The No. 7-seeded Cranston Bulldogs were swept by No. 2 Slocum in the second round of the Connie Mack playoffs after a 4-2 loss on Saturday morning at Lischio Field in North Kingstown.

Cranston exerted a lot of effort in the series, but Slocum proved to be too much.

“All in all though, it was a good season,” Cranston coach Allan Pacific said. “These kids played hard every single game. It was a pleasure coaching them and we’ll look forward to next year.”

Game 2 was a pitchers’ duel with Cranston’s Jake Palazzo and Slocum’s Pat Maybach combining for 21 strikeouts in the contest. Palazzo struck out eight over six and 2/3 innings. Maybach threw a complete game, striking out 13 batters while walking just one. On offense, John Petrocelli had two hits and an RBI for Cranston and Palazzo added a double with two stolen bases and a run scored.

Slocum’s Andrew Sarazen led off the game with a single to short. After Andrew Almonte grounded out, Pat Maybach flew out and Nicholas Sisson hit a bouncer back to Palazzo, who threw to first for the final out.  

In the home half of the inning, Maybach struck out Angel DeJesus and Mike Cuddemi before giving up a two-out double to Palazzo. Palazzo would steal third and Petrocelli would knock him in, giving Cranston an early 1-0 edge. Maybach got out of the inning when he fanned Eric Caron.

Slocum’s Tim Farrelly led off the top of the second with a double. After Palazzo struck out Chad Beliveau, he got Cody Tompkins out on a fly ball before striking out Adam Beliveau.

In the bottom of the second, Maybach struck out Cranston’s Mike Montanaro and Anthony Melise, while getting David Cushman to ground out.  

Palazzo had his first 1-2-3 inning in the top of the third, putting Stephen Maybach out on a ground ball to second before striking out both Sarazen and Almonte.

Pat Maybach got back-to-back strikeouts on Daniel Estman and DeJesus in the bottom of the third. Next, Cuddemi reached base after his ground ball to the shortstop was overthrown at first base. However, Maybach would get Palazzo to ground out to strand the runner.

In the top of the fourth, Pat Maybach helped his own cause by hitting a leadoff double to the left field wall. Sullivan came in to pinch-run for the Slocum pitcher, and the fresh runner stole third, which caused a Cranston error and Sullivan trotted home, tying the game at 1. Next, Sisson singled up the middle before stealing second. With Farrelly at the plate, Sisson swiped third. After Palazzo punched out Farrelly and Chad Beliveau, Sisson came home on a passed ball, giving Slocum a 2-1 lead.

Petrocelli hit a single that bounced off the pitcher’s mound in the bottom of the fourth. After Paul Hazin popped out on a foul to the catcher, Caron flew out to center. Maybach then struck out Montanaro to strand the runner.

In the top of the fifth, Palazzo struck out Adam Beliveau before Steve Maybach blasted a single to right. Sarazen then hit a ground ball to short and Caron flipped to second to get the lead runner. With a runner at first and two down, Sarazen stole second and after the catcher misfired on his throw to second, the ball landed in right field while the runner took third. A single by Almonte would score Sarazen to increase the Slocum lead to 3-1. Palazzo then fanned Pat Maybach to get out of the inning.

Cranston’s Cushman walked to lead off the bottom of the fifth. Melise flew out to right next. With Estman batting, Cushman took second. Then, Estman used a sacrifice bunt to move the runner to third. With two outs, DeJesus hit a ground ball and slid into first just before the throw, scoring Cushman and pulling Cranston within 3-2. Pat Maybach then struck out Cuddemi to escape with a one-run lead.

In the top of the sixth, Sisson flew out to right before Farrelly was walked by Palazzo. Chad Beliveau, the lefty catcher, then fouled out to the third baseman for the second out. Subsequently, Farrelly was caught stealing second when the catcher threw to second to pick him off to end the inning.

In the bottom of the inning, Pat Maybach struck out Palazzo, but Palazzo reached base on an error after a pitch in the dirt. Palazzo, who is always a threat to run, stole second with Petrocelli at the plate. Palazzo then decided to try to take third, but the catcher threw him out.

“He’s an aggressive player and he was just doing what he does,” Pacific said. “Unfortunately, it was at a critical time.”

Maybach got Petrocelli to fly out to right before fanning Hazin to end the sixth.

Tompkins hit a leadoff double in the top of the seventh. Next, the left-handed Adam Beliveau grounded out down the first base line, moving the runner to third. Stephen Maybach got a hit to left to score Tompkins and increase the Slocum lead to 4-2 before Maybach was tagged out running to second. Palazzo walked Sarazen and Almonte before Cranston brought in Cushman to close out the contest. Cushman quickly retired Pat Maybach to end the visitors’ half of the inning.

Cranston was down to its last three outs. First, Caron got on after an error at first. Next, pinch-hitter Billy Saccoccio and Cushman were both struck out by Pat Maybach. After that, Melise grounded out for the final out of Cranston’s season.

Stephen Maybach pitched Game 1 for Slocum and he blanked Cranston, 5-0, on Friday night. In that game, Maybach struck out six while giving up just two hits before handing the ball to Tompkins in the seventh. Neary threw for Cranston in that one, going six and 2/3 innings, giving up five hits while striking out five.

Cranston beat East Greenwich in the opening playoff series 2-1, winning Game 3, 9-3, before moving on to the second round. Palazzo struck out a total of 14 hitters in his two playoff starts while walking just five. The Cranston East standout went 1-1. His win was a 3-2 defeat of East Greenwich.