Timely hitting, shutdown pitching leads Warwick North to District 3 title

By Jacob marrocco
Posted 7/21/16

Warwick North got clutch hits when it needed them most on Monday night, and its reward is the District 3 title and a trip to the state championship this weekend. Kenny Rix lined a 3-run home run in the first and

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Timely hitting, shutdown pitching leads Warwick North to District 3 title

Posted

Warwick North got clutch hits when it needed them most on Monday night, and its reward is the District 3 title and a trip to the state championship this weekend.

Kenny Rix lined a 3-run home run in the first and pinch hitter Max Turner blooped a 2-RBI single in the fourth to help lead Warwick North past South Kingstown, 7-3, at Tuckertown Field in Wakefield.

“I just think we were more focused,” Warwick North manager Ken Rix thought was the difference between the victory and the previous night’s 9-4 loss against SK. “It’s great to have a home game with a chance to win the championship, I’m not making excuses for them, but sometimes there are a lot of distractions. Today, we were a lot more focused. We knew we had a job to do and we had to play good ball to beat this team.”

North also received a pair of impressive performances on the mound. Ace Colin Lemieux picked up the win after going 3 2/3 innings and striking out eight. Reliever Dom Brazeau shut down SK for the last couple innings, stranding six runners and closing the door.

South Kingstown jumped ahead first in the opening frame following catcher Joey Scrofani’s sacrifice fly, but North wouldn’t stay down for long. Aaron Narcavage reached on a catcher’s interference and Lemieux walked to set up a one-out situation with the tying run in scoring position for Rix.

He did Warwick North two better. Rix took the second pitch he saw out of the ballpark to right center field to give North a 3-1 lead it wouldn’t relinquish.

“I was just looking for a base hit,” Kenny Rix said of his first-inning at-bat. “I just wanted to get a base hit to just even get on the board. I just tried for a line drive and it just kept going.

“I knew it pretty much off the bat,” he continued, with a smile. “I knew it was gonna be going, I was so excited.”

It would tack on an insurance run later in the first when pinch runner Brendan McCaffrey scored on an errant throw by Scrofani.

Lemieux would hold that lead down until he reached his 85-pitch limit late in the fourth inning. He was responsible for nine of the 11 outs he recorded, adding a 1-3 ground out to his eight Ks.

He looked to finish the fourth inning as his pitch count climbed, but throw No. 85 went for ball four to No. 9 hitter Noah Brunelli, turning the order over to Connor Kelly.

“He came through for us big in a championship game and that’s what we expect out of him,” Ken Rix said of Lemieux. “He didn't disappoint today. We’re very pleased.”

Brazeau came in looking to end the threat, and he did so quickly. Kelly took the first two pitches for balls before lining out to center field.

North looked for the decisive blow in the fourth. Sean Gallagher recorded his second hit of the day when he lined an RBI single into left field to plate Lemieux with the fifth run.

Reliever Ben Brutti would later load the bases for pinch hitter Max Turner. North left the bases full in the second inning with nobody out, but that wouldn’t be the case this time around. Turner blooped the first pitch he saw into left field to score Rix and Gallagher. Warwick had a comfortable 7-1 cushion and the insurance would prove valuable in the last two innings.

“I was really nervous because I was on the bench and I had to come in, so I was just looking for a pitch I could hit,” Turner said.

SK added a run in the sixth to bring the deficit down to five before making things interesting in the seventh. Brazeau breezed through the last two hitters in the order with a strikeout and ground out on four pitches before the top gave him trouble.

“I was nervous, but I kept calm because my defense is so good,” Brazeau said of his relief appearance.

Kelly launched a home run to center field to make it 7-3. Back-to-back singles from Brutti and Scrofani put the tying run on deck and brought cleanup hitter Trey Young to the dish. Young didn’t wait around, lining out to left field to end the game and send North into a frenzy.

“That was great,” Lemieux said about seeing the final out recorded. “We’re a family. If someone gets an out, we’re all happy. We’re just glad to win the game.”

The state tournament is set to commence Saturday morning with reigning champion and District 1 representative Cranston Western taking on District 4 champion Lincoln at 10:30 a.m. at Hien Field. North will face District 2 winner Middletown at 1:30 p.m.

“It’s all about execution,” Ken Rix said. “I tell them that all the time. We’ve got to stay hungry, but you also have to execute. You’ve got to make the basic plays, and we’ll see. We’re gonna run into three more good teams. But we’re still playing, and that’s a good thing.”

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