By Tim DunnCorrespondent

Story updated

TIVERTON —Tiverton took advantage of a series of fielding errors in the sixth inning to come away with a 3-1 home win over Wheeler in Rhode Island Division II baseball on Tuesday at Tiverton High School.

The first five innings belonged to Tiverton starting pitcher Mason Farias (7 strikeouts, 5 hits, 0 walks, 1 earned run) and Wheeler starting southpaw Dan Baruch (10 strikeouts, 4 hits, 3 walks, 1 earned run).

Baruch was particularly dominant on the hill, no-hitting the Tigers through four innings while striking out seven.

After Tiverton’s Daniel Garde scored on a pass ball to tie the game at 1-1 in the fifth inning, Tiverton (3-8, 3-7 league) took the lead in the sixth with help from a defensive breakdown by Wheeler.

With one out in the sixth, designated hitter Paul Amaral hit a blooper into the left field that would’ve been a single, until an error on the play caused the ball to continue deep down the left field line, allowing Farias (leadoff walk) to score all the way from first base for a 2-1 lead.

Another fielding error on the next at-bat, this time at shortstop on a ground ball, allowed Garde to reach first base. Donovan Cole followed by placing a bunt for an infield. On the next play, another error at shortstop on a Nate Medeiros ground ball allowed Garde to cross the plate again to give the Tigers a 3-1 cushion heading into the seventh.

Wheeler (4-7) also found difficulty in dealing with an impressive pitching performance by Farias, who established an early command that lasted through seven innings.

“Mason did a really good job to get us out of trouble, a couple of times actually,” Tiverton coach Bob Murray said. “He’s our best pitcher.”

The Tiger’s ace pitched his way out of multiple jams caused by fielding errors, including in the top of the seventh when a an error on a ground ball at short stop allowed a runner to advance to scoring position with one out. Farias struck out the following batter and caused the next one to fly out to center field to end the game.

“I thought Mason had a hell of a day, he pitched really well. He did a great job controlling the plate, mixing his pitches, and picking that outside corner like he did,” Murray continued. “It was a great day for him and the lineup did just enough for him to allow us to get the win.”