Baseball Struggles in Season-Ending Loss

PAWTUCKET – The Narragansett Mariners struggled in the field and on the mound in a season-ending 14-4 loss on Friday afternoon against the Tolman Tigers.

Narragansett (13-11, 11-7 Division II-South) got on the board first, with a first inning run, but it was downhill from there.

Tolman (15-9, 12-6 Division II-Central) scored three runs in the bottom of the first, and scored in every other inning as well. The Tigers forced a mercy-rule ending in the bottom of the sixth.

Mariners’ head coach Keith Vellone said he had to make some tough decisions early on, as it seemed like starting pitcher Julien Nelson didn’t have his best stuff.

“I actually had a lot of confidence with him coming into today,” Vellone said, noting that he staff wasn’t stretched thin from its third game in three days.

However, Vellone said he went to the pen with an idea of keeping Nelson fresh in case he needed him against Prout on Saturday, adding that he had trust in the pitchers behind him.

Unfortunately for the Mariners though, there wasn’t much left in any of their arms. Zachary McKanna, Adam Gabrilowitz, Kullen McGill and Brad Loomis combined to walk 15 batters.

The one bright spot for the Mariners was the continued excellence of senior Billy Byrne. He smacked a three-run homer about 350 feet over the left-center wall in the top of the fourth inning, getting Narragansett within two runs at the time.

“Billy Byrne has been the most solid kid all-around this year,” Vellone said. “He wants the ball and he wants to win, and I hope he’s who the younger kids look to for their own game.”

Despite the disappointing end to the season, Vellone said it had been a successful season.

“Today wasn’t to be, but don’t let this game leave a sour taste in your mouth,” he said. “This was a special year, and it was a good group of kids.”

The 13 wins represented a big bounce back for the Mariners, who finished 1-17 in Division I play last year. Vellone said he was confident about the direction the program was headed.

“We’re losing a lot of big seniors,” he said. “We have guys who need to step in.”

Other Results

After beating the Mariners, the Tigers’ stay in the Division II playoffs was short. The next afternoon, the Prout Crusaders (18-3, 15-3 Division II-South) won 4-3 in Wakefield, according to The Providence Journal.

The Crusaders will play either Central (11-13, 7-11 Division II-North) or Westerly (16-7, 12-6 Division II-South) in the Final Four semifinals 4:30 p.m. or 6 p.m. Wednesday at Pierce Field in East Providence.