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By MICHAEL PARENTE Sports writer EAST PROVIDENCE ---- One baserunner can start a rally, much like one tiny pebble can cause an avalanche.
With the Mounties down to their final four outs of the season, Ryan Levesque turned out to be the rock that triggered the landslide. With the Mounties down to their final four outs of the season, Ryan Levesque turned out to be the rock that triggered the landslide.
Levesque’s one-out walk in the top of the sixth inning sparked a dramatic comeback Thursday as Mount Saint Charles staved off elimination by erasing a one-run deficit with 11 unanswered runs in a 13-3 victory over top-seeded North Smithfield in the Division II semifinals at Pierce Field.
Down 0-2 in the count, Levesque worked out a walk against reliever Matt Okruta to bring the go-ahead run to the plate. Four of the next five hitters reached safely as the Mounties scored five runs in the sixth to take a 7-3 lead.
They added six more in the seventh courtesy of two errors and a misplayed fly ball to complete the improbable rally.
Mount, which has played six games in eight days since dropping into the losers’ bracket last week, needs one more win over the Northmen in Friday’s winner-take-all regional final at 3:30 p.m. to advance to the state championship series.
“That was a game that went from being an enjoyable baseball game that we were certainly competing in to being an absolute disaster,” North Smithfield head coach Marc Talbot said. “The 0-2 walk to Levesque was huge, but with that having been said, there were other errors prior to that that cost us.
“We had other problems out there, and the result was a 10-run whooping.”
The Northmen were so close to advancing to the finals, they could almost count the number of strikes remaining, but Levesque spoiled the fun by drawing a walk against Okruta, who was pitching on two days’ rest after relieving starter Brian Van Pelt in the fifth.
With runners on second and third and two outs, Josh Lancellotti singled up the middle to drive in the game-tying run, and leadoff hitter Chris Ford (3-for-5 with a home run and three RBIs) put the Mounties ahead for good with a two-run double to left. Not to be outdone, John Guay crushed a 2-2 pitch over the fence in left-center field for a two-run home run that made it 7-3.
“Motivation was tough early on in the game when we were down and it was tough to stay up,” Guay said, “but kids doing little things like taking a walk or running everything out when you pop it up or keeping your head focused in the game helped us stay in it and eventually pull it out.
“It’s all momentum. We’ve won five in a row in the playoffs. We’ve been facing elimination, but we seem to meet the challenge every time because we play as a team. We have the momentum in our hands and we’re taking it.”
After reliever Stephen Gomes worked a scoreless sixth, the Mounties went back to work in the seventh. Brendan Combes, Ryan Pangborn and Levesque reached safely to load the bases with nobody out and Gomes followed with a deep drive to right off Nick Lafleur. Nick Naradowy stopped in his tracks and appeared to have the ball in his sights before turning around and watching it sail over his head for a three-run triple. Errors by second baseman Brendan Barry and Kevin Okruta at shortstop allowed two more runs to score before Combes struck out to mercifully end the inning.
“That’s never happened to us this year,” Talbot said. “I told my guys that very same thing. We have had a fantastic season in that every game we’ve played has been close. The biggest margin of defeat we’ve had is a two-run loss to Prout.
“I told them that 1 2/3 innings cannot define us. This game did become one of those snowball things. I don’t know why, because it hasn’t happened all year long. We played 21 games, and it has not happened. In the 22nd game, it happened, and it’s our job tonight to tell ourselves that and make sure that we don’t define our season by 1 2/3 innings.”
Matt Okruta took the loss, allowing eight earned runs on seven hits in two-plus innings, while Vaughn Hayward earned the victory for Mount despite an uncharacteristically wild performance. Hayward lacked his typical command, walking five batters and hitting one, but he struck out eight and allowed only three runs – one earned – on three hits. He also pitched five full innings, allowing Seaver to mix and match his relievers down the stretch.
Gomes retired the side in order in the sixth and Lancellotti pitched around an error and a walk in the seventh to secure the win. The Northmen did not have a hit after the fourth inning.
“Vaughn ate up some innings today and that’s what we needed until we got the rallies,” Mount head coach Tom Seaver said. “Then I loved what our two relief pitchers did. Steve showed a big difference after Vaughn and Josh got the job done.”
Naradowy, who was Talbot’s top pitcher during the regular season, will start Friday’s elimination game for North Smithfield. Seaver had yet to decide on a pitcher following Thursday’s victory, due in large part to his team having played six games in eight days.
“We’re not out of the woods. Nick Naradowy is a tremendous pitcher and we know he’s rested and ready to go,” Seaver said. “He shut down Exeter/West Greenwich, 5-0, a week ago and they’re a great team, so we know we have our work cut out for us (Friday).”
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Mount 001 015 6–13 13 4
North Smithfield 002 100 0–3 3 4
Vaughn Hayward, Stephen Gomes (6), Josh Lancellotti (7) and Josh Pangborn, Paul Archambault (3), Josh Pangborn (4). Brian Van Pelt, Matt Okruta (5), Nick Lafleur (7) and Ben Ethier. 2B – Chris Ford, John Guay, Ryan Pangborn, Gomes. 3B – Gomes. HR – Ford, Guay.
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