Down by three early, North Kingstown rallies to beat Portsmouth in semifinal series opener
NORTH KINGSTOWN — The North Kingstown High School baseball team got the key hit when it was needed while Portsmouth came up just short in the final inning.
The host Skippers rallied from an early three-run deficit to earn a 4-3 win in the opening game of a best-of-three state semifinal playoff series Tuesday at Lischio Field.
“It was a heck of a battle. We just missed this one,” Portsmouth coach Ryan Long said. “It was one of the best ones we’ve been involved in. We’re looking forward to the next time. We’ll be ready.”
Game 2 is scheduled for Thursday in Portsmouth, with the first pitch at 3:45 p.m.
North Kingstown’s TJ Gormley singled home Max Proulx in the fourth inning with what proved to be the game-winning run, and Portsmouth’s Owen Malone — who was robbed of extra bases in his previous at-bat — sent left fielder Proulx to the warning track to snag his bases-loaded fly ball to end the game.
“The same thing happened our first game against (South Kingstown),” Gormley said. “They put up three in the first inning and we came back and won 4-3. We did the same thing here. It’s just mental toughness. And we fight adversity very well.”
After the Patriots scored three times in their opening trip to the plate — one on Nick Spaner’s sacrifice fly, another on Teagan Brady’s base hit and the third on an error — the Skippers got one run back in the third off Portsmouth starting pitcher John Mass.
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The Patriots sophomore pitcher issued a leadoff walk in the fourth that was followed by three consecutive singles. Proulx and Bill Brew each drove home a run to tie the game at 3-3. Mass registered two straight outs, then Gormley stepped to the plate with runners at first and third.
The senior worked the count to 2-2 and fouled off a couple of pitches. Mass stepped off the pitching rubber at least three times during Gormley’s at-bat before the NK senior came through with a run-scoring single.
“(Mass) threw over a couple times and stepped off to try to get off the timing,” Gormley said. “He tried to come out with fastballs outside the plate. I was ahead of it a little bit. Then he just kind of hung his curveball and I just punched it right up the middle.”
Portsmouth’s Long said, “As a pitcher you try to command the time. You go to your own pace and you try to throw off the hitters a little bit. But he wasn’t fooled. He hit a good curveball and he won the battle.”
Maloney rebounds from shaky start
North Kingstown pitcher Evan Maloney, who shut out Portsmouth during the regular season, settled in after allowing the three runs in the first frame.
“He started doing what he’s been doing all season long. He started throwing all his pitches for strikes,” Long said. “He probably came out a little bit nervous. We took advantage of that, so that was great for us.”
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After the opening inning, the Patriots never got a runner past first base against Maloney until their last at-bat. Caleb Banks stroked a one-out single and Mac Dunn was credited with a two-out hit when his grounder took a bad hop and couldn’t be handled. Mass then drew a walk to load the bases.
Braeden Perry, the Skippers probable Game 2 starter, relieved Maloney and pitched to Malone. With a 2-2 count, Malone sent a deep fly to left that caused players, coaches and fans of both teams to hold their breath. Proulx circled under the ball and caught it a step away from the wall.
“He just missed that,” Long said. “We’re happy he’s hitting the ball the way he is, though. He hit three hard balls today.”
Mass needed 105 pitches to complete five innings of work. He allowed eight hits, walked three, hit a batter and struck out seven. The Skippers stranded eight runners while Mass was pitching and left the bases loaded in the fifth inning.
“He’s been battling all season long. At the end of the day, he’s our best guy,” Long said of Mass. “We’re not going to take him out in a close game. We feel confident with him on the mound.”
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Josh Lincourt and Proulx each had two hits and an RBI, Gormley and Brew had a hit and RBI apiece, Maloney had a triple and Evan Beattie had a base hit for the Skippers. Mass and Banks each had two singles while Brady, Malone and Dunn had a hit each for the Patriots.
Portsmouth freshman Cam Ruggieri, who pitched six scoreless innings against North Kingstown in his team’s 1-0 regular-season win, will start Game 2 for the Patriots.
This article originally appeared on Newport Daily News: RI high school baseball: North Kingstown rallies to beat Portsmouth
