Hawks edge Falcons, take sole possession of first

By Matt Metcalf
Posted 5/26/16

If the first meeting of the season wasn't convincing enough, Monday's game confirmed that the Bishop Hendricken-Cranston West baseball rivalry is back with full force. The two teams that have combined to win the last 13

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Hawks edge Falcons, take sole possession of first

Posted

If the first meeting of the season wasn’t convincing enough, Monday’s game confirmed that the Bishop Hendricken-Cranston West baseball rivalry is back with full force.

The two teams that have combined to win the last 13 state championships played to their second one-run game of the spring. However, this time it was Hendricken that emerged victorious, 4-3, as a double play ball off the bat of Matt Sweeney brought in Andrew Hopgood, breaking a 3-3 tie in the bottom of the fourth.

Hendricken, which totaled just three hits in the game, capitalized on West starter Hayden Parkes’s control issues, with the right-hander walking six and hitting two more in a complete game effort.

“Unfortunately, that’s been his downside this year,” West head coach Rob Malo said of Parkes’s control issues. “He’ll strike out five and walk five. Today, against a better team, it came back to bite us.”

After a scoreless first frame, Hendricken broke the stalemate in the bottom of the second.

Brendan Conley and Andrew Flint got things started with back-to-back walks, before Tucker Flint moved them to second and third with a sacrifice bunt.

Jordan Carvalho then grounded an inside pitch to Dan Smith at third, who fired home to Sam Franco. However, Conley knocked the ball out of Franco’s glove with his slide to give Hendricken a 1-0 lead.

West would bounce right back, though.

On three hits, a walk and a hit batsman in the top of the third, the Falcons were able to push in front, 3-1.

Brett Traficante began the three-run inning by getting hit by a pitch, and he advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Steve Piscopiello.

That turned the order over to leadoff man Nik San Antonio, who singled to put runners on the corners with one out.

Hendricken right-hander Matt Kennedy got Franco to pop out to Hopgood at first for the second out, but he wasn’t out of the woods yet.

No. 3 hitter, Matt Lonardo, stepped to the plate looking for a clutch, two-out hit, and he produced, ripping a single to center to score Traficante and tie the game at 1.

After Drew Spirito drew a walk to load the bases, Smith delivered West’s biggest hit of the day, as he lined a pitch on the inner half to the left center field gap to score San Antonio and Lonardo, giving his squad a 3-1 advantage.

But Parkes couldn’t respond with the shut-down inning that West desperately needed.

He hit Baldelli with a pitch to start the bottom of the third and, with one down, hit Sweeney to put runners on first and second.

That proved costly, as Conley roped a pitch to left field for a single that was mishandled, scoring Baldelli and Sweeney while tying the game at 3. Conley advanced to third on the error, but Hendricken couldn’t bring him home. Parkes walked Andrew Flint, before striking out Tucker Flint for the second out.

The tall righty then walked Carvalho to load the bases, but fanned Colin McBride to escape the inning without further damage.

For Hendricken, that response was critical after surrendering its lead in the top half of the third.

“That was huge,” Hendricken head coach Ed Holloway said. “We score and then they get three on us, so it was key to get those runs right back.”

After the third inning, Kennedy was lights out for the Hawks.

Over the final four innings, Hendricken’s ace struck out four and allowed just one baserunner via a walk in the seventh.

“I was very impressed with him,” Holloway said of Kennedy. “That’s how he pitched last year. We didn’t play a good game to be honest, but we won that game because of Matt Kennedy. He got tough when he had to, and he got stronger as the game went on. He wanted it, and this is definitely his win.”

With Kennedy settling in, Hendricken’s lineup was able to scratch across one last run in the fourth.

Hopgood and Baldelli started the inning with back-to-back singles, and a walk to second baseman Elijah Brown loaded the bases with no one out.

Sweeney then grounded a pitch hard to Lonardo at short, who fed San Antonio for a flawless double play. Hopgood came in to score on the play, giving the Hawks a 4-3 lead, but it was a trade off that West was certainly happy with at the time.

With Baldelli on third, Parkes forced Conley to ground out to first to end the inning with minimal damage.

However, Kennedy proved to be too strong down the stretch.

He walked Traficante to lead off the seventh, but he would bear down and retire the next three hitters in order.

Piscopiello flew out to left field for the first out, and Sweeney fired to first for the second out after Kennedy got San Antonio to roll over to third.

On the grounder, Traficante advanced to second, giving Franco a chance to tie the game with a base knock.

He got under a Kennedy pitch and popped it up to Baldelli in center for the final out, though, securing a split in the season series.

Both Hendricken and West would get in the win column on Tuesday, as well, with the Hawks edging Middletown 3-2 and the Falcons shutting out North Providence 2-0.

Hendricken (15-2) now owns sole possession of first place in Division I-A, and will enter the postseason as the subdivision’s top seed if it wins its final game.

West (14-3), on the other hand, dropped to second place with the loss, but will secure that No. 2 spot if it emerges victorious in its last game.

The Falcons will conclude their season at Middletown at 4 p.m. today, while Hendricken will end its season by hosting Cranston East at 3:45 p.m.

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