Rebels top SRA
PAWTUCKET – Back on Monday, May 14, St. Raphael Academy jumped all over Division II visitor South Kingstown High in the first three frames to take what proved to be an insurmountable 9-1 lead.
The Rebels, however, assembled a fantastic surge over the final three frames – plating one in the fifth and six more in the sixth – before yielding an interesting 10-8 verdict.
SK skipper Steve Chadwick was less than thrilled with his squad’s inability to play clean fast-pitch (four errors), and let them know it during a tirade in short left field.
Whatever his message happened to be that day proved symbolic Thursday afternoon, and with the stakes much higher. In a R.I. D-II Tournament losers’ bracket contest at the Hank Soar Complex, his troops scorched a whopping 17 hits – including five for extra bases – to gain a satisfying 11-4 victory over these same Saints.
With the win, the No. 10 Rebels not only improved to 11-9, but survived to face either No. 4 Scituate or No. 9 Mount St. Charles in another losers’ bracket clash at a date and time still to be determined. SRA’s young guns closed at 13-7.
Offensive standouts for Chadwick’s crew included junior Keira Richardson (3-for-5, two RBI, run scored); classmate Olivia Santucci (3-for-5, double, two RBI); sophomore Eileen Byrne (2-for-5, stolen bag, two RBI); junior Haylea Loftes (2-for-4, double, triple, three runs); sophomore Faith Hutchins (2-for-5, double, theft, RBI, two runs); 11th-grader Rylee Smith (1-for-3, walk, RBI, run); and Faith Hutchins’ twin sister Sam (1-for-4, stolen base, RBI).
The latter Hutchins, in a complete-game outing, also scattered only eight hits, two earned runs and a walk while fanning a pair.
After it ended, Saints’ skipper Ron LaBree spent several minutes speaking with his girls in shallow right field, then walked away grinning ear-to-ear.
The tone of his message was obvious, as most of the kids laughed and joked, yet the substance not so much.
“We were just messing around, having some fun,” he stated. “God, it’s such a great group of girls, and I love coaching them. I can’t wait ‘til next March and we get it going again.”
When asked why he went with freshman righty Jillian Serra and not usual junior starter Sydney Charette, he answered this way: “Look at her (as he pointed toward the sitting Serra in right); she’s been sick all week, but she wanted the ball. I asked her (Wednesday) at practice if she was ready, and she said, ‘Heck, yeah.’
“I asked (fellow frosh) Gia Porcelli the same thing, ‘Are you ready to go in?’ and she was really enthusiastic. I asked (ninth-grade teammate) Myah (Rigley), who’s been hitting the ball really well if she wanted to hit, and she said, ‘I can’t wait!’
“That’s really surprising – and impressive – considering they’re all freshmen. I couldn’t be prouder of all of these girls.”
Serra spoke with her mentor afterward with tears in her eyes, saying the loss was her fault. LaBree simply stated to her and other upset youngsters that they play, work, practice and exist as a team, so no one individual is at fault. “Hey, it’s a team loss,” he said.
As for the contest itself, Serra avoided some trouble in the top half of the first, when a Sam Hutchins’ hit, her sister’s double and senior Sam Tyrrell’s infield hit loaded the bags with one out. In the end, she managed two quick outs and escaped.
As for the back half, frosh Tori Jacques beat out an infield single, took second on junior Taylor Troiano’s sacrifice bunt and third on senior Taylor Moreau’s groundout, but Serra lined out to second to halt the threat.
SK erupted for five in the second, and it started quickly, with Loftes ripping a leadoff triple to left-center and Santucci plating her with a double down the leftfield stripe. Smith’s groundout pushed her to third, and Richardson’s hit scored her.
Sam Hutchins followed with a fielder’s choice (Richardson being the first out) and robbed second, and sister Faith plated her with a hit to left. After she stole the middle bag, she hustled in on Tyrrell’s single and ensuing outfield miscue before Bryne whacked a hit.
Tyrrell notched the fifth run of the frame after junior Julia Bollentin reached on an infield bobble.
It nevertheless didn’t take long for the Saints to respond. Sophomore backstop/leadoff batter Saylor Costa beat out a miscue at second base and Porcelli replaced her as the courtesy runner. Two pitches later, senior Micayla Bourski smoked an 18th birthday bash bomb into deep right to slice the deficit to 5-2.
Following two quick outs, senior Ashley Bullen (2-for-2, walk, RBI) drilled a hit to center and took third on Jacques’ second single of the game, but they were stranded at the corners.
That didn’t help the hosts’ cause an iota.
The Saints tacked on a run in the fourth when Porcelli drew a leadoff pass, took second on a wild pitch, raced to third on Rigley’s sacrifice bunt and scored on Bullen’s opposite-field hit to left; that made it 5-3.
SK, however, answered with five more in the top of the fifth. Bollentin started the flurry with an infield hit off of Porcelli (who had replaced Serra in the fourth), and Loftes walked before Smith rapped an RBI hit. Richardson added another RBI single, Sam Hutchins a sacrifice fly and Byrne a crazy kind of fielder’s choice to plate two more.
Byrne had whacked a bounder to third baseman Moreau, who made a spectacular diving stop and threw to second to get Tyrrell, who had previously walked. The toss, though, apparently struck Tyrrell and bounced away, allowing the two runs to score.
The Rebels added one more in the sixth after Loftes doubled to left and Santucci singled her in (making it 113), though SRA answered it in the bottom half when senior Kaylee Contreras beat out an error and eventually sprinted home on pinch-hitter Charette’s infield hit.