The Barrington High School baseball team lost to Narragansett 3-2 on Tuesday, May 16.

The Eagles had reeled off 12 straight wins and locked up a first round bye in the Division II playoffs, before losing on a walk-off against the Mariners. Barrington split with Narragansett — the Eagles won the first game of the home-and-away series 8-0 on Saturday.

On Tuesday, the Eagles fell behind early. In the bottom of the first inning, Narragansett scored twice on a pair of hits, a walk, and a wild pitch. Barrington pitcher Ben Nowinski settled down after that — the junior went five innings, allowing two runs on four hits with five walks and a season-high nine strikeouts. 

Matt Davis pitched in relief and was sharp in the top of the sixth inning. The senior retired the side and struck out two batters. 

Barrington tied the game 2-2 in the top of the sixth inning. Gabe Tanous had an RBI single that sparked the offense. 

In the bottom of the seventh, Davis walked the first two batters and then threw a wild pitch. The Eagles intentionally walked the next batter. After a pop-out to first, Davis walked in the next batter, ending the game. 

Barrington’s offense finished with six hits: Davis had two hits, including a double, and Trevor Snow had two hits. 

Playoff bye

Barrington secured a first-round bye for the Division II playoffs after knocking off Narragansett 8-0 on Saturday. Harrison Cooley pitched well for Barrington in Saturday’s victory, while Quinn Murphy and Eli Terrell contributed with key hits. 

Barrington High School Coach Vin Scandura said the first four hitters in the BHS lineup — Gabe Tanous, Matt Davis, Murphy and Terrell — were all hitting above .400. 

Scandura said it was great getting Murphy back into the lineup and into the field defensively. The junior centerfielder had missed action earlier this season with an injury. 

“He had a great catch on Saturday,” Scandura said. “He ran a long way to get to that ball. I didn’t think anyone was going to get to it.”

Scandura said that in addition to a strong defense, Barrington has also benefited from some great pitching. Cooley threw 97 pitches against Narragansett on Saturday before handing off to Owen Pfeffer who closed it out. 

In Barrington’s 4-2 win over Prout on May 10, Nowinski started and lasted deep into the game before Mitch Ivatts and Tanous closed it out. 

Scandura said he challenged his team a few weeks back to improve its level of play, and the message hit home.

“I challenged them. I said you’ve got to get better,” Scandura said. “They’ve responded to that. They’ve been working. They’re more serious.”

The Eagles host Mount St. Charles at 4:15 p.m. on Thursday, May 18 — the team will celebrate its Seniors on Thursday. 

Barrington will play against Mt. Hope in a non-league game on Sunday at 3 p.m. The game against the Huskies will serve as a special fund-raiser — the two teams will be raising money to help in the fight against cancer. Scandura said Mt. Hope Coach Mike Mazzarella lost his father to cancer.