Cranston Bulldogs

     Led by the pitching of juniors Amine Malki and Kurtis Melvin, the Wizards JV won their league opener, 5-1, over the Mariners of Narragansett.  The junior tandem, who recorded 16 strikeouts, simply overpowered the freshman & sophomore line up of the Mariners. 

    Malki, who threw 42 of his 63 pitches for strikes, struck out nine, walked two, and allowed no hits in four innings of work.   Melvin, who worked the final three innings, struck out seven and allowed only three hits. 

     In the bottom of the first inning, Domenic Bisceg led off with a single, stole second base, and scored on a triple by Garrett DeBlois.  Deblois, later scored on Matt Grosso's r.b.i. single for a 2-0 lead.

     In the bottom of the fourth inning, the Wizards added on two more runs.  After Kurtis Melvin and Jim Thornton both singled, Nate Lacroix followed with an infield grounder which was misplayed allowing Melvin to score.  Chris Viveiros followed with a single moving Thornton to third.  Thornton, then, scored on Cam Genest's r.b.i. groundout. 

     In the fifth inning, Matt Grosso singled with two outs, moved to second on an error, and scored on Thornton's second hit of the game. 

     Offensively, the Wizards received hits from Dom Bisceglio (2/3, one double), Max Motroni (1/3), GarrettDeBlois (2/3, one triple, 1 r.b.i.), Matt Grosso (2/3, 1 r.b.i.), Kurtis Melvin (1/3), Jim Thornton (2/3, 1 r.b.i.), and Chris Viveiros (1/3).

     Defensively, the Wizards received a solid game from catcher Nick Carney (two foul pop-ups).  Also, the Wizards received a great play from first baseman, Brent Reed, who threw a strike to third baseman, Nate Grandchamp to cut down a runner.