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BRISTOL, Conn. — Cranston Western Little League Softball was down to its last six outs.
The Rhode Island team stomped its way through the New England Regional tournament until Massachusetts carried a lead into the fifth inning of the winner’s bracket final on Wednesday night. But this Ocean State team is making waves this summer and has something to prove.
Rhode Island commandeered a lead in the bottom half of the frame on Alexa Okolowitcz’s blistering line-drive double that capped a stunning comeback. Cranston Western closed the door on Massachusetts returning the favor and walked away with a 6-5 win and a spot in Friday’s winner-take-all championship at A. Bartlett Giamatti Little League Training Center in Bristol, Connecticut.
“It feels really good just knowing that was the game-winning hit,” Okolowitcz said. “Our team did a really good job with rallying in the dugout and that really got me motivated to go out there and just hit and do my best.”
Okolowitcz’s double, with two outs, was nearly snagged by the Massachusetts’ shortstop, but the two-hole hitter found the gap and scored Isabella Marcano from first. Okolowitcz’s winner was the biggest hit of the game – and of the season to date – but Rhode Island’s four-run fifth inning was a team effort.
The Ocean State, stocked with 11- and 12-year-old all-stars, sent eight batters to the plate in the decisive fifth frame. As the rally started to swell, there was a feeling of a special night in the making for the Rhode Island fans in attendance. Laila Murphy, in the eight-hole, started the rally by looping a single into left field and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Lylah Riley returned with a bunt back to the circle that went for a hit and RI had runners on the corners.
“I think as a team, we just started a rally,” Marcano said. “I think that once one person does something to get us all going, I think we just all follow.”
How they got there: Cranston Western does what it does best and earns Little League softball state title
Rhode Island plated its first two runs on Audriana Garcia’s sacrifice bunt. Garcia reached on an error to keep Cranston Western unscathed in the frame as they trailed just 5-4. Then with one out in the stanza, Juliana Borges, out of the 12-hole, laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt to move Garcia to third and sent the lineup back to the top of the order.
And from there, Marcano and Okolowitcz took care of business with a single up-the-middle to knot the game and then Okolowitcz ended it on the first pitch of her at-bat.
“This week has been something that I never would have imagined would have happened, especially us making it this far,” Marcano said.
“I just appreciate [friends and family] and them watching because it is important,” Okolowitcz said. “And their support has been really big to our team and we’re very grateful for that.”
Craig Stinson has his Little League memories, but wants daughter Hailee to create her own
Massachusetts scored a pair of runs in the third and fourth innings to recover from a 2-1 deficit after the first. But Marcano, who picked up the win and went 3-for-3 at the plate, sat them down in order in the fifth to stage the rally.
Rhode Island awaits the winner of Massachusetts and Connecticut in Thursday’s losers’ bracket final before playing on Friday at noon in Bristol. The championship game will be nationally televised on ESPN.
“Everybody put a little bit into it,” Rhode Island coach, Lalo Marcano said of the comeback. “Once the hits came together, the pitching came together, defense came together, it was an all-team effort and I love that. It was not just one or two, it was everybody that made this win happen.”
Sunday, July 21: Rhode Island 13, Connecticut 3.
Monday, July 22: Rhode Island 11, Maine 0.
Wednesday, July 24: Rhode Island 6, Massachusetts 5.
jrousseau@providencejournal.com
On X: @ByJacobRousseau
Local News
A Rhode Island husband and wife in their 50s were identified as the two people killed in a Swansea car crash Friday night.
Carlolyn Carcasi, 54, and James Carcasi, 53, of Bristol, Rhode Island, were killed in the Feb. 27 crash, the office of Bristol County District Attorney Thomas Quinn said in a press release Monday.
The crash occurred at the intersection of Route 136 and Route 6 in Swansea, Quinn’s office said.
Police in Cranston, Rhode Island identified the driver who allegedly hit the couple as Demitri Sousa, 28. Sousa allegedly shot and killed a man in Rhode Island nearly four hours before the crash, Cranston police said.
At around 12:18 a.m. Friday, Swansea police spotted Sousa’s Infiniti barreling down Route 6, Swansea officials said previously.
The couple was driving southbound on Route 136 when the Sousa crashed into the side of a Subaru Ascent. Both cars had “catastrophic damage,” and the Subaru was engulfed in flames, Swansea fire and police officials said.
Both occupants of the Subaru were declared dead at the scene, Swansea officials said.
Sousa was transported to a local hospital, where he is being treated for serious injuries. He is expected to live and will be held in Cranston police custody until he is medically cleared, police said Sunday.
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CRANSTON, R.I. (WJAR) — Women’s Fund of Rhode Island and U.S. Sen. Jack Reed celebrated Women’s History Month in Cranston with a panel discussion on Monday.
The event was held at the Cranston Public Library at 9 a.m.
Reed and other leaders of WFRI hosted a panel discussion with women leaders in environmental and agricultural advocacy, education, community resilience, housing, finance, workforce development, and more, officials said.
Women’s Fund of Rhode Island and U.S. Sen. Jack Reed celebrated Women’s History Month in Cranston with a panel discussion on Monday. (WJAR)
“Women have played a critical role in this process, most often without any recognition,” Reed said. “Today’s panel brings together an extraordinary group of women who are addressing the challenged of sustainability from various angles and I want to thank you all for your great efforts.”
The panelists highlighted their experiences, shared insights and tips on lifting up women’s voices, provided strategies for sparking change and more.
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According to officials, some of the panelists included Executive Director of the Rhode Island Food Policy Council Nessa Richman, Executive Director of Strategic Initiatives at Rhode Island College Kim Bright, Newport Housing Authority Executive Director Rhonda Mitchell and more.
Local News
A Seekonk man is accused of murder after he allegedly shot and killed a man in Rhode Island before causing a car crash in Swansea that killed two people last week, police said.
Demitri Sousa, 28, is charged with murder, using a firearm while committing a crime of violence, and carrying a pistol without a license, the Cranston Police Department said.
The shooting occurred Thursday night in Cranston, police said in a press release.
That night, Sousa allegedly arrived at the Cranston home of Javon Lawson, 35. Sousa began banging on the side door of the home, police said.
When Lawson approached the door, he was hit by gunfire from outside, police said.
First responders transported Lawson to the Rhode Island Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, Cranston police said.
“Based on the preliminary investigation, the motive is believed to be a dispute between the suspect and the victim over a mutual female acquaintance. Detectives are continuing this investigation to gain more insight, as well as to collect and analyze evidence,” Colonel Michael Winquist, Chief of Cranston police, said in an emailed statement to Boston.com.
Neighbors gave police video footage that “showed a male subject wearing dark clothing and a mask walking toward the residence moments before the shooting and fleeing immediately afterward,” Winquist said.
The suspect was also seen running to a white Infiniti sedan which then drove off, the Cranston police chief said.
Shortly after the shooting, a license plate reader captured the vehicle driving southbound on Route 10, and then later in Fall River and Westport, Massachusetts. The sedan’s license plate was registered in Sousa’s name, Winquist said.
At around 12:18 a.m. Friday, Swansea police spotted Sousa’s Infiniti barreling down Route 6, Swansea officials said.
Just moments later, Sousa allegedly “crashed into the side of another vehicle, a blue 2022 Subaru Ascent that had been traveling southbound on Route 136,” Swansea Police Chief Mark Foley and Fire Chief Eric Hajder said in a joint press release.
Both vehicles had “catastrophic damage,” and the struck car was engulfed in flames, the Swansea officials said.
The driver and passenger of the hit car — a man and a woman — were declared dead at the scene, they said.
“Swansea Police had been alerted to be on the lookout for the suspect vehicle. However, Swansea Police were not involved in the pursuit and were not pursuing the vehicle at the time of the crash,” the Swansea chiefs wrote. Swansea official have not announced charges related to the fatal crash.
Sousa had been driving the Infiniti and appeared to be suffering from serious injuries, Winquist said. Inside the car, police found a pistol and “additional .22 caliber ammunition was recovered” from Sousa at Rhode Island Hospital, Winquist said.
Police arrested Sousa and transported him to Rhode Island Hospital. Sousa is expected to survive, Winquist said. Sousa will be held in Cranston police custody until he is conscious and medically cleared, Winquist said.
“On behalf of the Cranston Police Department, I want to extend my deepest condolences to the family and loved ones of Javon Lawson and the two individuals who were killed in the crash in Swansea,” Winquist said.
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