Here's how Cranston East baseball secured a top 4 seed heading into the playoffs
CRANSTON — We could see this Wednesday afternoon matchup again soon, but Cranston East will enjoy a little extra rest.
North Kingstown will open the Division I baseball playoffs battling to keep its 2024 season alive. The Thunderbolts will have the luxury of a cushion — time and a second potential defeat — when they take the field Tuesday.
Kelvin Santos ensured that with one swing on a warm spring day. His towering drive to the base of the fence in left-center field at Cranston Stadium went into the scorebook as a walkoff single. Cranston East rallied past the Skippers, 5-4, and are sitting pretty to start Pod 1.
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“I was just looking to get something in the air,” Santos said. “If it goes out, it goes out. A line drive — whatever. Just get that runner from third home.”
Cranston East snapped a 4-4 tie by loading the bases with nobody out in the bottom of the seventh. Santos dug in with the winning run 90 feet away and didn’t miss on a pitch out over the plate. The ball hit just below the 360-foot marker, as Santos capped a three-hit day in style.
“We just want to carry that on to the playoffs,” Cranston East infielder Jayden Tolentino said. “We’re playing good. We’re hitting good.”
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The Thunderbolts are on a five-game winning streak and have captured nine of their last 11 after a slow 3-4 start.
They earned a season sweep of North Kingstown with this result, following a 5-0 shutout from John Devine on May 10. Tolentino wiped out the only deficit by smashing a solo home run to deep right-center, making it a 4-4 game in the bottom of the fifth.
“I thought it was a nice line drive the other way,” Tolentino said. “I thought maybe I would get a triple out of it. But when I heard all the cheering, I knew it was gone after that.”
The Skippers (12-6) jumped to the lead by finally reaching Devine after 11 scoreless frames against him. Will Andrews lined an RBI double to right-center and Blake Beattie hammered a two-run double to deep center, knotting the game at 3-3. Bodie Forsell sent a sharp RBI single to center and North Kingstown had a 4-3 lead in the top of the fifth.
“Offense came through,” Santos said. “We didn’t let the errors get to us mentally. We got better.”
Cranston East (12-6) built Devine a 3-0 lead by chipping away early. Jayven Alexandre grounded an RBI single to center in the bottom of the second and the Thunderbolts added two more in the bottom of the fourth. Anthony DeFusco sent an RBI double to the corner in left and a passed ball brought in pinch runner Tyler Chisholm from third.
“We’re going to make mental errors — never double up and make a physical error,” Tolentino said. “If something happens, put it in the past. We’ll move on and we’ll do better going forward.”
Alexandre picked up the win in relief, stranding men at the corners while turning in a scoreless top of the seventh. Tolentino reached safely three times and DeFusco added a pair of hits. Santos doubled to right in the second and singled inside the bag at third in the fourth — his recovery from a season-ending knee injury as a junior looks complete.
“This is the best I’ve felt in a long while,” Santos said. “Ever since I got injured a year ago here, this is the best.”The Skippers have won six of their last eight entering what should be a Friday home game with Smithfield at Lischio Field. Their only two defeats in that stretch have come against Cranston East, which secured the No. 4 seed among the 12-team field. Bishop Hendricken looms in the top half of the bracket as the No. 1 overall seed.
“I love how close we are this year,” Santos said. “We’re one big family.”
North Kingstown 000 040 0 — 4 5 0
Cranston East 010 210 1 — 5 9 2
Ben Napoli, Bodie Forsell (7) and Tucker Lamond. John Devine, Jayven Alexandre (7) and Carlos Merejo. HR — Jayden Tolentino (CE).
bkoch@providencejournal.com
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This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Cranston East baseball beats North Kingstown to secure playoff spot
