Winning a rivalry game is never easy, and Friday was no exception. But even as rivalry games go, the Cranston West baseball team was fortunate to come away with a 5-4 victory over Cranston East, and the Falcons know it.

“A win is a win,” said West head coach Rob Malo. “I’ll take it.”

After falling behind 3-0 in the first inning and trailing by a run entering the bottom of the seventh, West walked off with a 5-4 victory thanks to a pair of runs without the benefit of a hit. Armand Vaziri’s one-out sacrifice fly to center field scored Travis Collins for the game-winning run.

East committed seven errors in the game, including two in the seventh to let a would-be victory slip away.

“We can’t keep putting guys on base,” said East head coach Mike Walsh. “It’s something we talked about coming into this game and it’s been happening all year. We’re not making routine plays. If you can’t make routine plays, you’re going to struggle.”

West followed up the win with another one the next day, as it knocked off La Salle 2-1 to improve to 5-1 overall. The Falcons have the second-best record in Division I.

East went the opposite direction, losing its fourth straight game on Saturday 5-1 to North Providence in eight innings. The ’Bolts are 2-4.

“I’ve got to give it up for the kids,” Malo said. “They battled back and they kept at it.”

The seventh-inning rally began in the top half of the inning, when West pitcher Tom Sammartino picked Alex Figueiredo off first base with one out before center fielder Gersham Rainone made an acrobatic diving catch heading toward the infield on a ball hit by Nick Croft to retire the side.

That focused the Falcons for their final chance at a comeback.

“That was a great catch by Gersham,” Malo said. “That kind of got us fired up for the bottom of the seventh, which always helps.”

Still, they needed East’s help to get it done. Rainone led off the inning with a high fly ball to center field off East pitcher Chrisdione Mendez, and Mike Castillo lost it in the sun. He got under it and nearly caught it, but it slipped out of his glove and Rainone reached first. Mendez then walked Travis Collins and was pulled for Anthony Perry.

Perry struck out Jimmy Diehl for the first out, but a wild throw to third from catcher Vannak Rourm on a double steal allowed Rainone to head home with the tying run. It put the winning run on third with one out.

“It was nice that the kids were seeing things and being aggressive,” Malo said.

Perry intentionally walked Kemi Idowu to get to Vaziri, but Vaziri finished the job with a deep fly to center that allowed Collins to tag and score easily with the game-winner.

“To get to the seventh inning with a one-run lead and have a ball get lost in the sun, it’s just tough,” Walsh said.

It wasn’t the prettiest game right from the start. West starter Rob Santos retired two of the first three men he faced in the top of the first, but then allowed a single to Figueiredo and walked Croft to load the bases. He then walked the next three men – Nick Mendez, Josh Nerney and Zac Sailer – to bring in three runs.

West made a move to the bullpen at that point and brought in Sammartino, who struck out Alex Whitney to retire the side. But the Falcons were already down 3-0 before coming to bat.

“We started off and our pitcher struggled to find the plate,” Malo said. “That put us in a pickle there, down three runs early. Our goal is to go out and win the first inning, and that was shot right there.”

The ’Bolts nearly gave it all right back. Figueiredo, East’s starter, struck out the first man he faced but then walked Rainone and gave up a single to Collins. Collins’ hit was misplayed in the outfield and Rainone reached third, with Collins taking second. Collins should have been retired on the previous pitch, but his playable foul pop-up was dropped by Corniel at third base.

Diehl was up next and he skied one to left field, where a miscommunication led to that ball falling in as well, scoring Rainone. A sacrifice fly by Idowu brought the Falcons within 3-2.

“To come out and score three in the first, I thought we did a good job being patient at the plate,” Walsh said. “Then we gave a couple up that we shouldn’t have. It changes the complexion of the game.”

Sammartino settled in on the hill for West, surrendering just one run on an RBI fielder’s choice by Sailer in the third inning. He gave up six hits in 6.1 innings of work while striking out three and walking none.

“He’s not going to blow the ball by anybody, but he’s off-balance enough with his fastball and other two or three pitches,” Malo said. “As long as he’s around the plate, he’s effective.”

West tried to chip away at the deficit, but left runners on second and third in the second inning and had a runner caught stealing at third base in the third inning. In the fifth, Figueiredo got out of a bases-loaded, one-out jam without allowing a run.

The Falcons got to 4-3 with a run in the sixth off of Mendez. Vaziri walked and Dan Smith reached on an error. After a lineout, Sam Franco put down a perfect suicide squeeze to score Vaziri.

That set the stage for West’s two-run finish and the walk-off win.

“When it’s East-West, there’s no records,” Malo said. “It doesn’t matter whether we’re undefeated or have no wins, or the two teams are the opposite or evenly matched. It’s always going to be a battle.”

Corniel, Croft and Figueiredo each had a pair of hits to lead the ’Bolts.

The next day, when West defeated La Salle, starting pitcher Myles Levy was the star. He took a perfect game into the seventh inning before allowing a pair of hits and a run. The Falcons scored two early runs, though, and held on for the win. Smith and Collins had the RBI’s.

West was scheduled to be at Johnston on Tuesday, with the results unavailable at press time. It will also play at St. Raphael on Thursday at 11 a.m. and host Lincoln Saturday at 12 p.m.

East was scheduled to take on Hendricken on Tuesday, and then travel to La Salle on Thursday at 11 a.m. After that, it goes to Cumberland for a Saturday game at 1 p.m.