Walkoff victory puts Exeter-West Greenwich in Division III baseball finals
EXETER — You might expect a little extra patience from a baseball team forced to win four consecutive elimination games.
That was the challenge for Exeter-West Greenwich to reach the Division III finals series this week. Drawing the deciding walk Sunday afternoon took five pitches — a drop in the bucket after what was the most nerve-racking stretch of its season.
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Tyler Muniz did the honors in the bottom of the seventh inning at Tourgee Field. His free pass with the bases loaded handed the Scarlet Knights a 2-1 victory over West Warwick and a date in the best-of-3 title series opposite Mount Pleasant. “A walkoff walk does it,” Muniz said. “I don’t think I’ve ever done that before.”
Josh Savino fired a complete game and Harrison Lynch preserved a 1-1 tie with a critical outfield assist in the top of the seventh. An errant throw on a strikeout, a pinch-hit single through the right side by Cayden Landy and a walk drawn by Aidan Powers gave Muniz the chance to be the hero with two outs.
“I knew we were going to come back because of our coaching,” third baseman Kole Kilduff said. “They had our backs the whole way – telling us we were going to do it. And we ended up doing it.”
The Scarlet Knights suffered a 5-1 loss to Rogers opening Pod 1 play and faced the steepest of climbs to reach McCarthy Stadium for Game 1 on Wednesday. They eliminated Classical and the Vikings before taking a pair of games from the Wizards, who dropped two straight after rattling off an 18-game league winning streak. Powers tossed a complete game to extend the season and Exeter-West Greenwich made the most of it on this perfect afternoon.
“It’s the magic bat,” Lynch said, referencing the children’s mini-bat that appeared in the dugout after that first loss to Rogers. “All four games — that's it. No other games.”
West Warwick (18-3) took the lead in the top of the sixth thanks to same adventurous baserunning. Dylan Lombari walked, took second on a wild pitch, moved to third on an infield out and strayed off the bag to draw a throw with Logan Dean at the plate. The ball squirted down the line into foul ground and Lombari broke for the plate, handing the Wizards a 1-0 lead.
Kilduff answered immediately in the bottom half of the inning. Powers slapped a leadoff single to left and Kilduff drilled a one-out liner to the corner in left for an RBI double that made it 1-1. The freshman reached safely twice against Wizards starter Dom Carollo, who took a no-decision after six strong innings.
“I knew he was going to try to blow a fastball by me,” Kilduff said. “I was just sitting on a fastball — dead-red fastball. And I hit a double. I’m so thankful.”
Savino escaped the seventh and ultimately picked up a victory thanks to the most important defensive play of the game. Nick Brown singled to center, Nathan Hunt reached when his grounder toward the hole on the right side was bobbled and pinch hitter Welmer Montilla Cruz laced a single back through the box. Lynch was charging on contact and made a strong throw to the plate, allowing Muniz to put down the tag and nab the potential go-ahead run.
“It just went right to me,” Lynch said. “I didn’t think I was going to be able to get that kid at home. We made a good tag.”
The Scarlet Knights (17-4) have dropped just one game since May 10 and enter the 5 p.m. first pitch looking to finally get over the hump. Exeter-West Greenwich has come up short in the title round three times since 2016 and remains in search of a first baseball crown since founding its program in 1991. The Kilties came out of the loser’s bracket to eliminate defending champion North Smithfield in Pod 2 and are seeking a second championship since 2018.
“We just put in work every game,” Muniz said. “Hard work in practice. It paid off.”
Exeter-West Greenwich 2, West Warwick 1
West Warwick 000 001 0 — 1 4 1
Exeter-West Greenwich 000 001 1 — 2 6 2
Dom Carollo, Anthony Burt (7) and Dylan Lombari. Josh Savino and Tyler Muniz.
On Twitter: @BillKoch25
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Walk-off win puts Exeter-Greenwich into Division III baseball final series
