Providence Averts an Upset by Faith Baptist With 7-Run Rally

It was supposed to be just another baseball game for Providence High.

About 15 minutes before the top-ranked team in the Small Schools Division took the field Friday at Faith Baptist, Providence Coach Marc Saraceno had a big grin on his face. Saraceno leaned against the bullpen fence and glanced at his ace pitcher warming up. After watching right-hander Jeff Cirillo wing a few fastballs, Saraceno diplomatically announced “this ought to be interesting.”

But on the other side of the field, Faith Baptist Coach Les Estrada was mapping out a plan of attack. This was no baseball game. This was war.

Estrada intended to upset Cirillo’s composure. He shouted his plan to his players, the fans and school officials standing behind the third-base coaching box. He told his players to untie their shoelaces at the plate to delay the game. He wanted his runners to distract Cirillo’s attention toward the plate.

“Rope-a-dope, rope-a-dope, this guy is nothing,” screamed Estrada, sounding more like a boxing trainer at a heavyweight fight.

Three hours later, both coaches looked as though they’d gone 15 rounds in Providence’s wild 14-8 Delphic League victory. The win improved the Pioneers overall record to 15-3, 5-0 in league. Faith Baptist is 12-6 and 2-3.

With Providence leading 7-3 in the sixth inning, Saraceno decided to rest Cirillo and get a look at his bullpen. He didn’t like what he saw.

Faith Baptist jumped on two Providence relievers for five runs and took an 8-7 lead. But Providence avoided the upset with seven runs in the top of the seventh for the victory.

“I took a gamble and thought I’d regret it,” Saraceno said. “Fortunately, we had everyone hitting in the last inning and it saved us.”

Cirillo entered the game with a 7-2 record and 72 strikeouts in 47 innings. He finished with eight strikeouts in five innings and didn’t figure in the decision.

He walked five and lost his composure at times. Frequently, he threw his arms into the air in apparent dismay over borderline calls at home plate. And in the third inning, Cirillo committed back-to-back throwing errors on bunts that led to two unearned runs.

“He’s just a kid,” said Saraceno. “He’s had a couple games in a row when his composure wasn’t 100 percent. He gets an attitude sometimes that he has to do it all himself instead of thinking he’s got eight guys behind him on the field.”

“My coach got on me after those two bad plays,” Cirillo said. “He told me just to play within myself and pitch like I can.”

Faith Baptist right-hander Rich Leon (2-1) was sabotaged when his team committed seven errors that led to five unearned runs through the first six innings.

“We hung in there and we never quit, but it was the mental things that beat us,” Estrada said. “The strength of Providence is pitching. Our strength is our defense. It just didn’t happen for us today.”

In the bottom of the sixth, Providence reliever Vic Salazar was asked to protect a four-run lead. The soft-throwing left-hander lasted only five batters. He walked two, hit a batter, and allowed a pair of singles before Kevin Miller (4-0) replaced him.

With Providence leading, 7-6, Danny McAdoo lashed a two-out, bases-loaded double that gave Faith Baptist its only lead of the game.

A fatigued Leon took the mound in the seventh inning and couldn’t get the last three outs.

Miller opened Providence’s seventh and reached first on an error. Jim Recker walked and each moved up a base on a sacrifice.

Adam Grant then delivered a three-run homer. A shaken Leon then threw two inside fastballs to Cirillo. When he tried to float an off-speed pitch over the plate, Cirillo drilled a solo homer that chased Leon.

“I had to leave Leon in the seventh inning,” Estrada said. “He was keeping the hitters off balanced. I knew if I put in my reliever Providence would rock him.”

Estrada was right. After replacing Leon with right-hander Shaik Nabi, Estrada watched Providence greet his reliever with five straight hits to break the game open.