PROVIDENCE — You almost had to be there to comprehend it, that's how wild the finish of East Greenwich High School's 3-2, eight-inning victory over East Providence in Game 1 of the 2023 Division II championship series was Thursday afternoon, June 15, at Rhode Island College.

(Updated, June 16, 3 p.m. to reflect revised Game 2 start time) The Avengers plated a run in bottom of the eighth to walk-off the win. EG gets a chance to sweep the series and claim the title when the teams return to RIC Sunday afternoon, June 18, for a 4:30 start. Game 2 was originally scheduled for Saturday, June 17, but rain forecasted throughout led the Interscholastic League to move the contest in advance.

Thursday's game ended in a swirl of confusion or controversy depending on one's viewpoint.

The game was tied at two through seven innings. Each starting pitcher, East Providence's Tim Robitaille and East Greenwich's Michael Ucci, went six frames and threw the same 106 pitches, four fewer than the maximum allowed for pitchers in a game, a key point to remember. They also hit for themselves during the game, something else keep in mind for what followed.

Because things got a little crazy, a little cloudy from there.

For the top of the seventh, Casey DeLorenzo moved from his starting shortstop position to the mound for the Avengers. Dylan Annicelli came off the bench to replace Robitaille on the hill for the Townies.

After neither side scored, the next batter up in each team's order was scheduled to come to the plate in the eighth. For the Townies in the top of the frame, it was Annicelli, but he is solely a pitcher. He does not bat and has not hit for himself all year.

EPHS head coach Bobby Rodericks Jr., instead, put Ziurel Vargas up as pinch hitter. The Townies threatened, but did not score. And that's where the misunderstandings or misreadings began.

Rodericks sent Annicelli back to the mound. However, because he was a substitute and was pinch-hit for, the umpires deemed Annicelli unable to come back in the game. If he had been a starter, he could have.

Robitaille, who had four pitches left, returned to the mound even though he hadn't pitched for a full inning. The first EG batter he faced was safe on an EP fielding error. The second batter was intentionally walked to save Robitaille's pitch count. He went to three balls on the third batter to reach his pitch limit and Rodericks decided to intentionally walk the batter to load the bases prior to bringing in the next Townie pitcher.

Into the extremely unenviable position came Austin Martins, and he nearly pulled off a miraculous save. He enticed a hard grounder back to the box. He fielded the ball cleanly, but threw wildly to catcher Brian Rutkowski for the force at home and one out, though it could have been a double play.

Rutkowski, who had a superb afternoon defensively, likely actually saved at least one other run from scoring on the play, making a difficult catch then lunging back up the third base line to tag the oncoming runner for the out. In addition, twice earlier in the game, he also threw out Avengers attempting to steal second base.

Next up for EG, Grogan O'Brien hit a choppy grounder towards third base that took a mean hop over the glove of East Providence's Jack McKnight to score the winning and send the Avengers home with the victory.

The finals opener was the second crazy affair between the sides this spring. In the regular season, East Greenwich spotted the Townies five early runs before rallying to win in another walk-off, 7-6. Annicelli was the starter for the Townies in that contest, DeLorenzo for the Avs. EG scored the winning run in the bottom of the seventh off McKnight in relief.

EP scored first in Thursday's finals opener, plating a run in the top of the third. Manny Santos singled with two out and went to second on a wild pitch. Robitaille walked. Oliver Andrews then ripped a double to the right center field gap to bring Santos in. The ball was too hard hit for Robitaille to score and he and Andrews wound up stranded.

The Avengers leveled in the bottom of the frame, using a single, a walk and an intentional free pass to load the bases. Robitaille hurt himself with a wild pitch, high and wide of Rutkowski, to let the tying run to cross. Robitaille averted any other damage by enticing a flyout to Steven Estrella in center.

EG took the lead with a run in the bottom of the fifth. Robert Brooks drew a one out walk then Cade Thomas just missed a two-run jack to right by maybe a foot off the fence, settling for a triple to plate Brooks. Again, though, Robitaille didn't let up another run.

The Townies got the tally back immediately in the sixth. Robitaille started the inning with a single, but was later picked off by Ucci. Andrews struck out, but Rutkowski drew a walk and moved to second on a wild pitch. Nolan Lorenz then displayed a fine piece of hitting, the left-hander going opposite field between the short and third base hole for a RBI-single to bring Rutkowski in.

Robitaille took the loss, eventually finishing with 115 pitches thrown total. He went six-plus innings, walked eight (three intentional), struck out five, gave up two hits and was charged with three earned runs. DeLorenzo was the winner, going two innings, striking out one and giving up one hit. Ucci went six, fanned 10, walked four, gave up four hits and two earned runs.

Game 2 Sunday is likely to see Annicelli and DeLorenzo as the starters. Neither threw over 50 pitches, which means they only need one day's rest to return to the mound. Should the Townies win, a third game to decide the D-II champion would once again take place at RIC on Monday, June 19, first pitch time to be announced.