EAST PROVIDENCE — Riverside Post 10’s stay in the Rhode Island Junior American Legion Baseball League state tournament ended after the locals went down in a two-game sweep to eventual runner-up …
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EAST PROVIDENCE — Riverside Post 10’s stay in the Rhode Island Junior American Legion Baseball League state tournament ended after the locals went down in a two-game sweep to eventual runner-up Upper Deck Post 14 of Cumberland in a best-of-three quarterfinal round series.
Post 10 played UD close for most of its playoff opener, trailing just 1-0 through five innings before Post 14 scored four unearned runs in the home half of the sixth inning en route to a 5-1 win. Elijah Barber was the tough-luck loser on the hill for the locals, throwing six solid innings.
Game 2 of the series played at Glenlyon Field in Rumford ended in bizarre fashion. With just 10 players available, Post 10’s Ryan Heatherton was forced from the game with an arm injury leaving the locals at the nine-man minimum.
Later and with the game tied at three in the 10th inning, a Riverside player was ejected after reacting in frustration when he was hit in the head with a pitch to open the bottom of the frame. The player threw his helmet and was thrown out of the game, according to Riverside manager Kevin Lethbridge. Heatherton was not allowed to re-enter the contest, making the locals forfeit the contest.
Andrew Mottur had an impressive outing on the hill for Post 10, throwing 8-2/3 innings on 108 pitches. All three runs he allowed were unearned. Tyler Jordan relieved in the top of the ninth and with a runner on third, getting out of the jam by enticing the final UD out of the inning. He also pitched a scoreless top of the 10th before the game ended in the bizarre fashion.
Riverside Post 10, making its first playoff appearance in some five years according to Lethbridge, finished its season with an 11-9 record in RIJAMBL play this summer.
Upper Deck advanced to the state final four where it where it went 2-1 in double-elimination round robin play, reaching the championship round against unbeaten Elmwood Post 20 of Cranston. Elmwood, which previously defeated Upper Deck and Paul Massie in the round robin semis, eventually claimed the state title with a 2-0 victory over UD.