Bishop Hendricken pitcher Chris Sheehan allowed three runs in the first, but pitched five scoreless innings afterward as the Hawks defeated No. 1 seed North Kingstown, 5-3, in the winner's bracket of the state playoffs at McCarthy Field in West Warwick.
Hendricken third baseman Alex Vescera not only had a leadoff double in the crucial, four-run fifth inning, but also contributed in the field with a diving stop, a tagout and throw to first for a double play that killed a Skippers' rally in the third.
It was a two-run single by freshman Billy Walker that provided the winning cushion for the Hawks in the fifth inning. Chris Costantino hit a solo home run for Hendricken in the fourth.
Hawks' reliever Angelo St. Laurent squelched a rally by the Skippers in the fifth when he got David D'Errico to ground out with the bases loaded. St. Laurent then retired the side in the seventh to record the save.
The win earned the defending state champs an automatic berth in the state championship game on Thursday at McCoy Stadium in Pawtucket, June 11. They will play the winner of the elimination game between North Kingstown and South Kingstown on Wednesday, June 10.
In the loser's bracket game also held at McCarthy Field, South Kingstown eliminated Cranston West, 5-4, behind a complete-game performance by their pitching ace, Kevin Laurie.
Laurie got all the runs he needed in the first two innings. The Rebels went through the entire batting order in the first inning. But they surged ahead, 4-0, on a combination of three walks, an error, a hit-batsman and only one hit.
Cranston West broke through for three runs in the sixth on just one hit, capitalizing on four walks, an error and a wild pitch. The Falcons threatened again in the seventh, following a single and stolen base by Shane Milan and an error that narrowed the lead to one. But Laurie bore down and recorded the win when he retired the final Falcons' batter on a fly out to center field.
Division 2: Prout, Mt. St. Charles to meet in finale
Prout overcame a 4-1 deficit with four runs in the sixth inning for a 5-4 win over North Smithfield. The win advanced the Crusaders to the best two-of-three state championship finale on Wednesday, June 10, at 3:30 p.m. at McCoy Stadium against Mt. St. Charles Academy.
Singles by Shane Sandoval, Matt Dowd, Holden Bussey, David Horsefield and Chris Siravo, capped by a base-loaded walk by Tom Shubert to force in the final run, hurdled Prout past the upset-minded Northmen.
Brad Horsfield had a rocky start by allowing three runs in the first inning, but the hurler finsihed strong to complete the game.
In the other semifinal, Mt. St. Charles relied on the stellar pitching of Vaughn Hayward, who yielded just one hit in five innings and struck out nine batters in a 4-1 triumph over Johnston. Hayward also helpled his cause in a three-run fourth with a double with RBI singles by Josh Pangborn and Ryan Levesque. Nick Bowen also had an excellent stint in relief for the Mounties.
