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By ERIC BENEVIDES Sports editor SLOCUM --- The good news for Cool Air Creations on Thursday night was that the team held Shoreline Post 12 – a ballclub averaging a shade under a dozen runs per game in the postseason – to its lowest output of the postseason.
The bad news for Cool Air was that, aside from a sixth-inning rally, the Woonsocket club was unable to produce much offense against three Shoreline pitchers and ended up on the losing end of a 6-3 verdict at Lischio Field that allowed Shoreline to sweep their best-of-three quarterfinal-round series.
The 12th seed in the 16-team field, Shoreline, which was 9-11 during the regular season, advances to this weekend’s ‘Final Four’ tournament at Rhode Island College, while Cool Air, the tourney’s fourth seed, ends its season with a 16-8 mark.
Cody Normand, who has enjoyed a remarkable postseason for Shoreline, highlighted the triumph with a three-run homer to center field in the bottom of the fifth inning that gave his team a 5-0 command.
But Cool Air, which came into the game determined to take a turn for the better after its 19-9 loss to Shoreline in Wednesday night’s opener at Renaud Field, collected five of its nine hits in the contest in their half of the sixth off winning pitcher David D’Errico, who through the first five innings, allowed just two hits and recorded 10 groundball outs.
Kyle Lacasse led off with a base hit up the middle, and with one out, he dashed to third on a hit-and-run single to left-center by Justin Rainville, who then moved into scoring position two pitches later with an uncontested stolen base.
Ryan Pangborn then lofted a flyball to center, where a frame earlier, center fielder Matt Rhieu gunned down Melvin Torres, who tried to tag up and score on a popout by Derek Mager. Rhieu gloved the ball, and once Lacasse tagged up and broke for the plate, fired another strike home, but his throw was cut off by first baseman Mike Depasquale.
Josh Pangborn followed with a hard-hit double into the gap in left-center to drive home Rainville with ease, and after Brendan Worton legged out an infield hit down the third-base line, Torres doubled into the right-field corner to plate Pangborn.
After Shoreline scored its final run of the contest in the bottom of the sixth on a bases-loaded walk to Normand, Cool Air staged a huge threat in the seventh off reliever Mark Medeiros.
With one gone, the visitors loaded the bases on a bunt single by Lacasse, a bloop infield hit by Jim Castonguay that somehow dropped between three players on the right side of the diamond, and a walk to Rainville.
Ryan Pangborn then struck out for the second out, and when catcher Austin Brown (with his back toward third) lobbed the ball back to Medeiros, Lacasse tried to catch Shoreline napping and dashed for the plate, but Medeiros quickly fired the ball back to Brown and he easily tagged out Lacasse.
Normand then picked up a save by working the final two innings and retiring six of the seven batters he faced, allowing just a walk to pinch-hitter Ryan Coffey with one out in the ninth.
Shoreline took a quick 2-0 lead off losing pitcher Matt Okruta in its opening swings, A leadoff walk to Eddie Apice and a bloop single to right by Dave Boulter set the tables for a sacrifice fly to center by D’Errico and a two-out, run-scoring bloop single to shallow left by Ryan Morris.
Okruta silenced Post 12 through the next three innings, but in the fifth, Apice led off by reaching base on an infield error, Boulter doubled over the head of Torres in center, and D’Errico capped a lengthy at-bat by popping out to first on Okruta’s 14th pitch to him.
That set the stage for Normand, who turned on a 1-1 pitch by Okruta and hammered it over the 361-foot sign in center to give the hosts their five-run cushion.
Josh Pangborn, Lacasse, and Torres each finished the game with two hits for Cool Air, while Post 12 received three hits each from Boulter and D’Errico and three runs scored from Apice.
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Cool Air Creations 000 003 000—3-9-2
Shoreline Post 12 200 031 00x—6-12-1
Matt Okruta, Nick Naradowy (5), Brendan Worton (6), James Castonguay (8) and Josh Pangborn; David D’Errico, Mark Medeiros (7), Cody Normand (8) and Austin Brown. HR – Cody Normand (S). |
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