East Providence and Westerly baseball battled each other and the elements. What happened?

EAST PROVIDENCE — We’ll need a Division II baseball playoff meeting between Westerly and East Providence to settle this.

Wednesday night came and went without a resolution. The Bulldogs and Townies battled the elements as much as each other, and Mother Nature ultimately won out after seven tense innings.

The two teams finished in a 4-4 tie, and it was only the gleaming new facility in front of the high school that allowed even that much. East Providence’s turf field soaked up the increasingly heavy rain, and the action under the lights was halted after a terrific defensive play by Westerly in the bottom of the seventh.

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Tom Fiore threw out the potential winning run at home plate, a seed from shallow right field after a single by Oliver Andrews. It was the final act in a two-day drama that saw the Bulldogs walk off with a 2-1 home victory the previous afternoon. The Townies dethroned Westerly as league champions last season — needless to say, a rubber match in June would make for a crackling occasion.

“I’d love to see them again,” Fiore said. “It was very exciting. I love close games like this.”

East Providence held a 4-1 lead in this one that slowly slipped away in the late innings. The Bulldogs scored in each of their last three trips, including Josh Ferando’s bases-loaded walk in the top of the seventh. Two-run singles by Nolan Lorenz and Gavin Palombo helped the Townies erase an early 1-0 deficit.

“It was push and push for a while from both teams,” East Providence pitcher Tim Robitaille said. “Without a few minor things, it could have gone either way.”

Fiore made a critical defensive play before his highlight that shouldn’t go overlooked. Lorenz sent a two-out bullet to the corner in right and Fiore was hustling on the crack of the bat. A triple preceding the liner to right by Andrews would have given East Providence the win but Fiore kept Lorenz at second base by sprinting all the way and hitting his cutoff man.

“No matter what, play hard,” Fiore said. “You always want to be alert.

“No matter what the situation is — if you’re down 10-0, if you’re up 10-0 — you always have to be alert and on your 'A game.' Give it your best.”

The soggy conditions left Robitaille without much of a feel for his signature curveball over six innings, but he departed with only a chance to win it after scattering six singles and striking out seven. The right-hander's last punchout stranded two men in the top of the sixth and handed the bullpen an opportunity to shut the door by retiring the final three batters. Robitaille pitched a gem in a finals series victory over East Greenwich last season and wanted the ball again coming off a painful defeat.

“It’s so big,” Robitaille said. “In a situation like that, I feel the need to go out there and prove that I can do it.”

Westerly (13-1-2) struck first when Fiore ripped a run-scoring single to left in the top of the third. That 1-0 lead was short-lived, as the Townies (11-4-1) batted around the order in the bottom half against right-hander Michael Poole. The pitcher started a textbook 1-2-3 double play that seemed to put him on the path to an escape, but Lorenz grounded one through the right side and Palombo bounced one back up the middle.

“Don’t hang your heads too low,” Fiore said. “We have a great team. We can come up big one through nine.”

Zach Miner’s fielder’s choice in the top of the fifth and Drew Bozek’s sacrifice fly to center in the top of the sixth pulled the Bulldogs within striking distance. Westerly was down to its last out when Jayden Parker and Ferando both drew free passes to force in Miner. Kyle DesRosiers came up with a strikeout to leave the bases loaded and East Providence ultimately couldn’t convert on its only chance to win it.

“I look forward to it,” Robitaille said when he was asked about the chances for a future meeting. “On a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the most, 11.

“I want to see them again and I hope we do. I hope we see them in the finals.”

Westerly 001 011 1 — 4 6 1

East Providence 004 000 0 — 4 9 0

Michael Poole, Zach Miner (6) and Grayson Simmons. Tim Robitaille, Tyler DiCecco (7), Kyle DesRosiers (7) and Brian Rutkowski.

bkoch@providencejournal.com

On X: @BillKoch25

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: East Providence and Westerly baseball battled each other and the elements. What happened?