Warwick Vets, La Salle Vying for D-1 Fast-pitch Crown
The stage has finally been set, and as long as the weather cooperates, a champion will be crowned tomorrow afternoon when Warwick Vets and La Salle square off for the Amica Insurance R.I. Interscholastic League Division I Fast-pitch Championship, Saturday at 1 p.m. at Rhode Island College.
This will mark the teams’ first meeting this season, as a nonleague contest scheduled between the two clubs was, you guessed it, canceled because of rain.
But with the Hurricanes’ spot in the finals secured last Sunday, Vets coach Paul Kennedy had a chance to see Leanne DeMarco's Rams in action this week. He’s been impressed by what he’s seen.
``They’re playing as well as anyone right now,’’ Kennedy said. La Salle pitcher Meaghan ``Dendy was really on the other night when she had nine straight strikeouts against Westerly. And they’re hitting really, really well. They’re a hot team. They’re on a little bit of a role, and that’s certainly going to make them feel confident.’’
Click here to read why Warwick should also be considered a force to be reckoned with.
Warwick, too, has plenty of reason to feel confident. In advancing to the title game, the 16-7 Hurricanes – runner-up to Westerly in I-South – knocked off the top three Northern Division seeds in Woonsocket, Cumberland and Bay View, defeating Cumberland, 3-1, in last Sunday’s winners’-bracket final. During this playoff run, they have given up just one unearned run with sophomore Casey Doyle on the mound.
``In a perfect world, we wouldn’t have had so much time off,’’ said Kennedy, whose club has been paced at the plate by the Hurricanes’ hard-hitting sophomore catcher Stephanie Morse (.452, 23 runs scored and 20 RBI) and senior third baseman Jenna Bassett (.288, 24 runs scored and 7 RBI). ``But we’ve been practicing every day, and the girls are still very excited and they are very focused.’’
La Salle hasn’t had the same type of layoff as Warwick. A first-round loss to Westerly quickly dropped the Rams into the losers’ bracket, where they defeated South Kingstown and Woonsocket, then avenged their earlier setback to Westerly.
La Salle cleared its final hurdle tonight, defeating Cumberland, 3-0, in the losers’-bracket final.
The Rams took the lead in the third on a two-run single by Marley Balasco.
Dendy, who tossed a three-hitter and recorded nine strikeouts en route to the win, helped her own cause with a sacrifice fly to deep left that drove in Liz Graham.
``I am feeling pretty good about coming into tomorrow's match up,'' DeMarco said. ``The girls have been playing very well all during the playoffs. They are very focused and determined. What is nice about this group of girls is that it is a true team effort. Besides Meaghan on the mound and hitting, there is no one that stands out above the rest. Everyone just goes out there and does there job and I know that they are ready to do that tomorrow.''