Cumberland stuns Bishop Hendricken, heads to state baseball championship vs. La Salle
CUMBERLAND — It took four days, three different first pitches and a closer who gave himself about a 30% chance of being summoned from the bullpen.
That’s the short version of how Cumberland punched its ticket to the Division I baseball title series, knocking off Bishop Hendricken while coming out of the loser’s bracket in Pod 1.
The Clippers took a lead to bed Friday night after rain forced a suspension and came out smoking in Saturday afternoon's continuation. The Hawks threatened a comeback for the ages in the top of the seventh inning, but Joaquin Cardoso put out the fire on a harmless grounder to second base.
Cumberland celebrated an 8-6 victory at Tucker Field, its second straight against Bishop Hendricken and third in a row after being knocked off by the Hawks on Monday. The Clippers now sit two wins from a first championship in 30 years, and La Salle awaits in a best-of-3 series this week at Rhode Island College.
“It was the biggest grind of the year,” Cardoso said. “It was physically tough. But we’re a physically tough team — we were able to get past it.”
Cumberland held a 3-1 edge in the top of the fourth when a line of thunderstorms rolled through its home field. The Clippers returned less than 24 hours later with five runs in the bottom of the fifth and held their nerve just long enough while Bishop Hendricken mounted a five-run rally in the top of the seventh. Cardoso relieved a weary Alex Iannuccilli with the tying run at second base and induced a bouncer from Jack LaRose to the right side.
“The ball was moving in slow motion,” Cumberland center fielder Anthony Martin said. “It felt like forever. You can’t really explain it.”
Cumberland 8, Bishop Hendricken 6.
Joaquin Cardoso puts the fire out. Hawks plated five in the seventh.
La Salle awaits in the Division I title series. pic.twitter.com/DZk3MmsQf5— Bill Koch (@BillKoch25) June 10, 2023
Cumberland (15-8) built an 8-1 lead thanks to its devastating two-out rally. Luke Plumer’s two-run single to right snapped the elastic, and RBI singles by Martin, Iannuccilli and Shayne Godin gave the Clippers what felt like a comfortable lead. The Hawks (19-3) were deep into their bullpen while Cumberland was cruising behind Iannuccilli, a Rhode Island College commit.
“I had a hard time sleeping,” Plumer said. “And I’m sure a lot of my teammates had a hard time sleeping, too. The energy was still going from the game yesterday.”
Iannuccilli started a 1-6-3 double play to end the top of the fourth and Scott Penney stranded a pair by triggering a 6-4-3 double play to close the top of the sixth. The Clippers took that seven-run lead into the top of the seventh, and everything seemed to be going to script.
“We were all talking about it yesterday — how on the first pitch it would be great if we got a double play,” Plumer said. “And it happened.”
Bishop Hendricken nearly flipped it with just three outs to go, sending 10 men to the plate. Frank Tillinghast sent an RBI single to center, Ryan Thompson scored on an error and Cole Hambly strolled in when a wild pitch caromed over the backstop. Cooper Maher drew a bases-loaded walk and Griffin Crain slashed an RBI double to the corner in left, making it a two-run game.
“I was just trying to prepare myself at that point,” said Cardoso, whose light warmup tosses at the start of the inning quickly turned more intense. “Just trying to get in the right mindset.”
Michael Bradshaw kept Cumberland alive with a complete-game 4-2 road win against the Hawks earlier in the week. He’s now in line to start Game 1 against the Rams, who edged past two-time champion North Kingstown in Pod 2. Rhode Island College will host the final round, which is set to begin at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday.
“Same thing we’ve been doing,” Martin said. “Come here, practice, work hard — just what we usually do.”
Bishop Hendricken 100 000 5 — 6 8 0
Cumberland 300 050 x — 8 9 1
Jack LaRose, Ben Picone (4), Matt Jarmie (5) and Braeden Campbell. Ben Jahnz, Alex Iannuccilli (4), Joaquin Cardoso (7) and Andrew Ray.
On Twitter: @BillKoch25
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Cumberland defeats Hendricken to advance to state baseball title series
