’s single to right-center plated both, and he moved to third when Gonfrade reached on a fielding error. Depatie intentionally walked Meisner to fill the bases, and he did manage to whiff Bourque, but Misto clubbed a hit to right to score Lee Gonfrade and extend the lead to 5-1.
The “visitors” tacked on two more in the third off of the reliever Bernardo, who had garnered the last out of the previous frame. Kenney led off, beating out third baseman Rivera’s minimally-high throw to first, and Laquerre ripped a hit up the middle. With one down, Lee ended up with a swinging bunt, and sophomore catcher Jeff LaRose pounced on it and threw to third to catch the lead runner.
Third-base ump Mike Smith, however, called Kenney safe, and bags were juiced.
This time, Meisner came up big, smoking a single to left to plate both and make it 7-0.
The Mounties were at it again in the fifth, this time facing junior righty Andrew Roy, who had produced a 1-2-3 fourth. Laquerre and Piette opened with singles, though Roy fanned the next two then intentionally walked Meisner (again) to set up the force play.
Bourque, however, ruined those plans of earning a quick out after slicing a bleeder over Rivera’s head.
When the frame ended, Murray told his troops, now trailing 9-0, that he didn’t want to see any quitters, asked them what they were made of and said he wasn’t going to quit on them.
Not surprisingly, Klemanchuck – the school’s starting quarterback – put his teammates on his back, drilling a double to deep left. He tagged to third on senior Noel Hernandez’ flyout to center, then trotted in on Depatie’s sacrifice fly to the same.
Bernardo followed with an infield hit, and Rivera crushed a triple to one of the deepest parts of the ballyard to plate him and knife the gap to 9-2.
The Tigers managed another run in the seventh, Bernardo walking and eventually scoring on a LaRose pass, but the damage had been done.
Murray declined to comment afterward, then met with his team privately.
“I don’t think it was strange for our kids to be the visiting team at their home field,” Jacques said. “We have multiple kids who play AAU or travel ball, and they’ll play doubleheaders on the weekend. When they do, they’ll be the home team in one and the away in the other.
“As for our offense, we did a really nice job at the plate,” he continued. “Jake has been seeing the ball well ever since the Scituate game, and he’s delivered some big hits for us. And Everett, we moved him to the fifth hole in the lineup three or four games ago, and he’s been crushing it ever since.
“Tim Kenney had some big hits, too, so he did for us in a few ways (Saturday).”
Mount St. Charles 142 020 0 -- 9 – 10 – 2 Tolman 000 020 1 -- 3 – 6 – 2 Tim Kenney, J.B. Tselikis (7) and Trey Bourque. Kyle Depatie, Ethan Bernardo (2), Andrew Roy (4), Connor Serra (7) and Jeff LaRose. 2B – Kenney, Justin Klemanchuck. 3B – Izaiah Rivera.