High School Sports: Baseball

Burrillville catcher Thomas Smith and his teammates celebrate after the Broncos completed a sweep of Johnston yesterday.

The Providence Journal / Glenn Osmundson

PAWTUCKET — Over the course of their high school careers, some of them led Burrillville to a Division II hockey championship. Others helped the Broncos capture a Division II Super Bowl. And yesterday at McCoy Stadium, they came together one last time and added a baseball title to the list.

With a 15-3 victory over Johnston that was called in the sixth because of the mercy rule, Burrillville completed a sweep of the Panthers to win the Amica Insurance R.I. Interscholastic League Division II Baseball Championship, giving Broncos coach “Skee” Carter his first state crown and Burrillville its first baseball championship since 1965.

“After six trips to the finals, I felt like the Buffalo Bills in the old NFL — they were getting there, but they just weren’t winning,” said Carter, who has been coaching his alma mater for the last 18 years. “So this one is sweet. It feels great, an unbelievable feeling. Hopefully, we can get a few more.”

Missing last season with a knee injury, but postponing surgery to his pectoral muscle so he could finish out his final year, Burrillville’s senior tri-captain, Ryan Coffey, led his team’s offensive attack in this best-of-three series much the way he did all season, going 4-for-7 with five RBI and two walks. For his efforts, he was named the Chester R. Nichols Jr. Most Valuable Player of the tournament.

“This tops it off,” said the Broncos’ first baseman, who also was a member of Burrillville’s 2005 championship hockey and football teams — and graduated salutatorian of his class. “It’s a good way to end.”

Runner-up to Mount St. Charles in II-North during the regular season with a 15-3 record, Burrillville earned a spot in the Division II Championship by capturing the II-South Regional title.

The third-place finisher behind the Broncos in II-North with a 12-6 mark, Johnston advanced to the finals after winning the II-North Regional crown.

With junior right-hander Kyle VanRossum on the mound, Burrillville took the lead in the series final by soundly defeating the Panthers, 10-3, in Game One on Wednesday.

Then, just as they did in that contest, the Broncos jumped out to a 7-0 lead after just two innings yesterday. They were helped by four Johnston errors in the first two frames, but also received a nice boost from Brett Hereth, who delivered a two-run homer into the right-field bullpen in the first. Catcher Tom Smith doubled off the right-field wall, highlighting Burrillville’s five-run second inning.

Johnston got two runs back in the third, thanks to singles by Nick Pistacchio and David Joyal, along with two Broncos miscues.

But Burrillville answered with four runs in the fourth with a rally that featured singles by Hereth, Coffey, Phil Trautwein and Jeff Joergensen. That all but sealed the deal for the Broncos, as Johnston mustered just one other run — on an RBI double by Andrew McKeon in the fifth — off Burrillville’s Cam Leduc.

The Broncos’ sophomore went the distance, scattering seven hits, recording seven strikeouts and walking only two.

“We hit the ball right off the bat and didn’t stop,” said Coffey. “We did everything right for these two games. It’s probably some of the best ball we’ve played all year.”

Meanwhile, the Panthers, who start just two seniors in first baseman Derek DeMasi and second baseman Mike McMahon, seemed to experience what Carter described as “McCoy jitters.” After playing error-free throughout the regional playoffs, Johnston committed four errors in Wednesday’s game and six yesterday.

“We have no excuses. We made mistakes and they just kept capitalizing,” said Panthers coach Steve DeMeo. “Give those guys credit. We played them four times, and they scored 46 runs in four games. They outplayed us. They outhit us. . . . But I’m so glad it’s Skee. If I was going to lose to anybody, let it be him. I’ve known him for 20 years, and he’s a stand-up guy. He does things the right way, and I’m glad for him.”

Burrillville

250  431 – 15  7  2

Johnston

002  010 -  3  7  6

Cam Leduc and Tom Smith; Nico Della Porta, Bobby DiCicco (5), Brandon Parillo (6) and Nick Lourenco.

cthorn@projo.com