Townies season ends with 4-0 loss to Westerly

The Townies hope of repeating as D2 baseball champions ended in a 4-0 loss to Westerly on Monday night before a packed house at East Providence High School. Until the fifth inning the game was tight as all of the EP-Westerly games were this year. EP’s starting pitcher Tyler Dicecco held the Bulldogs hitless until giving up a single in the fourth. Dicecco got out of the inning with two strikeouts to keep the game scoreless.

Conversely, East Providence had 7 hits over four innings but couldn’t cross the plate. Then the top of the 5th inning was the game changer. Westerly scored 4 times on 5 hits including a homerun to jump ahead of the Townies. East Providence couldn’t recover and Westerly moves on to the state finals against East Greenwich on Thursday at Rhode Island College.

Dicecco struck out 5 in his five and two-thirds innings pitched. Tim Robitaille finished on the mound for EP. The Townies had 7 hits in the game with Kyler Lorenz (2), Aidan Martins, Nolan Lorenz, Brian Rutkowski, Tyley Dicecco and Max Correiro each getting one. Dicecco doubled. EP did turn a nifty double-play but overall, they couldn’t overcome the top-seeded Westerly team.

“No one is happy, there is disappointment in my players eyes, but we have to regroup for next year. It’s a good group of athletes, many are returning and we have to keep working hard,” said Head Coach Bob Rodericks after the game.

One reason for optimism may be that the Townie Junior Varsity team won the state championship with a win over Hendricken with four wins in three days including playing and winning three games on the final day. To be continued.

Photos by Andrea Annicelli