Announcement
As the summer months move toward August, one team in West Warwick has peaked at the right time of year. Graham Insurance, West Warwick’s entry in the Rhode Island Connie Mack League, has gone undefeated in their last four league games.
While posting a 3-0-1 record last week, Graham Insurance (4-7-2, 13.5 points) picked up several points and moved to within a half of a point of second place Westerly (5-8-0, 14 points) with two games remaining in the regular season.
The ever-improving West Warwick team, who is the youngest team in the twenty team league (average team age is 15.3) received solid pitching last week by giving up only 7 runs (5 earned) in 31 innings of league play.
Graham Insurance 3 Westerly 2
Led by the solid pitching of Drew Doran and the clutch hitting of Matt Grenier (2/3, one run scored), Ben Roy (1/3, one run scored), and Mike Pellerin (1/3, 2 r.b.i.’s), Graham Insurance traveled to Cimalore Field in Westerly and defeated them, 3-2.
Doran, who struck out nine batters in six innings, allowed only two runs on four hits. Ben Roy, who received All Division honors (First Team Division I-North) for St. Raphael this spring, picked up the save by striking out the final two batters of the game.
Trailing 2-0 in the top of the sixth inning, Graham Insurance rallied for three runs on three hits and two sacrifices. Grenier singled to right-center to lead off the inning. Ben Roy, then, reached on infield single, putting runners at first and second base. After Chris Gaipo (2/3, one double, one run scored) reached on a fielder’s choice to load the bases, Pellerin singled to left field, scoring Grenier and Roy. Drew Doran, then, followed with a sacrifice fly to centerfield to score Gaipo.
Graham Insurance 2 East Providence 2 (10 Innings)
In a ten-inning game played at PCD in East Providence, Graham Insurance and East Providence played to a 2-2 tie in an errorless game.
Graham Insurance took an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning when Ernie Wright singled, stole second base and scored on Matt Grenier’s hit to right-center.
In the bottom of the first inning, East Providence took a 2-1 lead after scoring two runs on four walks, three stolen bases, and two wild pitches.
Graham Insurance relievers, Ryan Carlson and Matt Hopper, however, combined to hold the home team scoreless over the final nine innings. Carlson, struck out four batters and allowed just three hits in 4 2/3 innings of work, while Hopper worked five innings of two-hit ball.
In the top of the fifth inning, Graham Insurance threatened to take the lead with four hits, however, East Providence’s left fielder Sam Stone and pitcher Greg Battison made two defensive plays to hold the West Warwick contingent to only one run.
After Tom Pecchia singled, Tim Fournier reached first base with a bunt single. Then, Matt Hopper bunted a ball toward the third base line to Battison. The righty picked up the ball, spun toward third, and threw out pinch runner Nick Pecchia (1/2, one stolen base) After a pop out to second base, Matt Grenier (2/5, 2 r.b.i.’s) singled to centerfield to knock in Fournier to tie the game at 2-2. Ben Roy (2/5, one double) followed with a single down the left field line, which Stone bobbled, but recovered quickly to throw a perfect strike to home plate to end the inning.
Graham Insurance 5 Chariho 2
Led by the pin-point pitching of Matt Grenier, Graham Insurance returned home for one game and defeated Chariho, 5-2. Grenier, who received All Division honors this spring (Second Team Division II-South), not only struck out seven batters in seven innings of work, but threw 67 of 89 pitches for strikes for the complete game victory.
Graham Insurance took an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning when Ben Roy reached on a fielder’s choice, stole second base, and scored on Chris Gaipo’s single to left field.
In the fourth inning, Graham Insurance scored another run when Gaipo (1/2, one run scored, 1 r.b.i.) walked and scored on Mike Pellerin’s 330 foot double to the left field fence.
Graham Insurance built a 4-0 lead in the following inning when Ryan Carlson (single) and Tom Pecchia (reached on an error) scored on a passed ball and Grenier’s r.b.i. single to right field.
After Chariho scored two runs on a three singles and an error, Graham Insurance scored an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth inning when Drew Doran doubled, moved to third base on a passed ball, and scored on a throwing error.
Graham Insurance 2 Slocum Baseball Club 1
Led by the steady pitching of Matt Hopper and exemplary defense, Graham Insurance upset first place Slocum Baseball Club at Lischio Field, 2-1.
Hopper, who pitched all seven innings, allowed only one earned run one while striking out three batters and scattering seven hits.
Defensively, Graham Insurance received solid defense from left fielder Nick Pecchia (three putouts), centerfielder Chris Gaipo (two putouts), and right fielder Mike Pellerin (two putouts), shortstop Matt Grenier (four assists and one putout), and first baseman Tom Pecchia (seven assists and one putout).
Offensively, West Warwick’s surging club received all the offense they would need in the top of the third inning when they opportunistically scored two runs on a two walks, a sacrifice bunt, and one single. After Tom Pecchia (walk) scored on a timely single by his brother, Nick Pecchia, Graham Insurance aggressively scored their second run with two outs. With Nick Pecchia on third base and Matt Grenier (walk) on first base, Pecchia raced home as Grenier stopped before stealing second base and forced a run down.
