Panthers Overpower Mt. Hope, 20-10

Mt. Hope rallied to erase an early nine-run deficit, but the Huskies could not slow down ’s league-leading offense, and the Panthers improved to 9-0 with a 20-10 win in six innings on April 27 in Bristol.

In nine games, the Panthers have outscored their opponents 100-26 on their way to a team .416 batting average. The Mt. Hope game was the third in two weeks that officials ended under the Rhode Island Interscholatic League's mercy rule.

Johnston senior Bret Simas picked up three singles and a triple in the April 27 victory, and senior catcher Ryan Geraghty added three extra-base hits for the Panthers. Geraghty drove in seven runs Wednesday, plating three with an inside-the-park homer in the first inning.

“He went with the pitch,” said Panther coach Steve DeMeo. “He just went the other way, and about 375 feet later, it comes down.”

Chris Pistacchio also chipped in with an RBI single to help Johnston build a 7-0 lead in the first inning. The Panthers grabbed two more runs in the second inning before the Huskies (3-6) began to close the gap.

After pitching a scoreless first inning for Johnston, freshman left-hander Joe Bongiovanni surrendered four straight hits to begin the second. Mt. Hope racked up three runs before loading the bases for junior Cody Stanzione, who drove in three more with a drive up the middle that made its way past Johnston’s outfielders.

The Huskies trailed, 9-6, and Steve Almagno was called in from second base to replace Bongiovanni.

“When [Almagno] came in, he pitched really, really good for us,” DeMeo said. “He had them off balance.”

The Huskies did manage to push another run across in the second inning, however, and they went into the third behind 9-7.

“Our guys battled and scored seven runs,” said Mt. Hope coach Robert Millard. “I don’t know that [Johnston’s] given up seven runs in too many innings, so that says a lot. That says a lot about our guys.”

Almagno returned to the mound with a 10-7 lead — thanks to Simas and his two-out single — but a few defensive miscues and a walk brought Mt. Hope’s leadoff hitter, Edward Botelho, to the plate with the tying run at first.

The senior center fielder drove in two with a base hit, and the Huskies took advantage of another Johnston error to even things up in the third. They had a chance to go ahead with two runners in scoring position, but Almagno retired three straight to keep things knotted at 10.

After pitching his way out of the jam, Almagno reached base to get Johnston’s offense going in the fourth inning, and the Panthers played a bit of small ball to bring him home. Eric Silva moved Almagno to second base with a sacrifice bunt, and Almagno advanced to third on a wild pitch.

Pistacchio walked to bring junior Gian Bianchi up with two men on, and the shortstop greeted Mt. Hope’s new pitcher, Josh Marabello, with an infield single that plated Almagno and gave Johnston a one-run lead.

Johnston went up, 13-10, with a two-run double from Geraghty, and the Huskies went down, 1-2-3, in the bottom of the fourth.

The gap grew to five following an RBI-single from Almagno and a squeeze bunt from Silva. Geraghty’s last hit, a two-run triple, gave Johnston a 17-10 lead.

RBI singles from Almagno, Pistacchio, and Bianchi capped the scoring for the Panthers in the top of the sixth, and lefty reliever Dylan Pingitore closed the door on the Huskies in the bottom half of the inning by striking out Joseph Simeone with runners on second and third.

The game ended after six in accordance with Interscholastic League Rule 4-2-2, directing umpires to stop play “when the visiting team is behind 10 or more runs after 4½ innings, or after the fifth inning, if either team is behind and both teams have had an equal number of times at bat.”

“We blew the big lead, and they didn’t panic. It’s going to take a real good pitcher to stop them,” DeMeo said.

The Panthers could be tested Friday, when they host Westerly (6-1). The Huskies will try to get back on track April 29 at Central (8-1).

“We’ll be there at the end of the season. We’ll be fighting for a playoff spot,” Millard said.

Correction: The Panthers' season score total was corrected to reflect 100 points though nine games.

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