East rallied late to sneak by Cranston West, 6-4, at Brayton Avenue Softball Complex Saturday night in non-league action.

Brittany Rice broke the tie with a 2-RBI single in the top of the seventh inning to give East the win.

“That was a crucial hit for her,” East head coach P.J. Bessette said. “She’s been a catalyst for the team all year. Behind the plate, I trust her calling the game and everything she does. I can’t ask any more of her, senior captain and she came through with a big hit tonight.”

Camryn Ricci was the starting pitcher for West.

“She did well,” West head coach Jeff Smith said. “She had a handful of strikeouts. She moved the ball around. She got a little winded at the end and they got around on her.”

Bessette said his offense took a little while to get going.

“We started off slow,” Bessette said. “We didn’t adjust to the pitching. Camryn, she pitched a hell of a game. At the end, we adjusted, we got the hits and the bunts that we needed and everything worked out on our end.”

Kaitlynn Drowne pitched for East. Both pitchers stayed in the entire game.

In the bottom of the inning, Drowne got Giuliana Hathaway to line out to the second baseman. Next, Drowne walked Danielle Carmody. After, Carmody stole second. Marissa Cushman hit an RBI double to drive in Carmody and give West a 1-0 lead.  

In the top of the second, Rice flew out to deep center. After Ricci walked Kia Antoine, she was able to get Amber Carnevale and Latarra Harris to fly out.

In the top of the fourth, East threatened when Noelle Bisignano hit a double to right. However, McKenzie Richards popped out to center and Rice lined out to the shortstop, which led to Bisignano getting tagged by Cushman for the double play.

In the bottom of the fourth, West’s MacKenzie Beyer hit a single. Next, Beyer stole second. Drowne was able to get Cushman and Alyssa Ragosta to fly out before Beyer stole third. Then, O’Brien hit an RBI single to center to score Beyer and put West up 2-0.

In the top of the fifth, Carnevale got on with a base hit. Next, Harris laid down a successful bunt that moved the runner to third, while Harris was also safe at first. Then, Amber Pinheiro hit a 2-RBI double to score both runners and tie the game at 2. Next, Antoine came up with a double to score Pinheiro and give East a 3-2 lead.

In the bottom of the fifth, West freshman Julia Hazian had a fly ball that fell in for a hit. Next, Hathaway hit a rocket to move Hazian to third. After a 2-RBI double from Carmody, West went back on top, 4-3.

After letting up a hit to Richards in the top of the sixth, Ricci was able to settle in and set down the next three hitters, finishing off with a strikeout on Carnevale.

In the bottom of the inning, West threatened. First, Ragosta led off with a single. Next, O’Brien worked a walk. However, East was able to get out of the jam when it got the lead runner at third on a bunt attempt before getting the next two hitters to fly out.

In the top of the seventh, Harris hit a single. Next, Serena Bobola came in as the pinch runner for Harris. Brianna Schneider then got a hit to center. Next, Pinheiro bunted and the bases were loaded with no outs.

Ricci was able to strike out Antoine in the bottom of the seventh. But, with two outs, Richards came through with an RBI single to score Schneider and tie the game at 4. Next, Rice hit a bases loaded, 2-RBI single to give East a 6-4 lead.

In the bottom of the seventh, Drowne got the first hitter, Hathaway, out on a grounder. Next, she got Carmody to fly out. After Drowne surrendered a hit to Beyer, she was able to get Marissa Cushman out on a bunt to end the game and earn the win for East.

West’s Smith saw the momentum change hands.

“We just gave up a walk and a hit and then the Cranston East bats came clawing back and there was just no stopping them,” Smith said. “Hats off to them. They put runners on base in the seventh inning and pushed a lot of runs across.”