By STEVE MAZZONE

Sports writer

WOONSOCKET – Closer instead of further, it didn’t matter. Kelly Ryan still got the job done.
Releasing the ball from a slightly different territory, the senior righthander turned in one of her strongest outings of the year on Thursday afternoon with a season-best 15 strikeouts, lifting Mount St. Charles Academy to a 4-3 triumph over East Providence High in a single-elimination preliminary contest of the Division I state tournament.

By STEVE MAZZONE
Sports Writer
Ryan hurled a no-hitter into the sixth inning and was aided by one big inning in the fourth to secure the ‘W’. She yielded just two hits in the contest.
“My hat’s off to them,” EP head coach Rob Traverse said. “They played a good game and the girl in the circle – she was good.”
The verdict puts a close to the Townies (8-9) season and sends the Mounties (12-6) to the double-elimination portion of the playoffs where they’ll be back on the field this afternoon against Bay View, a No. 2 seed. First pitch will be at 3 p.m., just three hours before the Mount’s junior-senior prom.
“Tomorrow we’re going to go crazy,” Ryan said. “We want to win that game. All our effort is going to be into it because we’re not going to miss our hair appointments for nothing.”
Thursday’s game certainly began with a weird twist. After EP starter Kelly Clancy struck out the side in the top of the first inning, coaches from both teams as well as the two umpires congregated on the mound. The reason behind their meeting was Traverse noticed that the mound appeared a little longer than the 40-foot distance to home plate that is required under the rules of the Rhode Island Interscholastic League.
After getting a tape measure from one of the fans, Traverse was found to be right as it measured 43 feet.
“I don’t know how the change got made,” said MSC coach Cliff Matthews. “Last year we put in for a new home plate and new pitching plate. I don’t know if the ground’s people put the plate where it used to be. If they did, we’ve been pitching from 43 feet for seven years.”
With the coaches taking the place of the ground’s crew, the game experienced a half-hour delay as the rubber was moved to the correct distance. Both pitches benefitted from the alteration. Ryan had her best strikeout effort of the season, while Clancy fanned nine batters, the most by Mount all spring.
“I think having the mound three feet closer helps,” Matthews said. “But the flip side is now our (hitters) have to look at a pitch that’s three-feet closer. That’s another split second that they are not going to have time to react.”
In a game that it appeared one run might be enough the Townies scored just that in the top of the fourth despite not a single hit. Leadoff Ashley Curti reached base after getting hit by a pitch. She advanced to second on a groundout to first by Lauren Ghazel. She was then plated when first baseman Taylor McEldowney mishandled a hard shot by Danielle Rizzini.
Clancy, who had eight of her first nine outs via the strikeout, ran into a little trouble in the bottom of the fourth as the Mounties would generate all the offense they would need in the frame. With Ryan (single) and Foresti (single) on second and third with no outs, the Mounties were able to load the bases when Rebecca Ashley’s slow roller was picked up by Clancy, who held on to the ball rather than throw to first to allow Ryan to score. Shortly after, Ryan came home on a wild pitch.
Freshmen Nikki Silva followed with a clutch, two-run double to deep right field and then scored on another wild pitch tossed by Clancy.
“When they got that first run it was a tough way to give up a run,” Matthews said. “But we came back with four of our own. We executed well in that inning. I can’t say enough about freshman Nikki Silva. What a shot. That was just huge for us.”
East Providence would get two back in the sixth inning with Caity Arico (walk) scoring on a wild pitch and Morgan Johnson driving in Rizzini, who had a double, with a two-bagger of her own with two outs. Ryan ended any further trouble by fanning Kelsey Durand for the final out.
“It was a great team effort,” Ryan said. “Everybody came together for the big win.”
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East Providence 000 102 0 – 3 2 1
Mount St. Charles 000 400 x – 4 5 2
Kelley Clancy and Lauren Ghazel. Kelly Ryan and Ashley Rigano. 2B – EP, Morgan Johnson, Danielle Rizzini. 3B – MSC, Nikki Silva.