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BURRILLVILLE — AJ Escalera was aided by the wind. But he didn’t need it.
Burrillville baseball’s senior catcher drilled a home run over the right-field wall at Eccleston Field that would have carried under any conditions. The two-run blast highlighted a nine-run rally in the third inning for the Broncos against visiting Central on Friday afternoon.
Burrillville added four more runs in the fourth inning and cruised to an 18-8 triumph in a mercy-rule shortened five innings. Escalera’s homer was his second of the week.
“I wasn't even expecting it,” Escalera said of the home run. “Honestly, it was a 2-0 count and I'm pretty aggressive in those counts. I try to swing at the first strike I see and after that, I kind of just calmed down a little bit. But it felt amazing.”
After close back-to-back losses to start the season, Burrillville has ripped off five straight wins thanks to its bats. An 11-1 thumping of rival Ponaganset started the stretch, followed by a 6-5, eight-inning, nail-biter over Johnston. This week, Burrillville rolled over Chariho, 15-10, topped Toll Gate by seven runs, and now has beaten the Knights in five innings.
If the bats stay this hot, Burrillville could end its stretch of consecutive 8-10 seasons.
“Being able to put up runs like that and just being able to put teams away in just one inning is so important,” Burrillville’s Nate Njoes said. “The power of us to have one person get a hit, and then it's a rally. Being able to have every single person touch the base is good to see.”
Njoes went 3-for-4 with a double and six RBI in the win. Jordan Furtado and Adam DeCesare both had two-hit performances as Burrillville finished with a dozen hits. Cam Laramee picked up the win after pitching three innings while allowing five runs, three strikeouts and two walks. Laramee, who is hitting .545 this season, had a walk-off hit against Johnston last week.
“[The run support] makes me very confident on the mound,” Laramee said. “I didn't have my best day today, but the bats were going.
“Every time I try to get on base for [Escalera]. I lead off, he hits behind me and I know every time he hits the ball, it's going to be hard somewhere. I knew that one was gone.”
Daniel DelMonaco pitched two innings of relief and allowed just one earned run. Burrillville was leading, 16-5, entering the fifth inning and needed just three outs to complete the mercy rule. But Central plated a trio of runs to extend the game. The Broncos loaded the bases in the home half of the frame and walked off with the win after consecutive hit-by-pitches.
Central entered Friday’s game at 4-2 overall, but Burrillville jumped on the Knights’ starter, Laionel Avila, after two innings. The hard contact hurt the Knights, but Burrillville compiled competitive at-bats throughout its lineup to work the pitch count.
“It's been our order from 1-9, everybody's been getting hot lately,” Escalera said. “Everybody's been doing pretty well, both defensively and offensively.”
Burrillville has a trio of important games on its slate. Meetings with Narragansett, undefeated North Providence and Woonsocket are on tap for next week.
“We’ve got to keep improving,” Njoes said. “People notice that, and they are working harder to try to beat you. If you don't work harder, and you just slack off, it's not going to keep happening. You're not going to keep stacking up those wins like we are now.”
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Burrillville High School baseball defeats Central RIIL April 18, 2025
Continue reading...
Burrillville baseball’s senior catcher drilled a home run over the right-field wall at Eccleston Field that would have carried under any conditions. The two-run blast highlighted a nine-run rally in the third inning for the Broncos against visiting Central on Friday afternoon.
Burrillville added four more runs in the fourth inning and cruised to an 18-8 triumph in a mercy-rule shortened five innings. Escalera’s homer was his second of the week.
“I wasn't even expecting it,” Escalera said of the home run. “Honestly, it was a 2-0 count and I'm pretty aggressive in those counts. I try to swing at the first strike I see and after that, I kind of just calmed down a little bit. But it felt amazing.”
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After close back-to-back losses to start the season, Burrillville has ripped off five straight wins thanks to its bats. An 11-1 thumping of rival Ponaganset started the stretch, followed by a 6-5, eight-inning, nail-biter over Johnston. This week, Burrillville rolled over Chariho, 15-10, topped Toll Gate by seven runs, and now has beaten the Knights in five innings.
If the bats stay this hot, Burrillville could end its stretch of consecutive 8-10 seasons.
“Being able to put up runs like that and just being able to put teams away in just one inning is so important,” Burrillville’s Nate Njoes said. “The power of us to have one person get a hit, and then it's a rally. Being able to have every single person touch the base is good to see.”
Njoes went 3-for-4 with a double and six RBI in the win. Jordan Furtado and Adam DeCesare both had two-hit performances as Burrillville finished with a dozen hits. Cam Laramee picked up the win after pitching three innings while allowing five runs, three strikeouts and two walks. Laramee, who is hitting .545 this season, had a walk-off hit against Johnston last week.
“[The run support] makes me very confident on the mound,” Laramee said. “I didn't have my best day today, but the bats were going.
“Every time I try to get on base for [Escalera]. I lead off, he hits behind me and I know every time he hits the ball, it's going to be hard somewhere. I knew that one was gone.”
You must be registered for see images attach
Daniel DelMonaco pitched two innings of relief and allowed just one earned run. Burrillville was leading, 16-5, entering the fifth inning and needed just three outs to complete the mercy rule. But Central plated a trio of runs to extend the game. The Broncos loaded the bases in the home half of the frame and walked off with the win after consecutive hit-by-pitches.
Central entered Friday’s game at 4-2 overall, but Burrillville jumped on the Knights’ starter, Laionel Avila, after two innings. The hard contact hurt the Knights, but Burrillville compiled competitive at-bats throughout its lineup to work the pitch count.
“It's been our order from 1-9, everybody's been getting hot lately,” Escalera said. “Everybody's been doing pretty well, both defensively and offensively.”
Burrillville has a trio of important games on its slate. Meetings with Narragansett, undefeated North Providence and Woonsocket are on tap for next week.
“We’ve got to keep improving,” Njoes said. “People notice that, and they are working harder to try to beat you. If you don't work harder, and you just slack off, it's not going to keep happening. You're not going to keep stacking up those wins like we are now.”
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Burrillville High School baseball defeats Central RIIL April 18, 2025
Continue reading...
