Bob Seger isn't showing up on a Spotify playlist for any member of the Cranston East baseball team, but the Thunderbolts are taking his words to heart.

A win over La Salle would have continued CE's dream season and sent the team to the state semifinals, but the Bolts' bats went quiet and some late-inning miscues turned a one-run ballgame into a 6-1 final, sending the Rams to the final four and the Bolts to a Wednesday game against rival Cranston West.

And that's where Seger and his Silver Bullet Band comes in.

“Coach always tell us after a tough loss you just have to turn the page and focus on the next game. We just have to all keep our heads up,” Cranston East's Anthony Ramos said. “Yeah, it was a tough loss and we wanted to win this and then one more game and we're at McCoy, but things don't always turn out. That's life.”

“We just have to be able to turn the page,” said East coach Michael Walsh, borrowing from Seger's classic hit. “Obviously there's a lot of things we're unhappy with [Monday], but we'll start with the fact we didn't hit. If you don't hit, you don't win.”

It wasn't for a lack of trying.

Cranston East wasted little time hacking at the first hittable pitch it saw Monday. Sometimes it worked, like when Ramos smoked a double that scored Justin Neary for the first run of the game that had the crowd loud enough to be heard from Park Ave.

Other times it didn't, like in the fourth when the Bolts trailed 2-1 and wasted a one-out double by Robenson Antoine and a hit by pitch Jake Frost. The two were in scoring position with two outs when La Salle starter Jake Benford got Alex Martinez to ground out to end one of the few scoring chances of the game.

“A hit there and we'd be up 3-2 and it didn't get done,” Walsh said. “Just one of those things in that spot of the game. The kid made good pitches and we just have to move forward and kind of reset.”

“We got a little tense after [the first run],” Ramos said. “We have to just keep going and keep fighting. It was a great first inning but we need more. La Salle is a great team, obviously, a little rivalry, there's a little talk, but they're a great team and we can't just score one and expect to win off that.

“We have to keep building up.”

Cranston East starter Gio Canales was scoreless through four innings. He wasn't overpowering, throwing to spots and inducing ground balls and some soft liners to keep the Rams off the bases.

Canales hit La Salle's Peter Rouse to open the fifth, but picked up two quick outs on a sac bunt that advanced Rouse and a fly out to short. Then La Salle's Sean Helfrich snuck a ball inside the third-base bag barely past a diving Zach Cole, bringing Rouse home, and Justin Gervais followed with an RBI double to give the Rams a 2-1 lead.

Things got worse in the sixth. Walks, errors, seeing-eye singles, CE players colliding going for balls. It all happened. Three runs later, the Rams were in control.

“We all have to loosen up, enjoy the game and have fun. Toward the middle of the game we started getting a little bit tense when they hit that double and scored that run,” Ramos said. “You could feel the vibe. Everybody was tight. If that happens, we need to keep fighting. Everybody needs to keep their heads up.”

And that means turning the page on the loss and getting ready for Wednesday's game at McCarthy Stadium in West Warwick against Cranston West, which beat Central 9-0 Monday. It's a win-or-go-home proposition.

“They'll do good in that position,” Walsh said. “Hopefully getting to McCarthy – all the games are at neutral sites now – hopefully the guys can stay relaxed early and not get too wrapped up in it. “

“This is Cranston East 2017. This isn't Cranston East 2014, 15,” Ramos said. “We're a different team and I believe we'll be good.”