Johnston 12's win two more in loser's bracket

The Johnston Little League 12-year-old all-stars knew it would be a long road, but they’ve navigated it perfectly so far.

After an opening-round loss to Cranston Western in the District 1 tournament, Johnston has won three straight games in the loser’s bracket to move to the brink of getting all the way back to the championship round.

Johnston beat Cranston American 5-0 on Monday to move into the loser’s bracket final against North Providence East, which was scheduled for Wednesday. Results were unavailable at press time.

“It’s just one at a time – get us to Friday,” manager Robert Civetti said after Monday’s win.

Johnston had no trouble winning its first two games in the loser’s bracket, invoking the mercy rule against both Edgewood/South Elmwood and North Providence West. Cranston American provided a tougher challenge but Johnston still got through it.

Anthony Scivola pitched five scoreless innings, the offense delivered in key moments and Johnston turned a double play with the bases loaded in the sixth inning to end the game.

“It was a little more difficult than the last two,” Civetti said. “We thought we came in a little sloppy today. They looked like they were still sleeping in warm-ups. But once the game started, they picked it up and they were ready to play.”

Gio Canales started for American, and the towering righty tossed scoreless frames in the first and second innings. But Johnston battled him throughout, forcing his pitch count up and scratching across two runs in the third. Andrew Clesas scored the first run when he beat a throw home on a ground ball to third. David Iannuccilli added an RBI single. When Canales got out of the inning, he was already at 74 pitches, 11 away from the limit.

“The first kid that was pitching was tough,” Civetti said. “He really threw the ball hard. We wanted to be patient and wait him out.”

Dylan Barbosa worked a leadoff walk in the fourth to chase Canales, and Barbosa scored on a double by pinch-hitter Alex Rodriguez. An error later in the frame allowed Rodriguez to score.

“Alex Rodriguez didn’t start the game but he came up with a big double,” Civetti said. “In the fourth inning, we pinch-ran Ryan Benum and he was able to make a big play on an overthrow. Ryan Benum has had a home run in the last two games, but in this situation, we had to get a sub in. He’s a kid that doesn’t complain. He did what he had to do, helped us out pinch-running. It’s been a team effort.”

Iannuccilli hit a solo home run in the fifth to make it 5-0.

American still wasn’t done, though. Jaden Rosi led off the sixth with a single, and Scivola reached his pitch limit during the at-bat. Clesas came on and was greeted by a Tavarez single. Canales then drew a walk to load the bases with nobody out.

Clesas buckled down and struck out Saran. Jalen Kopecky then hit a hard ground ball back up the middle, but Clesas grabbed it and threw to home to start a 1-2-3 double play.

“It could have slipped away from us there,” Civetti said. “Andrew Clesas is cool as a cucumber. He stayed right in there after walking the No. 4 hitter. He got the ball right back to him and knew what to do. I can’t say enough about our defense and how hard my assistant coaches work on it with the kids. Kids are asking, ‘Why are we doing fielding?’ That tells you why.”

The shutout was Johnston’s second of the tournament. Its other win against North Providence West came by a 15-1 score.

“Our pitchers are throwing strikes, avoiding walks, and we’re making some nice plays behind them,” Civetti said. “That’s been the key.”

Last Thursday, Johnston used a methodical – yet aggressive – approach in easily taking care of business against North Providence West.

Johnston scored one in the first, two in the second, three in the third and 10 in the fourth to finish off NPW 15-1 via the mercy rule. NPW used pitchers Ryan O’Connell and Ben Rastelli, but neither could do much to slow down Johnston.

Benum hit his second home run in as many games, this one a two-run shot in the second, and Scivola added a three-run home run in the fourth. As a team, Johnston had 13 hits and worked six walks.

Eight of the nine starters for Johnston had at least one hit, and 10 of the 11 players on the roster reached base. Scivola, Benum, Matt Fortier and Bobby Civetti each had a pair of hits.

In the 10-run fourth, Johnston’s first six hitters reached base, courtesy of five hits and a walk. The team had nine hits in that inning alone.

“They know we’re going to hit the ball,” Robert Civetti said Thursday. “They’re all relaxed at the plate. They go up to the plate confident that they can hit the ball.”

On the mound, Fortier went the 3.2 innings, allowing just three hits. His only blemish in the run column came in the second inning, when NPW’s O’Connell hit a home run to right field. He struck out four batters and walked just two.

With Fortier’s pitch limit reached, Rodriguez came on for the final out of the game and needed just one pitch to wrap up the win.

“Matt Fortier, an 11-year-old who is playing up with the 12’s this year, I think he pitched a great game,” Civetti said.

Johnston was set to face North Providence East in the loser’s bracket final on Wednesday, with results unavailable at press time. Cranston Western awaits the winner.

“North Providence East was in the winner’s bracket final so they’ve got to be doing something right,” Civetti said. “We’ll be ready for them.”