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Mashpee's Matt Skane steals second, beating the tag of shortstop Mike Locke Saturday. Locke had the game-winning hit, however. |
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Photo Michael Iacuessa
Provincetown's Alex Rokicki slides safely ahead of Mashpee third baseman Mike Matton's tag after a two-run triple Saturday. |
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13-4 loss to Seekonk sinks Fishermen
By Michael Iacuessa
BANNER CORRESPONDENT
SEEKONK — Provincetown bowed out of the Div. 3 state tournament Monday with a 13-4 loss at Seekonk in the South quarterfinals, but not before giving the home crowd a victory for the ages Saturday over Mashpee.
The Fishermen carried some of that momentum to Seekonk, scoring two runs in the top of the first, but the second-seeded Warriors tallied six of their own in the bottom half of the inning and had another big inning in the fourth with five runs.
Despite Derek Menangas's three hits, including a triple, Provincetown lost, ending the season at 15-7. It was the second time in three years the school made it to the quarterfinal round. The Fishermen came in as the seventh seed this year.
Coach John White had nothing but praise for his players.
"I'm proud of these kids. They did a great job. I told them that when you are in the quarterfinals you are among the elite eight. There were 25 teams in that tournament."
For seniors Adam Hobbs, Mike Locke and Menangas, it was their fourth trip to the state tournament, an accomplishment in itself for a small school.
Seekonk, with 22 players on its roster, primarily rode on the back of just one — its pitcher Greg Calandra, who only struck out four but walked none while allowing six hits. His teammates made just one error.
"In high school baseball when you can get a pitcher to put the ball over the plate and get the defense to make the plays, you are going to win 90 percent of the time," said White.
Seekonk benefited from Provincetown miscues in the first. The first batter reached on an error and then the Fishermen had a chance to turn a double play but failed.
"Before we knew it we were down 6-2 and we just didn't recover from that," the coach said.
Mike Locke pitched well in relief of starter Alex Rokicki, allowing one hit and one unearned run in the last two-and-a-half innings, but Provincetown trailed 12-2 by that time.
On Saturday at Motta Field, it was a different story, when the Fishermen emerged with a 6-5 roller coaster victory over Mashpee.
It was a game that Locke, playing shortstop, perhaps will remember the longest.
The team's cleanup hitter, Locke struck out with two runners on in the first, popped up to end the second with two more on, and succumbed with runners on second and third in the sixth as well.
Still, Provincetown held a slim 5-4 lead and was one out away from victory in the seventh. Mashpee's Tyler Monahan was on third when Matt Skane lifted a shallow fly into left. In a Bill Buckner-like moment, Locke dropped the ball as he fell making the catch, allowing Monahan to tie the game.
Nonetheless, an inning later, he emerged as the game's hero with a sharp single through short, plating Rokicki for the game-winning run.
"He came with the heat. He just thought he could put it by me," Locke, sounding plenty confident, said of Mashpee pitcher Matthew Colasuorno. "I was just trying to make contact and put it in play."
Locke admitted frustration after his fielding miscue but said he had been fired up since being hit with a pitch earlier in the game.
Tensions were high all around as Mashpee was called for interference twice, once on a hard slide to break up a double play in the seventh and again in the bottom half when first baseman Nick Dunn bumped Jake Morris after he had reached safely on an error.
Mashpee took a quick 3-0 lead in the first. With one out, Provincetown starter Adam Hobbs walked two batters after 3-2 counts and then allowed Skane to scorch a deep double to left field. Skane then scored on a single by Mason Pare.
"I was a little nervous in the beginning," said Hobbs. "I was little rusty. I hadn't thrown in a week."
The Fishermen answered in the bottom half when Jake Roderick slapped a two-out bases loaded single to score Hobbs and Menangas. The Fishermen then tied the game on an error.
Hobbs settled down on the mound, allowing just two hits and no walks until the sixth when he walked Noah Hammond on a close pitch and Colasuorno's ensuing RBI single made it 4-3.
Mashpee starter Mike Matton got in trouble right away in the bottom half, however, walking Bronson Zawaduk and hitting Hobbs with a pitch. Colasuorno came into pitch and Rokicki greeted him by slamming a triple to deep center, putting the Fishermen ahead for the first time, 5-4.
Despite no one out at the time, Rokicki was stranded at third setting the table for Mashpee to tie the game in the seventh.
In the eighth, Rokicki led off with a walk. White called for a hit-and-run and Menangas delivered a single, putting runners at the corners to bring Locke up for the game-winner.
"It is what you live for, to play games like that," said Locke.
White said he felt confident Locke was going to come back and play a key role in extra innings.
"I feel like I just went 15 rounds today," he said. "We just didn't quit and that's the sign of a good team."
Hobbs went the distance for the win.
"Adam pitched his heart out," said the coach.
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PHS Sports
Nauset Sports |
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Jun 9th, 2005