Cranston East keeps rolling, with its ace delivering key D-I victory over North Kingstown
NORTH KINGSTOWN — Gary Bucci enjoyed filling out his lineup card Friday.
No disrespect to the rest of his pitching rotation but it’s a different mood when Cranston East’s coach sends John Devine to the mound. The senior right-hander was masterful yet again while silencing North Kingstown in an important Division I matchup.
Devine fired a three-hit shutout and received steady offensive support. The Thunderbolts cruised to a 5-0 victory over the Skippers, a result that could eventually help sort the field for the upcoming playoffs.
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Devine struck out seven and allowed just a trio of singles at Lischio Field. Cranston East scored solo runs in each of the first three innings to put its ace in front and added two more in the top of the sixth. That was good for a fifth victory in their last seven games, as the Thunderbolts look for an escape from the tight middle of the standings.
“No matter how I’m feeling, I look to get the same result — which is a win,” Devine said. “I felt good today.”
Carlos Merejo scored on a wild pitch in the top of the first and drove a sacrifice fly to center in the top of the second. Jayven Alexandre slapped an RBI single to right in the top of the third and Cranston East was off and running. Devine handled matters from there, setting down the first eight men he faced and 15 of the first 18.
“He’s been pounding all year,” Alexandre said. “We have that confidence behind him. The biggest thing is trying to get that same confidence with other guys on the mound.”
The Thunderbolts were error-free behind Devine and received multihit games from Alexandre and Jayden Tolentino. Alexandre waited on a breaking ball and sent a liner to right that made it a 3-0 game. Tolentino followed an RBI double from Jerusalem Leon with a run-scoring single through the left side in the sixth, as Cranston East built a five-run cushion.
“My job is to give up as few runs as possible,” Devine said. “If we can score more than them, obviously, we win. It’s great to have a cushion.”
Devine’s only rough patch occurred in the bottom of the sixth. North Kingstown (9-5) loaded the bases on a Quincy Rome single to right and a pair of walks sandwiched around a fielder’s choice. Devine mixed his firm fastball and darting curveball to record the strikeout that ended the threat.
“I just feel more relaxed,” Alexandre said. “All we’ve got to do is lock down, because we know he’s going to do his thing.”
The Thunderbolts (8-6) pulled to within a game of the Skippers in their first of two scheduled meetings over the next week. A sweep would hand Cranston East a tiebreaker that could be noteworthy behind current leaders Bishop Hendricken and South Kingstown. The Hawks carried a two-game advantage over the Rebels into Friday, and South Kingstown held its own two-game advantage on a cluster that included North Kingstown, defending champion Cumberland, La Salle, Coventry, Portsmouth, Moses Brown and Smithfield.
“I feel like you shouldn’t put a ceiling on us,” Devine said. “The sky’s the limit.”
Cranston East 111 002 0 — 5 6 0
North Kingstown 000 000 0 — 0 3 1
John Devine and Carlos Merejo. Will Creed, Chris Ciarniello (4), Bodie Forsell (7) and Ben Davis.
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This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Cranston East baseball blanks North Kingstown for important win in D-I
