Cumberland edges Western for title

Posted 7/30/14

For the second straight year, Cranston Western’s 12-year-old all-stars finished their summer as the second-best team in the state of Rhode Island.

They took solace this year in being a very …

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Cumberland edges Western for title

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For the second straight year, Cranston Western’s 12-year-old all-stars finished their summer as the second-best team in the state of Rhode Island.

They took solace this year in being a very close second.

After losing to Cumberland American by 13 runs earlier in the state tournament, Western matched up against the same team last Thursday in the championship round and nearly pulled off a dramatic upset that would have forced a winner-take-all title game. Western scored two runs in the sixth to take a one-run lead into the final inning but Cumberland American scored two runs in the bottom of the sixth to walk off with an 8-7 win and the state championship.

“I’m disappointed but very proud,” said Western manager Gary Bucci. “I really can’t be any more sincere. It was to the point where I almost had tears in my eyes. They just battled and battled.”

The Western stars had opened the tournament with a victory over Portsmouth but Cumberland American ran them off the field in the winner’s bracket final, winning 17-4. But just two days later, Western beat Coventry American 8-5 to stay alive and set up a rematch with Cumberland. Western would need to win twice to capture the title.

“This is the third time I’ve met up with Gary at the states, and Cranston Western has a great tradition,” said Cumberland manager Dave Belisle, who took a team to the Little League World Series in 2011. “I saw them play against a very good Coventry team, and they handled them. I knew tonight was going to be one heck of a game, I really did.”

It was.

The teams went back-and-forth the whole way. Western tied the game on an Andrew Dionizio home run in the top of the fifth. After falling behind again in the bottom half, Western went up 7-6 in the top of the sixth, with Jared Olson knocking in the go-ahead run.

But the middle of Cumberland’s order was due up in the bottom of the sixth, and Western knew what it was up against.

“I said to [assistant coach Jim Demers], ‘Where are we?’” Bucci said. “He said ‘two-three-four.’ Nothing’s easy.”

Western got a confidence boost right away. C.J. Davock hit a screaming line drive to start the sixth, but Olson snagged it out of the air at third base for the first out.

“I was thinking, ‘Uh oh, that’s some karma for them,’” Belisle said.

But Cumberland kept coming. Jayden Struble drew a walk and Tyler Provost followed with a base hit just past diving second baseman Noah Cook, putting the tying run on second. Addison Kopack brought it in, smacking a 1-2 pitch into left field to score Struble. Provost advanced to third and represented the winning run.

Sean Meers came to the plate next and hit a pop-up into shallow right field. Three Western players converged with second baseman Cook making a tumbling catch. At third base, Provost alertly tagged up and raced for the plate. Cook got up as quickly as he could and fired home, but Provost got there first with the winning run.

“Noah made a great play,” Bucci said. “He couldn’t get up fast enough. What are you going to do?”

Provost easily could have been caught off third base, since it looked like the ball might fall in. Instead, he was tagging – and running.

“If that was not Tyler Provost, we do not score,” Belisle said. “He’s the fastest kid on the team. He did a good job. He tagged up and he ran hard.”

The ending meant heartbreak for Western, but perspective quickly won out. Western had been blown out against the same team, but had come back to deliver a classic.

“That was good stuff,” Belisle said. “It’s amazing what 12-year-old boys can do on a stage like this, both teams putting on a performance like this right to the very end. It’s just a pleasure to be in an atmosphere like this. I thought the crowd was excellent. It was a positive atmosphere. There’s nothing like Little League baseball when it’s played at a high level and played with sportsmanship.”

Western started the game with three runs in the top of the first inning. Dylan Demers had a double while David Marchetti and Cook delivered RBI singles to spark the fast start.

But the back-and-forth trend began immediately as Cumberland hit two home runs in a three-run first inning that tied the game.

Western went back in front on an RBI single by Dionizo that scored Ryan Perkins in the second, but Cumberland answered in the bottom of the second with two runs, both coming on Nick Croteau’s second homer of the game.

Both pitchers – Western’s Anthony Eacuello and Davock for Cumberland – settled in from there before more fireworks in the final two innings.

Though they left Western on the losing end, heads were held high.

“Awesome,” Bucci said. “It was wonderful. We try to teach them mental toughness and it pays off. You really start to see it.”

Western won its fourth consecutive district championship this year and ended up as the state runner-up for the second year in a row. Lincoln beat Western for the title last year.

Cumberland American will advance to the New England Regional in Bristol, Conn., which begins Friday.

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