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PROVIDENCE – How much can a baseball team change in the span of one game?
West Warwick went from suffering through a one-hitter to battering East Greenwich pitching all over Rhode Island College next time out.
The Wizards turned loose an 18-hit attack Sunday afternoon and put up a pair of six-run innings. This best-of-three title series in Division II will stretch to its limit after West Warwick breezed to a 15-6 victory over the Avengers on June 7, with the finale set for Wednesday afternoon.
Logan Fernandes finished a home run short of the cycle and knocked in four to help fuel the attack for the Wizards, who suffered a 6-1 setback in the Saturday opener. They batted around the order in two of the first three innings while building a 14-5 advantage, and Adrian Gonzalez grinded through five innings on the mound to help West Warwick reset its pitching staff for a 4:30 p.m. start later this week.
“We were still getting each other up and saying we were going to be back,” Fernandes said. “We did it. That’s all.”
East Greenwich took a 2-0 lead after the top of the first and cut it to a 6-5 deficit in the top of the second thanks to a three-run double to right-center by Caiden Souza. The Wizards answered each time with a more powerful punch, essentially putting this one out of reach in the bottom of the third. Joe Riviera’s run-scoring single up the middle, Nick Andruchow’s triple to the base of the 400-foot mark in deep center and Kole Kilduff’s RBI single through the left side set the table for Fernandes, who ripped a two-run double up the gap in right-center to make it a 14-5 cushion.
“I haven’t been hitting the best these playoffs at all, actually,” Fernandes said. “I haven’t gotten a hit. I just came in here and changed my approach up.”
That minor adjustment – attempting to keep his hands inside the ball and drive it between the gaps – had already paid immediate dividends in the bottom of the first. Jair Blanco grounded a run-scoring single through the left side and an error extended the inning for Fernandes, who smashed a two-run triple up that same gap in right-center. Charlie Brown and Luke Gallo followed with RBI singles to push West Warwick out to a 6-2 lead.
“At third base I felt great – best I’ve ever felt, honestly,” Fernandes said. “Championship game, to hit a triple, you’ve got to feel good. It’s very rewarding.”
The Avengers (18-5-1) managed just one more run after the second, shut down by a combination of Gonzalez, Anthony Burt and Jaxson Hull. Both right-handed relievers kept East Greenwich from mounting any sort of meaningful rally, and the Wizards (18-6) earned the right to play in a Game 3 for the second time in three years. They fell to Rogers in the Division III title series in 2024 while the Avengers suffered the middle of their three straight finals series setbacks to Westerly in the same season.
“Loved this season – I've had it with my best friends,” Fernandes said. “Wouldn’t want to do it with anyone else.”
East Greenwich 230 001 0 – 6 6 2
West Warwick 626 001 x – 15 18 7
Miles Doman, Ayaan Modi (1), Keyan Zahedi (3) and Brady O’Brien. Adrian Gonzalez, Anthony Burt (6), Jaxson Hull (7) and Nick Andruchow.
[email protected]
On X: @BillKoch25
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Score of West Warwick vs. East Greenwich Division II baseball series
Continue reading...
West Warwick went from suffering through a one-hitter to battering East Greenwich pitching all over Rhode Island College next time out.
The Wizards turned loose an 18-hit attack Sunday afternoon and put up a pair of six-run innings. This best-of-three title series in Division II will stretch to its limit after West Warwick breezed to a 15-6 victory over the Avengers on June 7, with the finale set for Wednesday afternoon.
Logan Fernandes finished a home run short of the cycle and knocked in four to help fuel the attack for the Wizards, who suffered a 6-1 setback in the Saturday opener. They batted around the order in two of the first three innings while building a 14-5 advantage, and Adrian Gonzalez grinded through five innings on the mound to help West Warwick reset its pitching staff for a 4:30 p.m. start later this week.
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“We were still getting each other up and saying we were going to be back,” Fernandes said. “We did it. That’s all.”
East Greenwich took a 2-0 lead after the top of the first and cut it to a 6-5 deficit in the top of the second thanks to a three-run double to right-center by Caiden Souza. The Wizards answered each time with a more powerful punch, essentially putting this one out of reach in the bottom of the third. Joe Riviera’s run-scoring single up the middle, Nick Andruchow’s triple to the base of the 400-foot mark in deep center and Kole Kilduff’s RBI single through the left side set the table for Fernandes, who ripped a two-run double up the gap in right-center to make it a 14-5 cushion.
“I haven’t been hitting the best these playoffs at all, actually,” Fernandes said. “I haven’t gotten a hit. I just came in here and changed my approach up.”
That minor adjustment – attempting to keep his hands inside the ball and drive it between the gaps – had already paid immediate dividends in the bottom of the first. Jair Blanco grounded a run-scoring single through the left side and an error extended the inning for Fernandes, who smashed a two-run triple up that same gap in right-center. Charlie Brown and Luke Gallo followed with RBI singles to push West Warwick out to a 6-2 lead.
“At third base I felt great – best I’ve ever felt, honestly,” Fernandes said. “Championship game, to hit a triple, you’ve got to feel good. It’s very rewarding.”
The Avengers (18-5-1) managed just one more run after the second, shut down by a combination of Gonzalez, Anthony Burt and Jaxson Hull. Both right-handed relievers kept East Greenwich from mounting any sort of meaningful rally, and the Wizards (18-6) earned the right to play in a Game 3 for the second time in three years. They fell to Rogers in the Division III title series in 2024 while the Avengers suffered the middle of their three straight finals series setbacks to Westerly in the same season.
“Loved this season – I've had it with my best friends,” Fernandes said. “Wouldn’t want to do it with anyone else.”
East Greenwich 230 001 0 – 6 6 2
West Warwick 626 001 x – 15 18 7
Miles Doman, Ayaan Modi (1), Keyan Zahedi (3) and Brady O’Brien. Adrian Gonzalez, Anthony Burt (6), Jaxson Hull (7) and Nick Andruchow.
[email protected]
On X: @BillKoch25
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Score of West Warwick vs. East Greenwich Division II baseball series
Continue reading...
