West Warwick takes win

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ORONO – Hollywood writers couldn’t have written a more dramatic ending – Two outs, bases loaded, full count, bottom of the ninth… tie game.

All we need is the hero – enter Matt Olney.

Olney lined a 3-2 fastball down the left-field line to score the winning run and give West Warwick, R.I., a 7-6 victory over East Hartford, Conn., here at Mahaney Diamond Thursday night in the second round of the American Legion Northeast Regional.

Olney’s RBI line drive advanced West Warwick to an 8 p.m. game Friday against the winner of Thursday’s Nashua, N.H.,- Hartford, Vt., game. East Hartford will play Lowell, Mass., in a 1:05 p.m. elimination game.

East Hartford rallied to take a 6-5 lead in the top of the ninth when the lead run scored on a Jason Rajotte wild pitch.

The loss was as crushing for 42-4 East Hartford (1-1 in the tournament) as it was uplifting for 28-9 West Warwick (2-0).

“When it was a full count, I said `he’s got to put it over.’ It was right there and I slammed it,” said Olney. “I’ve got a feeling we’re going all the way.”.

The game was like a boxing match, every punch Warwick landed was answered almost immediately by East Hartford.

Warwick took an early 2-0 lead, but East Hartford tied it with runs in the sixth and seventh. Warwick’s Jamie Lukowicz, the No. 9 hitter in the lineup, quickly broke the tie with a 3-run homer to left in the seventh. But East Hartford answered with 3 runs in the eighth, courtesy of two Warwick errors.

For Warwick, Jason Rajotte (11 K’s, 1 walk, 7 hits) went the distance for the win. Matt Andruchow (double, single), Olney (2 hits,1 RBI), and Mark Graham (2 hits) led offense.

W. Warwick 7, E. Hartford 6

East Hartford West Warwick

Name ab r h bi Name ab r h bi

Caruso, 2b 3 1 1 0 Andruchow,rf 3 3 2 0

Dunaer, ss 4 0 1 1 Daly, 2b 4 0 0 0

Catlin, ss 1 0 0 0 Johnson, 2b 0 0 0 0

Perry, 1b-p 5 1 0 0 a-Balar 1 0 0 0

Sawyer, cf-1b 4 1 0 0 Cole, 1b 4 0 1 1

Aberasturia,cf 0 0 0 0 Olney, cf 4 0 2 1

Jimenez, lf 3 1 1 0 Wethrspoon,c 4 0 1 0

Fogarty, 3b 4 1 1 1 J. Rajotte, p 4 0 0 0

O’Connell, p 4 0 1 0 Graham, lf 4 1 2 0

Johnson, p 0 0 0 0 b-Aubin 0 0 0 0

Perry, p 0 0 0 0 N. Rajotte,ss 3 2 0 0

Cormier, c 4 0 2 1 Lukowicz, 3b 3 1 1 3

c-Cowell 0 1 0 0

Dumais, c 0 0 0 0

Palombizio, rf 4 0 0 0

Totals 36 6 7 3 Totals 34 7 9 5

a-reached on error for Johnson in 9th

b-ran for Graham in 9th

c-ran for Cormier in 9th

East Hartford 000 001 131 – 6

West Warwick 101 000 302 – 7

E – Dunaer, Sawyer, Fogarty; Daly, Cole, N. Rajotte, Lukowicz 2B – Andruchow, Cole 3B – Caruso HR – Lukowicz LOB -East Hartford 6; West Warwick 7 DP – Dunaer to Caruso to Perry (2) S – Palombizio, Caruso, Cormier; Daly

Pitching Summary

PITCHER IP H R BB SO

East Hartford

O’Connell 7 6 5 4 7

Johnson (L) 1 2/3 2 2 0 2

Perry 0 1 0 1 0

West Warwick

J. Rajotte (W) 9 7 6 1 11

WP – O’Connell, Perry; J. Rajotte PB – Cormier TIME -2:21