Portsmouth gets it done vs. North Kingstown/Wickford, now one win away from state Little League crown

NORTH PROVIDENCE — Portsmouth got off to a dream start in Monday’s Rhode Island Little League State Tournament winners’-bracket final.

But the finish was even better.

Portsmouth’s 7-6 win over North Kingstown/Wickford wasn’t exactly how coaches draw them up, but it showed the team’s tenacity. Portsmouth pounced early, faltered in the middle but when push came to shove, the team showed resolve and made plays that mattered and now sit one win away from the state title and a trip to regionals.

“It’s all about having fun and playing Portsmouth baseball,” said Portsmouth’s Tyler Doucet, who broke a 5-5 tie with an RBI single in the sixth inning. “It’s states. Just have fun.”

Portsmouth had plenty of fun at the start, scoring five runs in the first two innings, but it was how it found a way to bounce back that put it in the position it’s in right now.

The game looked well in hand after the quick start on offense and three shutout innings from starter Riven Patel. But North Kingstown/Wickford came up big in the fourth against Portsmouth reliever Ben Humm. Thomas McGee, Charles Sisson and Anthony Azzolina came off the bench and opened the fourth with a single, double and infield hit that led to NK/W’s first run. An error led to two more NK/W runs and a passed ball combined with another error led to another run. Rocco Coseglia’s RBI single then drove home Will Clarke to tie the game at five.

With the North Kingstown/Wickford bench now roaring, Humm gathered himself and got two strikeouts to end the inning.

“I just took deep breaths and that’s how you do it,” Humm said. “It was 5-0 and the nerves just got to me.”

But the hard-throwing right-hander didn’t look nervous the rest of the way. He threw a spotless fifth and even after giving up a run and having the tying run on second base in the sixth, Humm looked relaxed. Humm recorded the final out on a grounder to shortstop before celebrating the win with teammates.

“We just want to play our hardest,” Humm said. “Just do your job — that was it.”

“It was pretty nerve-racking, but it was fine,” Doucet said. “I knew Benny Humm could take us and he had a good mindset.”

Doucet and the offense did as well.

After the NK/W five-run outburst in the fourth, Portsmouth's offense reignited in the bottom of the fifth.

Mason Smith and Brady Fanning hit back-to-back one-out singles and, after a strikeout, Jacob Labonte singled to load the bases.

Up stepped Doucet, who ripped a shot to center that scored Smith. Ryan Campion followed with an infield hit that made it 7-5 as Portsmouth stole the momentum back.

“Put bat on ball and try to put it in play and make them make a play on it,” said Doucet of his offensive approach. “Try to get that base hit and drive in a run, maybe two, but definitely one run.”

Doucet’s RBI was part of a great day at the plate. He scored in the first inning on Kane Brule’s two-run single that also plated Tyler Boiani and Doucet was the third run in the second inning, coming home along with Campion — who drove home Labonte with an RBI single — on a double by Boiani.

“We just tried to go for base hits. Not home runs, not a bomb — just base hits,” Doucet said. “We had a lot of confidence in each other. We know each other very well and we know we could do it together.”

Now Portsmouth will try to get one more win.

The team won’t know who it will play until Wednesday night when North Kingstown/Wickford plays Cumberland in the consolation final. Portsmouth does know it’ll play on Friday, that it will have a fully rested pitching staff and it will need only one win for the title while its opponent will need two.

“It doesn’t matter,” Doucet said. “We all know what’s coming and you have to have that good mindset all the way through.

“We still have to come in on Friday and just come in with a lot of confidence.”

“The mindset doesn’t change,” Humm said. “Just play hard and do your job.”

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Portsmouth beats North Kingstown/Wickford in RI Little League state tournament