Ryan Westmoreland, the Gatorade Rhode Island Player of the Year in baseball and a recent draft pick of the Boston Red Sox, earlier this month discussed his high school career and the big decisions ahad for him in an interview with Mike McDermott of HSGameTime. Click the play button below to hear what he had to say, and see some photos from his careers. Saturday night at 6, you can find out more about Ryan and the other top baseball players in the state, when HSGameTime unveils its 2008 All-State team.
Multimedia: A conversation with Classical track stars Victoria Flowers and Patrick Onye
Victoria Flowers, one of the top high-school track athlete in throwing events in the country, discussed this past season and her future after high school in an interview earlier this month with Mike McDermott of HSGameTime. She was joined by another outstanding Classical High School athlete, Patrick Onye. Click the play button below to hear what they had to say, and see some photos from their careers. Tonight at 6, you can find out more about Victoria and the other top girls outdoor track athletes in the state, when HSGameTime unveils its 2008 All-State team.
Multimedia: A conversation with volleyball All-State James Boyce
James Boyce, a star on the Division I state champion East Providence boys volleyball team, discussed this past season and his future after high school in an interview earlier this month with Mike McDermott of HSGameTime. Click the play button below to hear what James had to say, and see some photos from the Townies' championship run. Tonight at 6, you can find out more about James and the other top volleyball players in the state, when HSGameTime unveils its 2008 All-State team.
Westerly's Springer named Gatorade Boys Track and Field Athlete of the Year
The Gatorade Company, in partnership with RISE Magazine, today announced Andrew Springer of Westerly High School as its 2007-08 Gatorade Rhode Island Boys Track & Field Athlete of the Year. Springer is the first Gatorade Rhode Island Boys Track & Field Athlete of the Year to be chosen from Westerly High School.
The junior distance runner won the 1,500-meter event at the Rhode Island Interscholastic League Outdoor Track and Field Championships with a time of 3:55.05, which ranked as the nation’s No. 6 scholastic performance in 2008 at the time of his selection. An Indoor Track All-State selection as named by the Providence Journal, Springer placed fifth at the outdoor All-State meet in the 800-meter race in 1:59.32 in addition to helping Westerly’s 4-x-800-meter relay quartet to a winning time of 8:08.07. At the Hartford Public Invitational, he won the 2-mile in 9:14.46 and placed second in the mile with a time of 4:12.94, the ninth-best and fourth-best prep performances nationally in those events, respectively, at the time of his selection. Springer finished third in the 1,600-meter run at this spring’s New England Outdoor Track and Field Championships with a 4:13.92.
Also a standout soccer player, Springer has maintained a 3.92 GPA in the classroom. He donates his time to the Westerly Track and Athletic Club as well as the United States Coast Guard Foundation in addition to participating in multiple community-service initiatives on behalf of the National Honor Society.
“I knew what a talent he was when he was in junior high,” said Westerly High Head Coach Ryan Palmer. “I heard all about him. I couldn’t ask for a more coachable athlete than Andrew Springer. He always comes to work every day, and he’s willing to do anything to help the team. He ran four events at the state meet, because he just wanted to go out and score as many points as possible for the team. I just got done coaching (four-time Gatorade Rhode Island Girls Track and Field Athlete of the Year) Samantha Gawrych, and to have two athletes like that in a five-year span is very rare. It’s pretty special. I’ve been blessed.”
Springer will begin his senior year of high school this fall and remains undecided upon a collegiate destination.
Multimedia: A conversation with girls golf champion Samantha Morrell
State girls golf champion Samantha Morrell discussed this past season and her goals for the coming year in an interview earlier this month with Mike McDermott of HSGameTime. Click the play button below to hear what Samantha had to say, and see some photos from her this past season. Tonight at 6, you can find out more about Samantha and the other top golfers in the state, when HSGameTime unveils its 2008 All-State team.
Multimedia: A conversation with state tennis champion Kyle Burke
State boys tennis champion Kyle Burke discussed his game in an interview earlier this month with Mike McDermott of HSGameTime. Click the play button below to hear what Kyle had to say, and see some photos from his spectular junior season. Tonight at 6, you can find out more about Kyle and the other top boys tennis players in the state, when HSGameTime unveils its 2008 All-State team.
Warwick's Morse named Gatorade Softball Player of the Year
The Gatorade Company, in partnership with RISE Magazine, announced Steph Morse of Warwick Veterans High School as its 2007-08 Gatorade Rhode Island Softball Player of the Year. Morse, the state’s returning Gatorade Softball Player of the Year, is the first Gatorade Rhode Island Softball Player of the Year to be chosen from Warwick Veterans High School.
The award, which recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence, but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the field, distinguishes Morse as Rhode Island’s best high school softball player. Morse is now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade National Softball Player of the Year award to be announced this month.
The senior catcher produced a .525 batting average, 20 RBI, 15 runs scored and two home runs this season, leading the Hurricanes (7-11) to the Division I state tournament. A three-time First Team All-State selection, Morse compiled a .533 on-base percentage and a slugging percentage of .847 this spring.
Also a 2007 All-American as named by the National Softball Coaches Association of America, Morse has maintained a 3.92 GPA in the classroom. She donates her time as a peer tutor at Warwick Veterans High in addition to volunteering as part of multiple community-service initiatives on behalf of the National Honor Society and Spanish National Honor Society.
“She’s the kind of person who can single-handedly change the course of a game,” said Dennis Kennedy, head coach at rival Bay View Academy. “She’s the scariest hitter to face in the state. She’s got every tool you could want. That’s the kind of player who can impact a game in a lot of different ways.”
Morse has signed a National Letter of Intent to play softball at Assumption College this fall.
Two-time winner Morse joins recent Gatorade Rhode Island Softball Players of the Year Samantha Shawn (2005-06, Westerly HS) and Kayleigh Lotti (2004-05, St. Raphael Academy) among the state’s list of former award winners.
Hope's Washingon, La Salle's Mack share HSGameTime Athletes of the Week honors
Matt Washington, the Blue Wave senior, closed out his sensational career against Rhode Island competition by winning three individual championships (100 meter, 200 meter and 400 meter) and helping the Hope 4 x 100 meter relay team capture the state title.
Jeanne Mack's individual championships in the 800 meter, 1,500 meter and 3,000 meter led the La Salle girls track team to its first state championship.
Last year, Moses Brown gave itself a chance to win its first softball state championship and fell short. This year, the Quakers gave themselves another shot and they got it, as the II-North champions defeated Middletown, 4-1, in the title game of the Amica Insurance Rhode Island Interscholastic League Division II Softball Championship today at Rhode Island College.
Middletown 000 010 0 - 1 6 2
Moses Brown 200 011 x – 4 8 3
Brittany Lewis and Sydney Springer; Liz Kacz and Katie Sullivan.
Rams defeat Bay View, capture first D1 softball title
After nearly two decades – and 10 innings – La Salle Academy at long last has a state title.
The Rams, who also now get to hang their first division championship banner after grabbing a share of the regular-season title with Bay View, edged the defending champion Bengals, 2-1, in 10 innings en route to capturing the Amica Insurance Rhode Island Interscholastic League Division I Softball Championship today at Rhode Island College.
Bay View 000 000 0010 – 1 6 1
La Salle 000 000 0011 – 2 4 2
Marian Long and Kim Pelland; Jordan Tingley and Lizzie Graham.
Division II baseball finals; JV state track meet postponed
The Interscholastic League has postponed today's Division II baseball championship game between Prout and North Smithfield. The two teams, which split the first two games in their best-of-three series, meet tomorrow at 6 p.m. at McCoy Stadium.
Meanwhile, the junior varsity state track meet scheduled for June 4 at Bishop Hendricken High School has also been postponed to tomorrow, at 3:30 p.m.
Having gone two years without winning a state title Hendricken captured its fifth state crown of the current decade as the Hawks completed an undefeated run through the R.I. Interscholastic League playoffs with a 12-10 victory over La Salle in a title-round game of the four-team double elimination championship series yesterday at McCoy Stadium.
The Hawks needed to withstand a spirited seventh inning comeback effort by La Salle yesterday to clinch the title. Trailing 12-6 La Salle scored four runs in the top of the seventh and had the bases loaded when little-used junior reliever Nick Fontaine came on and got the game’s final out with a strikeout. Fontaine was the third Hendricken pitcher in the seventh.
One-hitter by Kacz earns Quakers return trip to D2 softball finals
In Division II softball playoff action tonight at Rhode Island College, 2007 state runner-up Moses Brown earned a return trip to the finals by defeating defending champion Barrington, 5-0, in the winners’-bracket final.
Moses Brown’s Liz Kacz turned in another solid performance, tossing a one-hitter with 11 strikeouts and no walks.
“Actually when we came in here we were really nervous knowing that they had beat us last time,” said the sophomore right-hander, who had a no-hitter going into the seventh before Nicole D’Angelo reached on an infield single. “But that gave us more energy to want to beat them. . . . My catcher, Kate Sullivan, we work really good together. She calms me down because I was really nervous before the game.”
Sullivan also contributed to Moses Brown’s win with her two-run triple in the fifth. Senior right fielder Emily Granoff had a big night at the plate, as well, going 3-for-4 with an RBI and three runs scored.
Tingley delivers on the mound and at the plate, as La Salle softball earns D1 title appearance
After giving up just three hits and striking out 10, La Salle ace Jordan Tingley delivered the game-winning hit in the bottom of the ninth, as the Rams edged Bay View, 1-0, in the winners’-bracket final of the Amica Insurance Rhode Island Interscholastic League Division I Softball Championships, today at Rhode Island College’s Dayna A. Bazar Softball Complex.
North Kingstown's Morrell wins girls golf championship
Samantha Morrell of North Kingstown shot a four-over-par 76 to win the girls state golf championship today at Point Judith Country Club in Narragansett.
Juliet Vongphoumy of La Salle, who won the state co-ed championship last week, was second with a score of 81. Lincoln's Jenna Masnyk was third with a score of 90.
Twenty golfers competed, and the top 10 earn tickets to the New England championships.
East Providence's Boyce named HSGameTime player of the week
The offensive and defensive play of senior outside hitter James Boyce was the key for the East Providence boys volleyball team on Saturday as the Townies captured the Division I state title with a 3-1 victory over previously undefeated Toll Gate.
Sophomore right-hander Macayla Kirylo tossed a four-hitter, striking out 10 and walking one batter, in leading Tolman to an 8-2 victory over Scituate to capture the Division III softball championship today at Rhode Island College. The win gave Tolman a two-game sweep in the best-of-three series. Kirylo was the winning pitcher on Friday in the first game.
Moses Brown girls lax claims Division I state title
Chloe Schmitz racked up five goals and an assist, while teammates Leah Saris and Jessica Rubine each scored a hat-trick, in leading Moses Brown to a 14-9 victory over Barrington in the RIIL Division I Girls Lacrosse Championship at RIC.
Scituate captures D2 girls lax title behind Corsi’s four goals
Sophomore Katherine Corsi scored four second-half goals, including one at 13:05 that put Scituate up for good, as the Spartans defeated Bay View, 8-6, in the Rhode Island Interscholastic League Division II Girls Lacrosse Championship at Rhode Island College.
Whiting, Teixeira pace Mt. Hope to IA Girls Lax title
R.I. Chapter of U.S. Lacrosse Player of the Game Kayla Whiting netted five goals and Ariel Teixeira contributed three in leading Mt. Hope to an 11-7 victory over Cranston West in the Rhode Island Interscholastic League Division IA Girls Lacrosse Championship this afternoon at Rhode Island College.
Kirylo no-hitter paces Tolman to Game One victory over Scituate in D3 softball finals
Macayla Kirylo tossed her seventh no-hitter of the season, as Tolman posted a 5-2 victory over Scituate in Game One of the Division III finals of the Amica Insurance Rhode Island Interscholastic League Softball Championships, yesterday at the Dayna A. Bazar Softball Complex at Rhode Island College.
Although Kirylo did not give up any hits, she did have some control issues, especially early on, finishing with 10 walks. Scituate capitalized on a couple of them to take a 2-0 lead.
Victoria Ramos drew a walk in the third inning, advanced to third on an overthrown pick-off attempt and scored on a wild pitch for the Spartans’ first run.
Samantha Dougherty then led off the fourth with a walk, went first-to-third on Shannon Audet’s ground-out to the pitcher and scored on Audet’s twin sister Heather’s ground-out to the mound.
But Tolman quickly responded with five runs in the bottom half of that inning, capitalizing on four Scituate errors and two walks, along with a single up the middle by Kirylo, a bunt single by Shannon Deighan and a double to left center by Brenda Parker.
Tolman and Scituate will meet for Game Two of the best-of-three series, Sunday at 2 p.m. at Rhode Island College.
Scituate 001 100 0 – 2 0 5
Tolman 000 500 x – 5 6 0
Shannon Audet and Ashley Cinquegrana; Macayla Kirylo and Brenda Parker.
La Salle freshman becomes first girl to win state golf title
Journal photo / Bob Breidenbach
Juliet Vongphoumy of La Salle drives a shot yesterday during the state team championship.
By JOHN GILLOOLY
Journal Sports Writer
CRANSTON - Juliet Vongphoumy became the first girl to win the Rhode Island Interscholastic League co-ed individual golf title as the La Salle freshman, playing from the women's tees, posted a final-round 77 today at the Cranston Country Club and captured the title in the 36-hole state tournament.
Vongphoumy's six-over performance, combined with an even-par 71 yesterday, gave her a 36-hole total of 148 and a two-stroke margin of victory over runner-up Justin Misiaszek of Burrillville.
In tomorrow's Journal and online at HSGameTime.com, Jim Donaldson will have a profile of Vongphoumy and her unusual road to the top of the state high school golf scene.
Barrington captures sixth state golf title in seven years
Edging Bishop Hendricken by one stroke on the first playoff hole, Barrington captured its sixth R.I. Interscholastic League Golf State Team Championship in seven years, its 20th overall, today at Cranston Country Club.
Tied at 306 through 18 holes, all six Barrington golfers and all six Hendricken golfers returned to the 540-yard, par-5 first hole, with the top four scores from each team determining the winner. Barrington finished with a score of 21, as the Eagles’ Alex Fay, Peter Costa, Jared Adams each parred the hole, while Jacob DiMario, Ed Hjerpe and Jeffrey Ray each made a 6.
South Kingstown junior Kyle Burke won his second straight boys tennis state title with a 4-6, 6-0, 6-3 victory over Classical's Vidith Huot at the Mike Kenny Courts in Slater Park. Also, the Barrington doubles team of Sam Jerome and Ben Lucock completed an undefeated season as they posted a straight-sets victory over the South Kingstown duo of Aaron Carey and Andrew Shumate in the title match of the state doubles tourney.
Toll Gate wins back-to-back DII Championships, Portsmouth claims DIII crown in boys tennis
The Toll Gate boys tennis team successfully defended its state title this afternoon, sweeping the singles matches en route to a 4-3 win over Cumberland in the Division II Championships, played at the Mike Kenny Tennis Courts at Slater Park.
Meanwhile on the adjacent courts, Portsmouth claimed its first state crown in three decades, defeating Narragansett, 6-1, in the Division III Championship.
SK wins 10th straight Division I tennis title; EWG takes Division IV crown
South Kingstown won its 10th straight Division I boys tennis championship with a 5-2 victory over Barrington while Exeter/West Greenwich captured the Division IV crown with a 4-3 win over Woonsocket.
Boys lacrosse coaches last night held their meeting for All-Division selections and All-American honors. We'll run the full All-Division list next month with our spring All-State presentation.
Here are some other results, though, as faxed to us by USLacrosse area chairman Dave Oswinkle of the Prout School.
USLacrosse 2008 All-American selections
Sean Murray, senior, attack, Hendricken
James McAllister, senior, goalie, La Salle
Greg Fallon, senior, attack, North Kingstown
Ben Sternberg, junior, midfielder, North Kingstown
Coach of the Year: Steve O'Donnell, La Salle
Assistant Coach of the Year: Joseph Murray, Hendricken
Man of the Year: Richard Walsh
Journal photo / Glenn Osmundson
Brittany Allen of Lincoln tries to chase down a ball as a fan ducks for cover during yesterday's softball game between the Lions and La Salle. Click here to see the entire photo gallery.
Photographer speared in leg by javelin, then takes a picture of it
Ryan McGeeney photo, via AP
PROVO, Utah (AP) — A newspaper photographer got a little too close to the action at the state high school track championships — and was speared through the leg by a javelin.
Ryan McGeeney of the Standard-Examiner was spared serious injury Saturday, and even managed to snap a photo of his speared leg while others tended to him.
“If I didn’t, it would probably be my editor’s first question when I got back,” McGeeney said.
The 33-year-old McGeeney, an ex-Marine who spent six months in Afghanistan, was taking pictures of the discus event and apparently wandered into off-limits area set aside for the javelin.
Striking just below the knee, the javelin tip went through the skin and emerged on the other side of his leg.
“It wasn’t real painful. ... I was very lucky in that it didn’t hit any blood vessels, nerves, ligaments or tendons,” McGeeney said.
Much of the javelin was cut off at the scene. The piece in McGeeney’s leg was removed at a hospital, and he received 13 stitches.
The javelin was thrown by Anthony Miles, a Provo High School student who said his “heart just stopped” when he saw what happened.
“One of the first things that came to my mind was, ’Good thing we brought a second javelin,’” Miles’ coach, Richard Vance, said Monday. He said Miles was “in a little bit of shock,” but he assured the athlete it was not his fault.
With a subsequent throw, Miles went on to win the state title in javelin for teams in Provo High’s size classification, 4-A.
North Kingstown's Morrell named HSGameTime player of the week
Skippers junior All-Stater Samantha Morrell captured medalist honors with a two-over par 38, leading the co-ed North Kingstown golf team to its 55th consectuive regular-season victory with a 165-166 victory over Prout last week.
Reschedule dates, where known, are in parentheses.
Baseball
Woonsocket at Ponaganset (canceled)
Bishop Feehan at Tiverton (tomorrow, 4 p.m.)
North Smithfield at Prout (Sunday, 2 p.m.)
Softball
Coventry at East Greenwich
Prout at Middletown (tomorrow, 1 p.m.)
Classical at Ponaganset (tomorrow, 5 p.m.)
Burrillville at North Smithfield (Tuesday, 3:30 p.m.)
Boys tennis
Today's tournament postponed until tomorrow at 10 a.m.
Lincoln's Tangerhlini named HSGameTime player of the week
Lincoln High School senior Paul Tangerhlini limited Portsmouth to four hits and two runs as Lincoln handed the Patriots their first loss of the season, 6-2, last Monday.
Here's the list so far. Reschedule dates, where known, are in parentheses.
Baseball
Central at Prout
North Smithfield at Burrillville (tomorrow, noon)
PCD at Fatima (Monday, 4 p.m.)
Mount Pleasant at Hope (Wednesday, 4 p.m.)
Mt. Hope at Central Falls (Wednesday, 4 p.m.)
Ponaganset at Davies (Friday, 4 p.m.)
Shea at Tolman (Friday, 6 p.m.)
Softball
Wheeler at Fatima (canceled)
Ponaganset at Cranston East
North Smithfield at Woonsocket
Barrington at Narragansett (Tuesday, 4 p.m.)
Scituate at Mount Pleasant (May 19, 4 p.m.)
Portsmouth at Tiverton (May 20, 3:30 p.m.)
Middletown at Rogers (May 26, 7 p.m.)
Boys lacrosse
PCD at Portsmouth
North Kingstown at Barrington (tomorrow, 6 p.m.)
La Salle at Hendricken (tomorrow, 6 p.m.)
Girls lacrosse
Middletown at Cranston East (May 19, 6 p.m.)
East Providence at South Kingstown (May 19, 5 p.m.)
Boys tennis
State singles and doubles championships (tomorrow, 1 p.m.)
Westerly at East Greenwich (May 19, 4 p.m.)
Moses Brown's Schmitz named HSGameTime player of the week
Moses Brown senior Chloe Schmitz scored five goals, including four in the second half, as the Quakers handed North Kingstown girls lacrosse team its first Interscholastic League loss of the season with a 12-9 victory over the Skippers on Friday night.
Here's the list so far. Reschedule dates, where known, are in parentheses.
Baseball
Hope at Mt. Hope
Toll Gate at Smithfield (tomorrow, 3:30 p.m.)
Ponaganset at Mount St. Charles (tomorrow, 3:30 p.m.)
Burrillville at Scituate (tomorrow, 3:45 p.m.)
Johnston at North Smithfield (tomorrow, 3:45 p.m.)
PCD at Mount Pleasant (tomorrow, 4 p.m.)
Central at Tolman (tomorrow, 4 p.m.)
Prout at Shea (tomorrow, 4 p.m.)
Juanita Sanchez at Fatima (tomorrow, 4 p.m.)
Exeter/West Greenwich at Davies (tomorrow, 4 p.m.)
Classical at Wheeler (tomorrow, 4:15 p.m.)
Cranston East at Chariho (Thursday, 3:45 p.m.)
Cranston West at North Kingstown (Saturday, 3:30 p.m.)
Cumberland at Barrington (Saturday, 4 p.m.)
East Greenwich at Narragansett (Saturday, 4 p.m.)
Toll Gate at South Kingstown (Sunday, 1:30 p.m.)
Hendricken at Westerly (Sunday, 2 p.m.)
Softball
Chariho at Bay View
Tolman at Shea (tomorrow, 3:30 p.m.)
East Providence at Warwick Vets (tomorrow, 3:30 p.m.)
Lincoln at Woonsocket (tomorrow, 3:45 p.m.)
Davies at Hope (tomorrow, 4 p.m.)
Mount St. Charles at North Kingstown (tomorrow, 4 p.m.)
East Greenwich at Barrington (Thursday, 4 p.m.)
Cranston West at Toll Gate (Friday, 3:30 p.m.)
Central at Fatima (Friday, 4 p.m.)
Coventry at St. Raphael (Monday, 4 p.m.)
Bishop Keough at Central Falls (May 7, 3:30 p.m.)
Mt. Hope at Narragansett (May 8, 4 p.m.)
Rogers at Tiverton (May 11, 2 p.m.)
La Salle at Westerly (May 14, 7 p.m.)
Mount Pleasant at Scituate (May 16, 4 p.m.)
Boys Lacrosse
Middletown at Scituate (tomorrow, 3:30 p.m.)
Girls Lacrosse
Warwick Vets at South Kingstown
Scituate at Tiverton (Saturday, 3:30 p.m.)
Boys Tennis
Scituate at Westerly
Lincoln at Toll Gate
Mt. Hope at West Warwick
North Smithfield at Warwick Vets (tomorrow, 3:30 p.m.)
Cranston East at Tiverton (tomorrow, 3:30 p.m.)
East Providence at Rogers (tomorrow, 3:30 p.m.)
Chariho at Shea (tomorrow, 3:30 p.m.)
Narragansett at St. Raphael (tomorrow, 3:30 p.m.)
North Providence at Coventry (tomorrow, 3:30 p.m.)
Barrington at La Salle (tomorrow, 3:30 p.m.)
Woonsocket at Middletown (tomorrow, 4 p.m.)
Smithfield at East Greenwich (Monday, 3:30 p.m.)
Cumberland at Prout (Monday, 3:30 p.m.)
Mount St. Charles at Hendricken (Monday, 3:30 p.m.)
South Kingstown at Wheeler (Monday, 3:45 p.m.)
Tolman at Pilgrim (May 7, 3:30 p.m.)
Burrillville at Ponaganset (May 16, 3:30 p.m.)
Boys Outdoor Track
Cranston East, North Providence and Burrillville at Smithfield
Shea and Tolman at East Providence
Mt. Hope and St. Raphael at Middletown (tomorrow, 3:30 p.m.)
Lincoln and Woonsocket at Ponaganset (tomorrow, 3:30 p.m.)
Mount St. Charles at Cranston West at Cumberland (tomorrow, 3:30 p.m.)
Chariho and East Greenwich at North Kingstown (Thursday, 3:30 p.m.)
Mount Pleasant and Toll Gate at Hendricken (Thursday, 4 p.m.)
Exeter/West Greenwich and Coventry at Westerly (Thursday, 4 p.m.)
Girls Outdoor Track
Woonsocket and Hope at Cumberland (tomorrow, 3:30 p.m.)
Exeter/West Greenwich and Coventry at Westerly (Thursday, 4 p.m.)
Golf
Ponaganset vs. Lincoln at Kirkbrae
Tolman vs. La Salle at Crestwood (tomorrow, 3:30 p.m.)
South Kingstown vs. Narragansett at Point Judith (May 6, 3:30 p.m.)
Cranston West and Warwick Vets vs. Pilgrim at Valley (May 8, 3 p.m.)
Tonight at 6, you can find the 2008 HSGameTime Providence Journal All-State boys swimming team online at www.hsgametime.com/rhodeisland.
We asked each of our first-team selections to fill out a personal survey with questions including favorite TV show, favorite subject in school, and something people would be surprised to know about me.
The swimmers' answers, as well as audio clips of the swimmers talking about what inspired them this past season, will accompany their bios on their own personal pages.
Also, you will find full listings for second-team and All-Division selections. The All-State boys swimming page in The Providence Journal will run tomorrow.
Here is the full schedule for the All-State teams. The teams will be revealed at 6 p.m. each day online, and in the following day's newspaper.
Online now: Wrestling, gymnastics, cheerleading, girls basketball, boys basketball, girls indoor track, boys indoor track, girls swimming
Tonight: boys swimming
Tomorrow: boys and girls hockey
Monday: independent stars
Tonight at 6, you can find the 2008 HSGameTime Providence Journal All-State girls swimming team online at www.hsgametime.com/rhodeisland.
We asked each of our first-team selections to fill out a personal survey with questions including favorite TV show, favorite subject in school, and something people would be surprised to know about me.
The swimmers' answers, as well as audio clips of the swimmers talking about what inspired them this past season, will accompany their bios on their own personal pages.
Also, you will find full listings for second-team and All-Division selections. The All-State girls swimming page in The Providence Journal will run tomorrow.
Here is the full schedule for the All-State teams. The teams will be revealed at 6 p.m. each day online, and in the following day's newspaper.
Online now: Wrestling, gymnastics, cheerleading, girls basketball, boys basketball, girls indoor track, boys indoor track
Tonight: girls swimming
Tomorrow: boys swimming
Saturday: boys and girls hockey
Monday: independent stars
Tonight at 6, you can find the 2008 HSGameTime Providence Journal All-State boys indoor track team online at www.hsgametime.com/rhodeisland.
We asked each of our first-team selections to fill out a personal survey with questions including favorite TV show, favorite subject in school, and something people would be surprised to know about me.
The athletes' answers, as well as audio clips of the athletes talking about what inspired them this past season, will accompany their bios on their own personal pages.
Also, you will find full listings for second-team, All-Division and Academic All-State selections. The All-State girls indoor track page in The Providence Journal will run tomorrow.
Here is the full schedule for the All-State teams. The teams will be revealed at 6 p.m. each day online, and in the following day's newspaper.
Online now: Wrestling, gymnastics, cheerleading, girls basketball, boys basketball, girls indoor track
Tonight: boys indoor track
Tomorrow: girls swimming
Friday: boys swimming
Saturday: boys and girls hockey
Monday: independent stars
Tonight at 6, you can find the 2008 HSGameTime Providence Journal All-State girls indoor track team online at www.hsgametime.com/rhodeisland.
We asked each of our first-team selections to fill out a personal survey with questions including favorite TV show, favorite subject in school, and something people would be surprised to know about me.
The athletes' answers, as well as audio clips of the athletes talking about what inspired them this past season, will accompany their bios on their own personal pages.
Also, you will find full listings for second-team, All-Division and Academic All-State selections. The All-State girls indoor track page in The Providence Journal will run tomorrow.
Here is the full schedule for the All-State teams. The teams will be revealed at 6 p.m. each day online, and in the following day's newspaper.
Online now: Wrestling, gymnastics, cheerleading, girls basketball, boys basketball
Tonight: girls indoor track
Tomorrow: boys indoor track
Thursday: girls swimming
Friday: boys swimming
Saturday: boys and girls hockey
Monday: independent stars
Tonight at 6, you can find the 2008 HSGameTime Providence Journal All-State girls basketball team online at www.hsgametime.com/rhodeisland.
We asked each of our first-team selections to fill out a personal survey with questions including favorite TV show, favorite subject in school, and something people would be surprised to know about me.
The athletes' answers, as well as audio clips of the players talking about what inspired them this past season, will accompany their bios on their own personal pages.
Also, you will find full listings for second team, All-Class and All-Division selections. The All-State girls basketball page in The Providence Journal will run tomorrow.
Here is the full schedule for the All-State teams. The teams will be revealed at 6 p.m. each day online, and in the following day's newspaper.
Online now: Wrestling, gymnastics, cheerleading
Tonight: Girls basketball
Tomorrow: Boys basketball
Tuesday: girls indoor track
Wednesday: boys indoor track
Thursday: girls swimming
Friday, April 25: boys swimming
Saturday, April 26: boys and girls hockey
Monday, April 28: independent stars
HSGameTime All-State gymnasts and cheerleaders revealed tonight
Tonight at 6, you can find the 2008 HSGameTime Providence Journal All-State gymnastics and cheerleading teams online at www.hsgametime.com/rhodeisland. We asked each of our first-team selections to fill out a personal survey with questions including favorite TV show, favorite subject in school, and something people would be surprised to know about me. The athletes' answers, as well as audio clips of the gymnasts and cheerleaders talking about what inspired them this past season, will accompany their bios on their own personal pages. Also, you will find full listings for second team gymnasts and cheerleaders, as well as All-Division gymnasts. The All-State gymnastics and cheerleading page in The Providence Journal will run tomorrow.
Here is the full schedule for the All-State teams. The teams will be revealed at 6 p.m. each day online, and in the following day's newspaper.
Online now: Wrestling
Tonight: Gymnastics and cheerleading
Tomorrow: Girls basketball
Saturday: Boys basketball
Tuesday: girls indoor track
Wednesday: boys indoor track
Thursday, April 24: girls swimming
Friday, April 25: boys swimming
Saturday, April 26: boys and girls hockey
Monday, April 28: independent stars
Tonight at 6, you can find the 2008 HSGameTime Providence Journal All-State wrestling team online at www.hsgametime.com/rhodeisland. We asked each of our first-team selections to fill out a personal survey with questions including favorite TV show, favorite subject in school, and something people would be surprised to know about me. The athletes' answers, as well as audio clips of the wrestlers talking about what inspired them this past season, will accompany their bios on their own personal pages. Also, you will find full listings for the second team, All-Division and Academic All-State teams. The All-State wrestling page in The Providence Journal will run tomorrow.
Here is the full schedule for the All-State teams. The teams will be revealed at 6 p.m. each day online, and in the following day's newspaper.
Tonight: Wrestling
Tomorrow: Gymnastics and cheerleading
Friday: Girls basketball
Saturday: Boys basketball
Tuesday, April 22: girls indoor track
Wednesday, April 23: boys indoor track
Thursday, April 24: girls swimming
Friday, April 25: boys swimming
Saturday, April 26: boys and girls hockey
Monday, April 28: independent stars
Today's high school postponements for today and Saturday
Reschedule dates are in parentheses, where known:
Baseball Postponed today
Juanita Sanchez at Hope
Smithfield at Cumberland
East Providence at Barrington
Portsmouth at Moses Brown (tomorrow, 3 p.m.)
North Providence at La Salle (Sunday, 3 p.m.)
Westerly at Narragansett (Sunday, 3:30 p.m.)
Lincoln at St. Raphael (Monday, 3:30 p.m.)
East Greenwich at Chariho (Monday, 3:45 p.m.)
Warwick Vets at Coventry (Monday, 3:45 p.m.)
South Kingstown at North Kingstown (Monday, 3:45 p.m.)
Cranston West at Hendricken (Monday, 4 p.m.)
Toll Gate at Cranston East (Monday, 4 p.m.)
Classical at Tolman (Tuesday, 4 p.m.) Postponed tomorrow
Prout at Fatima
Central at PCD
Exeter/West Greenwich at Central Falls
Davies at Mount St. Charles (Tuesday, 3:30 p.m.)
Mount Pleasant at Mt. Hope (April 14, 11 a.m.)
St. Raphael at Woonsocket (April 19, 11 a.m.)
Burrillville at Johnston (April 28, 3:30 p.m.)
Softball Postponed today
Tolman at Davies (canceled)
Bishop Keough at Fatima
Mount Pleasant at Hope (Monday, 4 p.m.)
Scituate at Central (Monday, 4 p.m.)
Shea at Central Falls (Wednesday, 4 p.m.)
Tiverton at Rogers (April 17, 3:30 p.m.)
East Greenwich at Prout (May 10, 2 p.m.) Postponed tomorrow
Chariho at North Providence
Mount Pleasant at Tolman (canceled)
Classical at Cranston West (canceled)
Coventry at Westerly
Stonington at Westerly
Barrington at Cranston East (canceled)
Ponaganset at Mount St. Charles (canceled)
Burrillville at Lincoln (canceled)
Woonsocket at Cumberland (canceled)
Boys lacrosse
East Providence at Mount St. Charles
Middletown at East Greenwich
Warwick Vets at Toll Gate
Narragansett at Prout (Wednesday, 3:30 p.m.)
South Kingstown at Tiverton (April 21, 4:30 p.m.)
Mt. Hope at La Salle (April 28, 4 p.m.)
Girls lacrosse
Chariho at Mount St. Charles (Tuesday, 4:30 p.m.)
Prout at Narragansett (Wednesday, 3:30 p.m.)
Here's the list for Tuesday. Where known, the reschedule date is in parentheses.
Baseball
Johnston at Mount St. Charles
Burrillville at Davies (tomorrow, 4 p.m.)
Fatima at PCD (tomorrow, 3:30 p.m.)
Tolman at Shea (tomorrow, 3:45 p.m.)
Central Falls at Mt. Hope (tomorrow, 4 p.m.)
Juanita Sanchez at Mount Pleasant (tomorrow, 4 p.m.)
Scituate at Prout (tomorrow, 4 p.m.)
Cumberland at North Providence (Thursday, 3:30 p.m.)
Narragansett at East Greenwich (Thursday, 3:45 p.m.)
Coventry at Cranston West (Thursday, 4 p.m.)
Tiverton at Moses Brown (Thursday, 4 p.m.)
Barrington at Portsmouth (Thursday, 4 p.m.)
St. Raphael at Woonsocket (Saturday, 11 a.m.)
Central at Classical (April 17, 1 p.m.)
Wheeler at North Smithfield (May 12, 3:45 p.m.)
Softball
Ponaganset at Smithfield
Tiverton at Rogers
Burrillville at Classical
North Smithfield at North Providence (tomorrow, 3:30 p.m.)
West Warwick at Cranston East (tomorrow, 3:30 p.m.)
Mt. Hope at Middletown (tomorrow, 3:30 p.m.)
Portsmouth at Narragansett (tomorrow, 3:45 p.m.)
Barrington at East Greenwich (tomorrow, 3:45 p.m.)
Prout at Exeter/West Greenwich (tomorrow, 4 p.m.)
Boys tennis
Cumberland at Burrillville
Lincoln at North Smithfield
Smithfield at Scituate (tomorrow, 3:30 p.m.)
Barrington at Cranston West (tomorrow, 3:30 p.m.)
East Greenwich at Ponaganset (tomorrow, 3:30 p.m.)
Pilgrim at Rogers (tomorrow, 3:30 p.m.)
North Kingstown at South Kingstown (tomorrow, 3:30 p.m.)
Prout at Toll Gate (tomorrow, 3:30 p.m.)
Shea at Tolman (tomorrow, 3:30 p.m.)
Middletown at West Warwick (tomorrow, 3:30 p.m.)
La Salle at Hendricken (tomorrow, 3:30 p.m.)
Woonsocket at North Providence (tomorrow, 3:30 p.m.)
St. Raphael at Classical (tomorrow, 3:30 p.m.)
Tiverton at Coventry (tomorrow, 3:30 p.m.)
PCD at Cranston East (tomorrow, 3:30 p.m.)
Warwick Vets at Westerly (tomorrow, 4 p.m.)
Mount St. Charles at Wheeler (Saturday, 3:30 p.m.)
Not a great start to the high school baseball season. Reschedule date is in parentheses if we know it:
Baseball
Pilgrim at Hendricken (canceled)
St. Raphael at Woonsocket
Middletown at East Providence
Cumberland at North Providence (tomorrow, 3:30 p.m.)
Lincoln at La Salle (tomorrrow, 4 p.m.)
Barrington at Portsmouth (tomorrow, 4 p.m.)
Tiverton at Moses Brown (tomorrow, 4 p.m.)
Central at Classical (tomorrow, 4 p.m.)
Warwick Vets at Cranston East (tomorrow, 4 p.m.)
Coventry at Cranston West (tomorrow, 4 p.m.)
North Kingstown at Chariho (Thursday, 3:45 p.m.)
Clement Soscia, track coach at Toll Gate High School, will be helping us provide coverage of track on HSGametime.com. You can find his work on the High School Coaches Blog; today he has an entry about the Knights of Columbus relay, coming this weekend to Mount Pleasant High School.
Classical's Watkins named Gatorade boys basketball player of the year
The Gatorade Company, in partnership with RISE Magazine, today announced Ashton Watkins of Classical High School as its 2007-08 Rhode Island Boys Basketball Player of the Year.
The 6-foot-4 junior center averaged 18.2 points and 18.4 rebounds per game this season, leading the Purple (23-1) to the Division 2 state championship, a 71-62 victory against West Warwick. Also the Division II North Player of the Year and an All-Division II selection, Watkins added five blocks and 2.5 steals per contest this winter while shooting 61 percent from the floor. He recorded 27 points, 18 rebounds and four blocks in a 61-54 state semifinal victory against Rogers.
“He was definitely the dominant big man in our league,” said Mike Lunney, head coach at rival Portsmouth High. “He created a matchup problem because of his length. You had to start with him. You had to have a plan for him.”
Watkins will begin his senior year of high school this fall and remains undecided upon a collegiate destination.
What you're saying: High school hockey semifinal predictions
We've been asking readers on HSGametime to predict the winners of the best-of-three boys hockey semifinal series that begin tonight. You can still vote until the series are decided, but we figured we'd give you a snapshot of who your favorites and underdogs are right now.
Division I
-Hendricken, 207 votes; Toll Gate 114 votes (65 percent to 35 percent)
-Mount St. Charles 194 votes; Moses Brown 47 votes (81 percent to 19 percent)
Division IA
-Burrillville 119 votes; Lincoln 32 votes (79 percent to 21 percent)
-Barrington 55 votes; Cranston West 33 votes (63 percennt to 37 percent)
Division II
-Portsmouth 70 votes; St. Raphael 57 votes (55 percent to 45 percent)
-Smithfield 76 votes; Cumberland 70 votes (52 percent to 48 percent)
Division III
-South Kingstown 59 votes; Prout 38 votes (61 percent to 39 percent)
-Scituate 72 votes; Narragansett 41 votes (64 percent to 36 percent)
You can send us your stats anytime, any day. This is a great opportunity to build support for your team.
E-mail your stats to pjsports@projo.com or fax your stats to (401) 277-7444. For questions call Bob McGarry in the projo sports department at (401) 277-7340.
SOUTH KINGSTOWN - Tournament MVP Monica Bharoocha scored 18 points and grabbed six rebounds in helping La Salle successfully defend its Division I title with a 59-54 victory today over Bay View.
Torey Jones and Jameilia Dillon combined for 15 points and 16 rebounds for the Rams, who outrebounded the Bengals 47-38. Bay View was led by Brittany Wilson with 17 points and 15 rebounds.
Barrington girls repeat as Division II hoops champs
SOUTH KINGSTOWN - Barrington won its second consecutive Division II state title today by playing stellar defense, limiting Mount St. Charles to just 24.4 percent shooting from the field (10-for-41) in a 37-30 victory.
Senior guard Caitlyn Milazzo led Barrington with 16 points, 5 steals, and 4 rebounds. Nicole Turcotte led Mount St. Charles with 8 points and 11 rebounds.
What you're saying: Close votes in Division III boys semis
We've been asking HSGametime readers this week to pick the winners of tonight's Division III boys basketball semifinals. The polls remain open until the games begin tonight, but here's a snapshot of how things are going. They're remarkably close. A slight majority -- 69 votes to 60 -- is picking Mount St. Charles to beat Central Falls. In the other semifinal game, it's a virtual tie between Juanita Sanchez and Moses Brown -- as of 3:50 Sanchez led thhe voting 59-58.
Tonight's readers picks: West Warwick, Classical, Woonsocket and a toss-up
Readers at HSGametime.com have been voting since Monday on the winners of tonight's Division II boys and girls semifinal games. The polls will remain open until the games begin tonight, but here's a 2:30 snapshot on where things stand:
In the boys games, readers favor West Warwick to beat Coventry, 81 votes to 49 (62 percent to 38 percent). And they are picking Classical to beat Rogers, by a 74-to-51 vote margin (or 59 percent to 41 percent). The boys games are at CCRI-Warwick, beginning with the Wizards and the Oakers at 6:30.
On the girls side, readers are picking Woonsocket to win their city rivalry game with Mount St. Charles, 50 votes to 39 (or 56 percent to 44 percent). Readers are just about split on the other game, a rematch of last season's Division II final between Barrington and Scituate. Right now Barrington has 42 votes to Scituate's 41. The girls games are at Rhode Island College, beginning with the Villa Novans and the Mounties at 6:30.
Fans playoff predictions: Woonsocket, Hendricken, Bay View, La Salle
Readers on HSGametime have been picking the winners of the high school basketball playoff games this week, and although the polls continue to be live until game time, we're giving you a snapshot now of what the readers think.
Defending Division I boys champion Hendricken plays tonight against Mount Pleasant, and the Hawks are a strong favorite (113 votes to 56, or 67 percent to 33 percent) to get to the finals again this year. Hendricken's opponent, if the readers are right, will be Woonsocket, which has 64 out of 100 votes so far to win its game tonight against North Kingstown.
On the girls side, readers are predicting a rematch of last year's Division I final between Bay View and La Salle. The top-seeded Bengals (last year's runner-up) are heavy reader favorites to beat Coventry tonight (65 votes to 10, or 87 percent to 13 percent). Meanwhile, the defending champion Rams -- though seeded lower than opponent South Kingstown -- get 46 out of 74 votes to beat the Rebels tonight (that's a 62 percent to 38 percent ratio).
Fans asked to use different entrance for HS playoff games at RIC
Fans coming to Rhode Island College to watch the Division I high school girls basketball tournament games on Saturday are strongly advised to enter the campus via the Fruithill Ave. entrance due to Barack Obama's speaking engagement at the Recreation Center.
Check HSGametime all weekend long for playoff results (go to the latest results area on the lower right of the page) on game nights. On Saturday, Sunday and Monday mornings, we will have photos galleries of every playoff game from the night before. Each day, there will be one gallery for all the boys games and one gallery for all the girls games (there are no girls games on Friday night).
And Monday morning, we'll have reader polls for the boys and girls semifinal games.
Boys basketball
Mount Pleasant at La Salle
Tiverton at Narragansett (Saturday, 5 p.m.)
Chariho at South Kingstown (Saturday, 6 p.m.)
Davies at North Smithfield (Saturday, 7 p.m.)
Feinstein at Warwick Vets (Saturday, 7 p.m.)
Mt. Hope at Westerly (Saturday, 7 p.m.)
West Warwick at East Greenwich (Saturday, 7 p.m.)
Ponaganset at Scituate (Saturday, 7 p.m.)
Classical at Barrington (Monday, 4 p.m.)
Central at Hendricken (Monday, 7 p.m.)
Cranston West at Cranston East (Monday, 7 p.m.)
Juanita Sanchez at Middletown (Monday, 7 p.m.)
North Providence at Shea (Monday, 7 p.m.)
Pilgrim at Toll Gate (Monday, 7 p.m.)
Lincoln at Tolman (Monday, 7 p.m.)
Smithfield at St. Raphael (Monday, 7 p.m.)
Fatima at Mount St. Charles (Monday, 7 p.m.)
Central Falls at Prout (Monday, 7 p.m.)
East Providence at Hope, (Monday, 7:30 p.m.)
Boys hockey
North Smithfield vs. Rogers
Burrillville vs. La Salle
Moses Brown vs. East Greenwich
North Providence vs. Prout
East Providence vs. Cumberland
Lincoln vs. Barrington
PCD/Wheeler vs. Johnston
Cranston West vs. Hendricken
Middletown vs. South Kingstown
Ponaganset vs. Smithfield
Tolman vs. St. Raphael
Toll Gate vs. Mount St. Charles
Mike Marra, the All-State shooter from Smithfield, has verbally committed to play at Louisville. Marra will sign with the Cardinals this November and enroll in the fall of 2009.
"I feel excellent," Marra said today from his prep school, Northfield Mt. Hermon. "It was a little overwhelming at first but I'm excited it's over and I'm going to Louisville."
Marra ended his recruitment when Cards coach Rick Pitino saw him play Wednesday against Winchendon School. It was the first time Pitino saw Marra play in person.
Marra becomes the second Rhode Island junior to commit to a big-time school. South Kingstown's Erik Murphy picked Florida last month.
More on Marra's pick in Friday's Journal.
We asked HSGametime readers to pick the winner of tonight's girls basketball game between Mount St. Charles and Scituate. The teams, which meet tonight in Scituate, are in a three-way tie with Woonsocket for first place in Division I North.
There were 39 votes since yesterday afternoon, with a majority of 25 picking the Spartans (14-3 Division II, 16-3 overall) to beat the Mounties (14-3, 16-4).
We asked HSGametime visitors to pick the winner of tonight's boys basketball game between Mount Pleasant and East Providence. There were 30 votes from yesterday afternoon to today, and a slight majority of 16 picked the Townies (9-6 Division I, 11-7 overall) to beat the Kilties (10-5, 12-7).
We'll have a gallery of game photos tomorrow at HSGametime.com.
We asked readers on HSGametime.com to predict the winner of tonight's city boys basketball showdown between Classical and Feinstein. There were 33 votes since yesterday afternoon, and a majority of 21 picked the Purple (13-0 Division II, 16-1 overall) to defeat the defending champion Falcons (11-2, 17-3).
There will be a photo gallery from the game tomorrow on HSGametime.
We asked readers on HSGametime to pick the winner of tonight's girls basketball game in East Providence between Bay View and Stonington of Connecticut. Out of 32 votes since yesterday afternoon, 22 picked Bay View to win. We'll have a gallery of photos from the game tomorrow on HSGametime.
We had a pretty sparse turnout for today's high school Game of the Day poll, but out of the 17 who did vote, a majority of 10 picked North Smithfield to win at Moses Brown. The Northmen (11-3 Division III, 12-3 overall) and the Quakers (11-2, 12-3) are two of the best teams in Division III. We'll have a gallery of photos from the game tomorrow on HSGametime.com, along with Steve Krasner's game story.
We asked readers on HSGametime to predict the winner of tonight's boys basketball game between Hendricken (10-1 Division I, 12-1 overall) and Hope (6-5, 8-7). There were 52 votes, with 33 picking the Hawks to win. Tomorrow on HSGametime, we'll present a gallery of game photos, along with Steve Krasner's game story.
We asked readers on HSGametime to predict the winner of tonight's boys basketball game between Woonsocket (11-0 Division I, 15-0 overall) and North Kingstown (10-1 Division I, 11-2 overall). There were 46 votes since yesterday afternoon, with a slim majority of 24 picking the Villa Novans to win and remain undefeated. We'll have a gallery of game photos plus Steve Krasner's game story tomorrow on HSGametime; the game is at 7 tonight at North Kingstown.
We asked HSGametime.com readers to predict the winner of tonight's girls basketball game between Bay View and South Kingstown. There were 100 votes since yesterday, with 87 picking the Bengals (12-0 Division I, 15-1 overall) to beat the Rebels (12-0, 13-0) and become the only undefeated team in Division I. Tomorrow on HSGametime, we'll present a gallery of game photos as well as Carolyn Thornton's game story.
In addition to stories, photos and standings, HSGameTime.com is designed to collect and tabulate individual scoring. It's easy. Once a week, just send us your year-to-date statistics. We're looking for games played, points scored, 3-point shots made, rebounds and assists.
You can e-mail us at pjsports.com or fax your stats to (401) 277-7444.
We asked readers on HSGametime com predict the winner of tonight's projo Game of the Day between Tiverton and Mt. Hope in Division II girls basketball. Out of 35 votes since yesterday afternoon, 20 picked the Tigers (9-1 Division II, 10-2 overall) to beat the Huskies (6-3, 8-5). We'll have a gallery of photos from the game tomorrow.
Now on HSGametime, you can vote on the winner of tomorrow's Game of the Day: Cumberland vs. Cranston West wrestling.
Game of the Day poll: North Providence at Johnston girls basketball
In our newest feature, we're asking HSGameTime readers to vote on the winner of the high school game we'll be watching closely on any given night. Tomorrow night, that game will be North Providence (7-0 in Division II, 9-0 overall) visiting Johnston (5-3, 7-5) in girls basketball. You can vote on the winner until 3:30 tomorrow; we'll post the poll results here at the end of the day, and you'll be able to find a gallery of game photos on Saturday.
Erik Murphy, the 6-10 South Kingstown native who is starring at St. Mark's in Massachusetts, has committed to play for Billy Donovan at Florida. Murphy is a junior in prep school and won't join the Gators until the fall of 2009.
Murphy is regarded as one of the top 50 juniors in the country. He chose Florida over Duke with Boston College, Marquette, Virginia, Ohio State and UConn also among his final seven. Florida is the two-time defending national champion and Donovan has sent a slew of his players to the NBA over the last half dozen years.
Murphy, who is 6-10 and 220 pounds, had told reporters and scouts that he wouldn't make a college choice until after his prep school season, at the earliest. BC, where his father Jay starred in the early-80's, was considered the early favorite but when Florida and Duke joined the chase the stakes changed. Murphy visited Florida for a football game in the fall and came away wowed. He had never officially visited Duke but Mike Krzyzewski came to watch him play last month and offered a scholarship.
Hendricken (6-0 league, 8-1 overall) takes on North Kingstown (6-0 league, 7-1 overall) tonight in boys basketball, and you'll be able to find a gallery of game photos in addition to a game story tomorrow on HSGameTime.
HSGameTime readers were asked to vote on the winner of tonight's game in our inaugural Game of the Day poll: 58 out of 79 voters (73 percent) picked the Hawks to remain perfect.
The game starts at 7 at Hendricken.
Tomorrow night, we'll be shooting indoor track at CCRI. There will be no Game of the Day poll, but check back on Thursday afternoon for the Friday poll.
HSGameTime readers were asked to vote between Thursday and yesterday on the best girls basketball team in Division II. The choices were limited to teams with winning league records as of Thursday afternoon. A huge turnout for Tiverton fans put the Tigers in the number-one position in the poll. There were more than 1,000 votes total, and here's how the teams ranked:
1. Tiverton
2. Mt. Hope
3. Barrington/Scituate (tie)
5. Woonsocket
6. Prout
7. North Providence
8. Westerly
9. Central/Mount St. Charles (tie)
11. Pilgrim
12. Portsmouth
13. Johnston
14. Chariho
La Salle's Mack finishes third in Mile at Dartmouth Invitational
La Salle’s senior distance runner Jeanne Mack yesterday moved an important step closer to being considered for a spot in next month’s Millrose High School mile in New York City. Competing in the Dartmouth Invitational’s mile run, in Hanover, N.H., Mack finished third with a time of 4 minutes, 56.57 seconds. The race was won by Caitlin Lane, of New York, in 4:55.25. With her Dartmouth performance, Mack - who placed fifth with a clocking of 5:04.84 in last month’s Brown Invitational mile - bettered her chances at securing one of 10 spots in the Millrose field. Mack will next run the mile at the Yale Invitational, in New Haven, on Jan. 19. Westerly’s Andrew Springer, meanwhile, won the Dartmouth boys’ mile with a time of 4:21.87. His Bulldog teammate Tim O’Loughlin finished eighth in 4:33.82.
The Gatorade Company, in partnership with RISE Magazine, today announced Nick Ross of East Greenwich High School as its 2007-08 Gatorade Rhode Island Boys Cross Country Runner of the Year. As Rhode Island’s honoree for 2007-08, Ross becomes a member of the inaugural Gatorade State Boys Cross Country Runner of the Year class.
The award, which recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence, but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the racecourse, distinguishes Ross as Rhode Island’s best high school boys cross country runner. Ross is now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade National Boys Cross Country Runner of the Year award to be announced in mid-January.
The sophomore distance runner captured fourth place at the all-class Rhode Island Cross Country Championship with a time of 16:08, leading a tight pack of Avengers to the team title. Ross followed the state meet with an 11th-place finish at the New England Cross Country Championships in 16:16.4, the fastest Rhode Island runner, and an eighth-place run at the Nike Team Nationals Northeast Regional in 16:27.3. He also placed third at the Class C state meet.
Ross has maintained a solid average in the classroom. Despite a demanding academic curriculum and a year-round focus on elite-level distance training, he remains an active peer leader in his school and municipal community, and serves as a regular participant in local charity fundraiser races.
“He’s a very competitive kid, but he sacrificed all his individual goals for the team this year,” said East Greenwich Head Coach Pete Dion. “He’s only been running for a year-and-a-half, but he could be the best runner in New England next year. He’s a gift. He can be a superstar.”
Ross will begin his junior year of high school this fall and remains undecided upon a collegiate destination.
La Salle's Jeanne Mack named Gatorade girls cross country runner of the year
The Gatorade Company, in partnership with RISE Magazine, today announced Jeanne Mack of La Salle Academy as its 2007-08 Gatorade Rhode Island Girls Cross Country Runner of the Year. As Rhode Island’s honoree for 2007-08, Mack becomes a member of the inaugural Gatorade State Girls Cross Country Runner of the Year class.
The award, which recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence, but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the racecourse, distinguishes Mack as Rhode Island’s best high school girls cross country runner. Mack is now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade National Girls Cross Country Runner of the Year award to be announced in mid-January.
The senior distance runner captured the Class A and All-State individual championships by 21 seconds and 32 seconds, respectively, leading the Rams to team titles at both events. Mack finished second at the New England Cross Country Championships with a time of 18:29.4. She placed 25th at the Foot Locker Northeast Regional in 18:48 in addition to winning the Varsity D Race at the prestigious Manhattan Invitational this past fall.
Mack has maintained an A-plus average in the classroom. In addition to volunteering as a teacher’s assistant at Little Friends Preschool, she participates in multiple community-service initiatives, making jewelry for charitable sale to benefit the Special Olympics and donating her time to Arts Alive by helping inner-city youths build confidence and creativity through expressive art.
“You wouldn’t know it by looking at her, but she’s a very fierce competitor,” said La Salle Academy Head Coach Kelly Martin. “She never repeats a mistake twice; she always learns from her mistakes. She made a lot of progress coming off her junior year, all of it from work ethic.”
Mack remains undecided upon a collegiate destination.
At hsgametime.com, readers voted this week on the best boys basketball team in Division II. Choices were limited to the teams with winning league records as of Monday afternoon. There were 195 votes; here's how they broke down. The top two teams in the poll -- Feinstein and West Warwick -- meet tonight in West Warwick.
Readers at HSGametime were asked to select the top girls basketball team in Division I, out of the teams that entered Thursday night’s action with winning league records. There were 264 votes, and here’s how they broke down:
1. Bay View, 96 votes
2. La Salle, 78 votes
3. South Kingstown, 35 votes
4. Coventry, 16 votes
5. East Greenwich, 15 votes
6. Cranston West, 13 votes
7. Ponaganset 11 votes
Beginning Friday afternoon, we asked HSGametime readers which team was best in Division I. Choices were limited to the seven teams with undefeated division records at the start of the poll. We received 309 votes before voting closed at 4 p.m. Here's how you voted:
Classical's Flowers breaks national weight-throw mark
Courtesy of Bob Gourley:
Victoria Flowers set a new national high school 20# weight throw record of 61’00.75” at the 26th Annual Brown University Track & Field High School Invitational on Friday, December 28, 2007.
This performance was indoors at Brown University’s Olney-Margolies Athletic Center in Providence, RI, and broke the record of 60’10.50” set by Maureen Griffin (JR/Pocatello, ID) at the 1997 National Scholastic Indoor Championships at the Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center, Roxbury, MA on March 8, 1997.
Flowers (1/17/90) SR - Classical High School, Providence, RI
Series: LSF 61’00.75” 60’04.50”
Barrington's Caitlyn Milazzo hits the floor protecting a loose ball from Johnston's Alysa O'Neill during action at the Hank Orabone Memorial Tournament today in Cranston. Barrington won 42-30, led by Kelly Mannix's 11 points. There will be a gallery of game photos tomorrow on HSGameTime.
DIVISION II FOOTBALL: South Kingstown 25, Toll Gate 13
CRANSTON -- Sean Hamill scored two touchdowns and lineman Michael Rayta had the clincher on a pass interception and return as South Kingstown downed Toll Gate, 25-13, in the Division II Super Bowl today at Cranston Stadium.
Toll Gate dominated the first half and led, 6-0, at the break. The momentum changed completely in the second half. The Rebels took control behind the running of Hamill, Josh Ponte and Tim Hazard and scored 19 straight points.
After Toll Gate closed to 19-13 and got the ball back, Rayta clinched it when he picked off a screen pass and returned it 25 yards for a touchdown.
EAST PROVIDENCE -- Jordan Monk set up the game-winning touchdown by returning a free kick 73 yards deep into Hendricken territory with five minutes to play in the fourth quarter as St. Raphael, playing without star quarterback Stanley Dunbar, upset the Hawks, 8-6, today at Pierce Field and won the state high school football championship.
Hendricken had a taken a 6-0 lead with 12 seconds to go in the first half on Matt Brown's 90-yard punt return.
St. Raphael was driving for the tying TD in the fourth quarter when the Hawks recovered a Saints fumble on their own 2-yard line. Unable to make a first down, they took an intentional safety, cutting their lead to 6-2, to get the free kick -- with a strong wind at their backs -- from the 20-yard line rather than having to punt from their own end zone.
But Monk returned to the free kick 73 yards to the Hendricken 2. Peter Micali scored the game-winning touchdown from there.
SMITHFIELD -- Ponaganset won the Division III Super Bowl today at Bryant College with a 13-6 victory over division champion Moses Brown.
The game's Most Valuable Player, Larry Colaluca, stepped in for injured running back Nicholas Keeling and racked up 101 yards in the second half, including a 30-yard touchdown run, to lead the Chieftains to victory.
Warwick's Bentsen named Gatorade Football Player of the Year
CHICAGO — In its third decade of honoring the nation’s best high school athletes, The Gatorade Company, in partnership with RISE Magazine, today announced Bobby Bentsen of Warwick Veterans High School as its 2007-08 Gatorade Rhode Island Football Player of the Year
The award, which recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence, but also meeting high standards of academic achievement while demonstrating exceptional character on and off the field, distinguishes Bentsen as Rhode Island’s best high school football player. Bentsen is now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade National Football Player of the Year award to be announced in mid-December.
The 5-foot-11, 195-pound junior quarterback broke the state’s single-season passing yardage record, completing 151-of-261 passes for 2,542 yards and 24 touchdowns against just 10 interceptions this fall. He also rushed for 315 yards and five scores on 72 carries. Bentsen led the Hurricanes (8-3) to the Division II quarterfinals, where he threw for 372 yards and three scores on 26-of-41 passing in a losing cause against South Kingstown.
Bentsen has maintained a 3.06 GPA in the classroom. Bentsen volunteers as a local youth football and boxing coach in addition to donating his time to the Pilgrim Senior Center in Warwick.
“He sees the field well, and he’s very accurate,” said Warwick Veterans Head Coach Mike Nappa. “He finds the hole. He finds the open receiver. He’ll stay in the pocket, he’ll complete the pass and he’ll make sure he makes something happen.”
Bentsen will begin his senior year of high school next fall and remains undecided upon a collegiate destination.
The Gatorade Player of the Year program annually recognizes one winner in the District of Columbia and each of the 50 states that sanction high school football, girls volleyball, boys and girls cross country, boys and girls basketball, boys and girls soccer, baseball, softball, and boys and girls track & field. The selection process is administered by RISE Magazine, which works with top sport-specific experts and a media advisory board of accomplished, veteran prep sports journalists to determine the state winners in each sport.
Bentsen joins recent Gatorade Rhode Island Football Players of the Year Matt Hansen (2006-07, La Salle Academy), Joe Goniprow (2005-06, Barrington HS), and A.J. Kizekai (2004-05, Saint Raphael Academy) among the state’s list of former award winners.
Seekonk's magical undefeated season came to an end with a heartbreaking 10-7 loss to Hingham on a game-winning field goal in the final minute of play.
In a hard fought defensive battle, the game remained scoreless until the final minute of the first half when Seekonk's Chris Hanoian, as he has all year, put the Warriors on the board with a touchdown run from the 4-yard line. When Ron Case converted the point-after, it looked as if Seekonk would go to the locker room with a 7-0 lead.
But, Hingham, with just 42 seconds on the clock, marched down the field and into the end zone as time expired. A successful point-after and once again the teams were deadlocked 7-7 at the half.
In the second half it continued to be a defensive struggle with both teams managing sustained drives that ate up the clock but failed to put points on the board.
Finally, with just 38 seconds to go, Hingham's Mike Egan came on to kick a field goal that put the Harbormen ahead 10-7.
Seekonk wasn't quite done, using the 38 seconds remaining to drive deep into Hingham territory, but as time expired senior Josh Rosa's long pass into the end zone was batted away.
Emmanuel Tutu did just about everything to get Classical into the Division IV Super Bowl. Tutu scored four touchdowns and accounted for over 400 yards of total offense as the Purple routed Central Falls, 48-16.
Classical will play Exeter/West Greenwich in Super Bowl.
Tutu returned a kickoff 80 yards for a touchdown, returned an interception 99 yards and scored on a 75-yard punt return.
Tutu's final score came on a 75-yard pass from Rocco Santopietro, who also ran for a 30-yard score and threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Nick Lafond.
Nick Keeling ran for 106 yards and scored three touchdowns giving Ponaganset a 28-9 victory over East Greenwich and a berth in the Division III Super Bowl.
Ponaganset will play top-seed Moses Brown.
Keeling scored all of his touchdowns on the ground, two 4-yard runs and a 20-yard score.
Caleb Gelsomino later threw a 16-yard touchdown pass to Russ Morin.
Greg Palmer returned an interception 80 yards for the lone East Greenwich touchdown and Brendan Murray kicked a 23-yard field goal.
Doug Johnson had all the answers last night, except one.
Johnson, a rugged, 6-foot, 200-pound junior running back had just played the game of his life. He scored three touchdowns, ran for 225 yards and spearheaded his Toll Gate team to a stunning 26-6 upset over top-seeded Cranston East in a Division II playoff semifinal at Cranston Stadium.
When it was over, Johnson was standing in the end zone with his teammates, most of whom were screaming, ``Super Bowl, Super Bowl, Super Bowl.’’ They were celebrating perhaps the biggest victory in school history when Johnson realized he did not have the answer to one question _ the one about the Super Bowl.
``I don’t even know the last time Toll Gate went to a Super Bowl,’’ he said as he and his teammates enjoyed themselves.
His coach, Steve Spaziano, was happy to provide the answer.
``Only once, in 1990. I was on the team,’’ Spaziano said. ``We got beat by one of those great Rogers teams, 24-0.’’ Spaziano not only was on the team, he was the captain for coach Emo DiNitto.
Spaziano has not made a big deal of the Super Bowl. He has spent more time getting his players to believe in themselves. Toll Gate has not been a football power. What’s more, when it met East in the regular season, the Bolt won, 28-6.
``We were intimiated. You could tell we were intimidated,’’ Johnson said of the first meeting between the teams. ``We weren’t ready to play. Tonight we were ready to play. On their turf and everything, we were ready.’’
``We changed some things,’’ Spaziano said.
On defense, Toll Gate went much of the way with three and four-man fronts designed to slow Cranston East star running back Geoffrey Gillson. Gillson, who injured his ankle in the Thanksgiving Day victory over Cranston West, did not play in the first quarter. He did play in the last three, but never got room to run.
Johnson, on the other hand, got plenty of room.
``The line was awesome,’’ he said. ``The holes were there.’’
Even when the holes were not there, Johnson ran over and through tacklers in a very, very impressive display.
Toll Gate took the lead through the air. Michael Zincone flipped a short pass to Joel Haduch on Toll Gate’s second possession. Haduch broke two tackles as he caught the ball and then outraced everyone 72 yards for the game’s first score. Cranston East responded by scoring on an eight-yard pass from Shay DiPina to Phillip Gibbs on its next possession.
That’s when Johnson took over. He completed an 87-yard, nine-play drive with a 12-yard scoring run.
Then, in the final minute of the first half, as Toll Gate seemed to be simply running out the clock, Johnson took a handoff, went left, cut back to the right, broke at least two tackles and raced 70 yards to make it 19-6 at the half. Toll Gate had 270 yards of offense in the first half alone. Johnson added still another score, from 37 yards, to clinch it in the final quarter and send the Titans to the bowl Saturday, also at Cranston Stadium against fellow upstart South Kingstown.
South Kingstown scored on its first three possessions and the fourth seeded Rebels never looked back as they advanced to the Division II Super Bowl with a 21-7 victory over top-seeded Shea.
Tim Hazard opened the South Kingstown 21-point first quarter, scoring on a 1-yard touchdown run.
Sean Hamill made it 14-0 on a 60-yard run and Josh Ponte added a 53-yard run.
South Kingstown ran for 334 yards with Ponte going for 114, Hamill 102 and Hazard 68.
South Kingstown's defense held Shea to 96 yards of total offense and forced four Raider turnovers. South Kingstown had seven sacks, four from Jay Dorsey, and Patrick Gee had a pair of second half interceptions.
Akeem Williams scored Shea's touchdown in the fourth quarter on a 15-yard pass from Albert Amado.
South Kingstown will play third-seed Toll Gate in the Super Bowl.
EAST PROVIDENCE - He is a veteran, a captain and the starting quarterback, and last night Billy Cosmopulos lived up to each of those titles right when his team needed him most.
Completing 13 of 17 passes for 180 yards, including two of them for touchdown passes, as well as rushing for another 70 yards, the senior led Moses Brown to a 21-0 victory over Johnston in semifinal action of the Rhode Island Interscholastic League Division III playoffs, last night Pierce Stadium.
With the win, Quakers earned a return trip to the Citizens Bank Division III Super Bowl, where it will face Ponaganset at 12:30 p.m. Saturday at Bryant University.
``He played about as good as we could have hoped for,’’ Moses Brown coach LaJhon Jones said of Cosmopulos. ``He’s been consistent all year, but I would say he saved his best game for the playoffs. He was a great leader out there.’’
Cosmopulos put the Quakers on the board in the first quarter when he hit Sushil Trivedi with a 30-yard touchdown pass, which Jordan Anderson followed with a successful kick for the extra point.
Mark Petros, who finished the game with about 80 yards on 10 carries, scored on a 5-yard run to send Moses Brown into halftime leading 13-0.
The Quakers – the top seed after finishing on top of Division III during the regular season with a 7-1 record - took a commanding lead in the third quarter when Trivedi hauled in a 47-yarder from Cosmopulos, then rushed for the 2-point conversion.
``Honestly, they were the better team tonight,’’ said Johnston coach Joe Acciardo, whose team made tremendous strides this season after going 2-6 and failing to make the playoffs last fall.
``We were inviting the run because we thought we would match up with them better that way. And they did run, but we didn’t tackle well and I thought we missed a lot of opportunities to stop that running game. When they beat us there, you have to say, `Okay, it’s not our time.’ ’’
Although Moses Brown had prevailed in the teams’ regular-season meeting, 42-34, the top-seeded Quakers say they knew they had their work cut out for them.
``All 11 guys played really well,’’ said Jones. ``It takes 11 guys to stop a team like that. We limited our missed tackles. We kept our game plan and our game plan worked this week.
``Defensively, I think we only allowed them four first downs in the whole game,’’ he added. ``We held (Matt Russo) to under 100 yards, and we bottled up Brandon Parillo. And we were really worried about those two guys.’’
This marks Moses Brown’s fifth trip to a Super Bowl Championship in seven years, its second in a row in Division III.
``We started the season 0-2, but these kids got better every week,’’ Jones said. ``They stumbled against Mt. Pleasant, but maybe that was a wake-up call because they’ve continued to get better since then. Hopefully we’ve saved our best game for Dec. 3 at Bryant.’’
WEST GREENWICH - The message Exeter/West Greenwich head coach Mike Messier gave his players back in August was clear and simple. He told them to play one game at time, but don’t forget what the final goal was – the Super Bowl.
The Scarlet Knights responded this season and with last night’s dominating 42-14 victory over North Providence in the Division IV semifinal game, Exeter/West Greenwich is now one victory away from a Super Bowl title.
“Oh, man,” said Messier, “you don’t know how good this feels right now for these kids. I got excited today just thinking about it and this is just phenomenal.”
With that said the Scarlet Knights’ third-year coach was doused with the celebratory Gatorade dump by his players.
“I knew that was coming,” he said afterwards. “They’ve wanted to do that for awhile now. That’s how exciting it is to be out here.”
Messier has been with the program since 1999, but has served as the head coach for the past three seasons. He has experienced all the peaks and valleys the team has endured, and the hard work has finally paid off.
From the opening kick off last night, the Scarlet Knights dominated. They scored on their first possession of the game and didn’t stop until the final buzzer.
Scarlet Knights senior quarterback Zachary Hornoff threw two touchdowns, connecting both times with senior wide receiver Rick Sheehan. Hornoff also ran for a touchdown, while senior running back Kevin Luczak provided two touchdowns and junior Gibson Fines added one. Luczak connected on all six extra-point kicks.
“This hasn’t even hit me yet,” said Luczak. “I’ve been working so hard to get here for a couple of years now and it’s finally here. It’s a dream come true.”
The Cougars scored all of their 14 points in the final quarter when Michael Rossi ran two touchdowns, and Antonio Folco added a two-point conversion.
“This is an outstanding group of kids,” said Cougars head coach Glenn Williams. “They are respectful on the field and off the field. I’m proud of the contribution they made to this program. They have planted a seed that will continue a tradition, and we’re going to get better each and every year.”
As the Cougars headed to their team bus after the loss, Williams told the players they are a family and that they worked hard.
As the celebration continued on the other side of the field, the Scarlet Knights will be back at practice today to prepare for their up coming Super Bowl opponent. It’s a long way from where this team was just three years ago when it struggled just to win a game.
“It means a lot of people are doing good things and doing those things right,” said Luczak. “Everybody came through and now there’s just one more game to go.”
WARWICK – Bishop Hendricken senior kicker Chris Surgento has hit some big field goals in his life, but none of them were bigger than the 30-yard kick he split between the uprights last night with 9:19 remaining in the Hawks Division I semifinal game against La Salle.
The field goal gave Bishop Hendricken a 9-7 lead and the Hawks defense did the rest, forcing a three-and-out on La Salle’s ensuing possession and then intercepting two passes on the Rams final two drives as Hendricken survived La Salle, 9-7, to advance to the Division I Super Bowl.
“It was just another kick,” Surgento said of what he was thinking just before he hit the game-winning field goal and his third field goal of the game. “It was nothing big. It was just another kick in the game. I didn’t feel any pressure. I was warmed-up. I was ready.”
His teammates weren’t surprised he hit the field goal.
“He works hard every single day in practice, kicking every single day, and he came up huge today,” Bishop Hendricken quarterback Thomas Verdi said. “He won the game for us. He’s a pressure player.”
It was because of Verdi, a sophomore quarterback who was thrust into just his second starting role because Hendricken senior QB Anthony Ferreira broke his ankle earlier this season, that Surgento was able to be the hero. After struggling against a fired-up La Salle defense that limited Hendricken’s offense – the best in Division I (31 points per game) – to just 62 first-half yards, Hendricken coach Keith Croft decided to put the ball in Verdi’s hands. He asked the sophomore to get the Hawks in position to win the game and he did.
“I had butterflies before the game but after the first initial hit, I got out of it and played like I know how to play,” Verdi said. “Taking [Ferreira’s’] spot is tough but I did what I could do.”
Trailing 7-3 at halftime, Verdi completed 8-of-11 passes for 107 yards in the second half to guide the Hendricken comeback.
“I was pumped up going into the second half,” Verdi said. “I knew what I had to do and got the job done.”
“He did a great job coming in in his first big game,” Surgento said of Verdi.
On their first possession of the second half, the Hawks marched 71 yards down the field and cut La Salle’s lead to 7-6 on a 26-yard Surgento field goal.
Hendricken’s defense forced a turnover on the Rams second play of their ensuing drive, which set up Surgento’s game-winning field goal.
“The defense did a great job tonight,” Surgento said.
Hendricken’s defense forced six turnovers in all, countering a huge effort by Rams running back Kendall Perry, who finished with 154 rushing yards.
“That’s a great football team we beat,” Surgento said. “They have a great defense, a great offense. It was tough but everyone played well and I got the opportunities to kick the field goals.”
La Salle fullback Neal Rooney scored on a three yard touchdown run on the Rams opening drive of the game, but Hendricken’s defense kept La Salle out of the end zone the rest of the way.
Hendricken will play St. Raphael Academy in Saturday’s Super Bowl at 1 p.m. at Pierce Field.
“We worked so hard all season for this,” Verdi said. “It paid off. We played an unbelievable game. We’re so psyched to be going to the Super Bowl.”
Backup quarterback Tyler Malo scored on St. Raphael's first possession on a 2-yard run and the top-seeded and unbeaten Saints advanced to the Division I championship with a 6-0 victory over Cranston West.
St. Raphael will play Hendricken in the Super Bowl on Saturday.
St. Raphael defeated Rogers tonight, 15-0, to complete a perfect regular season in Division I, but Saints star quarterback Stanley Dunbar left the game in the first quarter with an injury. We'll have more information, as well as a photo gallery, tomorrow on HSGameTime. Until then, here is a box score.
Zak Gumkowski is pushed out of bounds by Peter Smurro of Narragansett just short of a touchdown in the second half.
East Greenwich routed Narragansett tonight, 35-0, to clinch a playoff spot in Division III. The Avengers will play Ponaganset in the first round of the playoffs, while Narragansett will not qualify; top-seed Moses Brown will take on Johnston in the other semifinal.
Greg Palmer scored three touchdowns -- two receiving and one rushing -- for East Greenwich, while Zak Gumkowski added two rushing TDs. Click here to see the scoring summary. We'll have a gallery of game photos later tonight on HSGameTime.
a href="http://www.hsgametime.com/rhodeisland">HSGameTime will have photo galleries posted late tonight from Rogers' football game at St. Raphael, and Narragansett at East Greenwich.
Tomorrow evening, we'll have photo galleries from Cumberland vs. Woonsocket, Cranston East vs. Cranston West and La Salle vs. East Providence.
HSGameTime will also post the results to the high school games as we get them on Wednesday night and Thursday afternoon (coaches should call in the games between 4 and 7 p.m.)
Portsmouth's Westmoreland signs letter of intent with Vanderbilt
Portsmouth High School Senior Ryan Westmoreland will be signing a National Letter of Intent to attend Vanderbilt University on a baseball scholarship in the fall of 2008. The signing will take place in the Portsmouth High School library on Wednesday, November 14th at 3:00 pm.
Westmoreland has stood out in the community as a baseball player since 2002, when his Portsmouth Little League team advanced to the finals of the New England Regional Tournament in Bristol, CT, losing to the eventual national runner-up Jesse Burkett of Worcester, MA 1-0.
His accomplishments at the high school level are nothing short of amazing. Statistically, he enters his senior year with a .510 career batting average, accompanied by a .579 on base percentage and a .817 slugging percentage. He needs only 12 hits to break the all-time hits mark at PHS, and several other season and career records are looming. As a pitcher, he is 28-0, with a career .72 ERA and 270 strikeouts in 174 innings, walking only 52. In addition to being the winning pitcher in both the Freshman State Championship game in 2005, and DII Varsity State Championship game in 2006, Westmoreland has been named Division Most Valuable Player, Division Most Outstanding Player, Championship Series MVP, RI Gatorade Player of the Year, Cox Sports Television Baseball Scholar/Athlete of the Year, First Team All-State, Newport County Player of the Year and BCA All District 1 Team. His accomplishments both as a pitcher and offensive player have led to his recruitment by Vanderbilt as a two-way prospect, unique at the Division 1 level.
During this past summer, Westmoreland competed at the highest national level. In 2007 he was selected to participate in the East Coast Professional Showcase in Lakeland, FL, and Area Code Games in Long Beach, CA, two of the most highly regarded and recruited tournaments in the country. Westmoreland was named to the All Area Code team, as well as being ranked 11th overall, 6th position player by ESPN for his performance in those tournaments.
“Ryan is one of the most gifted baseball players, if not one of the most gifted overall athletes to ever come out of Portsmouth High School. This is a result of his tireless work ethic in every endeavor that he undertakes. Though we will certainly miss him, Coach Corbin and the Vanderbilt Baseball program are getting themselves a fine young man. We are very proud of Ryan.” said Portsmouth Head Baseball Coach Dave Ulmschneider.
Vanderbilt University is considered to be one of the top 20 Academic Institutions in the United States, as well as achieving a #1 ranking in Division 1 Collegiate Baseball during most of 2007, and that same ranking going into the NCAA tournament. The Commodores compete in the SEC, considered by many to be the powerhouse conference in Division 1 baseball. They ended their season with a #6 national ranking after falling to Michigan in the Regional tournament. Westmoreland verbally committed to Head Coach Tim Corbin in July.
Moses Brown captures Division II field hockey title
Elisabeth Jones scored what proved to be the game-winning goal at 1:34 of the second half as Moses Brown captured its second straight Division II field hockey championship with a 4-1 victory over Wheeler.
Meo pitches Cranston West to second straight D-I title
Jackson Geary carried the South Kingstown High baseball team a long way through the Interscholastic League Division I state baseball tournament, but even the Rebels pitching ace couldn’t stop Cranston West from becoming the first public school baseball team in 32 years to win back-to-back Division I state championships.
Geary, the South Kingstown junior righthander who had pitched four complete games in the playoffs including one on Sunday and also pitched two innings of shutout relief on Wednesday night, was back on the mound last night and hooked up in a pitching duel with Cranston West’s Anthony Meo for four innings.
But in the end Geary couldn’t match either Meo’s mound effort or completely shutdown the West attack.
Sparked by Meo’s one-hit shutout and a three-run fifth inning outburst that broke the game wide-open Cranston West completed a perfect run through the R.I. Interscholastic League’s Pawtucket Red Sox/Amica Insurance double elimination Division I state tournament with a 5-0 victory over South Kingstown last night at McCoy Stadium.
The title-clinching victory gave the Falcons a perfect 6-0 record in playoff competition, including three victories in the state championship series and three triumphs in the regional qualifying tournament. South Kingstown, which lost in the first round of the double elimination, championship tourney had earned the right to play in last night’s title round with loser’s bracket victories on both Sunday and Wednesday.
Last night Geary may not have matched Meo’s sensational one-hit effort, but in his third mound appearance in five days, kept South Kingstown in the game by only allowing two runs on two hits over the first four innings.
But in the fifth Cranston West broke the game wide open with three runs on three hits, forcing Geary from the mound for the first time in 14 games this season.
“Jackson has been just phenomenal all year, “ said South Kingstown coach Jim Sauro. “We knew coming back on the short rest for the fourth time in the playoffs was asking a lot.”
On most night’s Geary’s performance might have been enough to carry a team to victory, but last night his mound opponent threw one of the top performance even seen in a state title game. Meo was only one out away from a no-hitter when South Kingstown’s Chris Riley bounced a high-hopper over Meo head with two outs in the final inning.
Cranston West picked the only run it actually need in the bottom of the second without the aid of a hit as Chris Famiglietti reached on an error, stole second and third and scored on Joe Donahue’s sacrifice fly.
The Falcons increased the advantage to 2-0 with two outs in the fourth as Famiglietti singled and Brian LaBianca followed with a run-producing double. A walk and hits by John Fitzsimmons, Dan Lovejoy and Dan Hopkins produced Cranston West’s three runs in the fifth.
South Kingstown 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 – 0 1 1
Cranston West 0 1 0 1 3 0 x – 5 6 0
Geary, Carey (5) and McKinney; Meo and Corso.
Over the course of their high school careers, some of them led Burrillville to a Division II hockey championship. Others helped the Broncos capture a Division II Super Bowl.
And yesterday at McCoy Stadium, they came together one last time and added a baseball title to the list.
With a decisive 15-3 victory over Johnston that was called in the sixth because of the mercy rule, Burrillville completed a sweep of the Panthers to win the Amica Insurance R.I. Interscholastic League Division II Baseball Championship, giving Broncos coach “Skee” Carter his first ever state crown and Burrillville its first baseball championship since 1965.
``After six trips to the finals, I felt like the Buffalo Bills in the old NFL – they were getting there, but they just weren't winning,'' said Carter, who has been coaching his alma mater for the last 18 years. ``So this one is sweet. It feels great, an unbelievable feeling. Hopefully we can get a few more.''
Missing last season with a knee injury, but postponing surgery to his pectoral muscle so he could finish out his final year, Burrillville's senior tri-captain Ryan Coffey led his team's offensive attack in this best-of-three series much the way he did all season, going 4-for-7 with five RBI and two walks. For his efforts, he was named the Chester R. Nichols Jr. Most Valuable Player of the tournament.
``This tops it off,'' said the Broncos' imposing first baseman, who was also a member of Burrillville's 2005 championship hockey and football teams – and graduated salutatorian of his class. ``It's a good way to end.''
Runner-up to Mount St. Charles in II-North during the regular season with a 15-3 record, Burrillville earned a spot in the Division II Championship by capturing the II-South Regional title. The third-place finisher behind the Broncos in II-North with a 12-6 mark, Johnston advanced to the finals after winning the II-North Regional crown.
With junior righthander Kyle VanRossum on the mound, Burrillville took the lead in the series final by soundly defeating the Panthers, 10-3, in Game 1 on Wednesday.
Then, just as they did in that contest, the Broncos jumped out to a 7-0 lead after just two innings yesterday. They were helped by four Johnston errors in the first two frames, but also received a nice boost from Brett Hereth, who delivered a two-run homer into the right-field bullpen in the first.
Catcher Tom Smith doubled off the right-field wall, highlighting Burrillville's five-run second inning.Johnston got two runs back in the third, thanks to singles by Nick Pistacchio and David Joyal, along with two Broncos miscues.
But Burrillville answered with four runs in the fourth with a rally that featured singles by Hereth, Coffey, Phil Trautwein and Jeff Joergensen.
That all but sealed the deal for the Broncos, as Johnston mustered just one other run – on an RBI double by Andrew McKeon in the fifth – off of Burrillville's Cam Leduc.
The Broncos sophomore went the distance, scattering seven hits, recording seven strikeouts and walking only two.
``We hit the ball right off the bat and didn't stop,'' said Coffey. ``We did everything right for these two games. It's probably some of the best ball we've played all year.''
Meanwhile, the Panthers, who start just two seniors in first baseman Derek DeMasi and second baseman Mike McMahon, seemed to experience what Carter described as ``McCoy jitters.''
After playing error-free throughout the regional playoffs, Johnston committed four errors in Wednesday's game and six yesterday.
``We have no excuses. We made mistakes and they just kept capitalizing,'' said Panthers coach Steve DeMeo. ``Give those guys credit. We played them four times, and they scored 46 runs in four games. Our hats off to them. They outplayed us. They outhit us. . . . But I'm so glad it's Skee. If I was going to lose to anybody, let it be him. I've known him for 20 years, and he's a stand-up guy. He does things the right way, and I'm glad for him. He's knocked on the door a few times and he finally got in. Maybe it takes us a few times to knock on the door before we get in.''
Burrillville 250 431 – 15 7 2
Johnston 002 010 - 3 7 6
Cam Leduc and Tom Smith; Nico Della Porta, Bobby DiCicco (5), Brandon Parillo (6) and Nick Lourenco.
Inaugural Cox R.I. Sports Awards to be held tonight
Cox Sports Television (www.cox-sports.com) will recognize the Ocean State’s best high school scholar-athletes from each sport for every season at tonight's inaugural Cox Rhode Island Sports Awards, beginning at 7:30 at the Providence Performing Arts Center at 220 Weybossett St.
In addition to recognizing more than 100 of Rhode Island’s top scholar-athletes, the event, presented by Amica, will also feature the presentation of the Breakthrough Athlete of the Year to Boston Celtic and former Providence College All-American Ryan Gomes and the Vanguard Award to BIG EAST Commissioner Mike Tranghese.
Others expected to participate in the ceremony are Governor Donald L. Carcieri, ESPN’s Doris Burke, Green Bay Packers and former Boston College and Bishop Hendricken standout Will Blackmon, PC basketball standout Herbert Hill, Boston Celtics President Richard Gotham and BIG EAST founder Dave Gavitt .
Rebels win, face Cranston West for Division I title
PAWTUCKET — The South Kingstown High baseball team team earned the right to meet undefeated Cranston West in the title round of the R.I. Interscholastic League’s double-elimination Division I state tournament last night as the Rebels posted an 8-4 victory over Portsmouth in the tournament’s losers-bracket final at McCoy Stadium.
South Kingstown was on the verge of elimination Saturday night when it lost to Portsmouth in the opening round of the four-team championship tourney. But the Rebels stayed alive with a victory over Hendricken in a losers-bracket game on Sunday, then made it two in a row last night in a win-or-go-home game.
South Kingstown meets Cranston West, the defending state champion, tonight at 6:30 at McCoy. A victory tonight will give Cranston West its second straight crown. If South Kingstown hands the Falcons their first loss of the tourney tonight, the deciding game will be played tomorrow night at McCoy.
''I’ve never had a team that just loves to play the game like them,'' veteran South Kingstown coach Jim Sauro said about his Rebels. ''I’ve had more talented teams, but this team is just the most resilient team I’ve ever had. They are phenomenal kids, they just keep working, and you never know what’s going to happen.”
The Rebels scored five runs on only one hit in the fifth inning, taking them from a 2-0 deficit to a lead they never relinquished. But it took another strong effort from their mound ace, Jackson Geary, to keep the Rebels in front.
Geary, who threw 98 pitches in the Rebels’ victory over Hendricken on Sunday, came on in relief in the bottom of the sixth with no outs and the potential tying and go-ahead runs on base and retired six straight hitters over two innings.
“I was pitching on two days’ rest, but my arm feels pretty good,” said Geary, who pitched 12 complete games en route to a 12-0 record this season.
Portsmouth didn’t waste any time jumping out to a 1-0 lead as the Patriots combined Ryan Westmoreland’s double, Adam Recce’s single and Pedrotty’s sacrifice fly for a run in the bottom of the first.
That’s the way the score remained until the fourth, when the Patriots increased their advantage to 2-0 as Jimmy Ayars doubled home Nick Grande with two outs.
A pair of 6-4-3 double plays, one in the first and another in the fourth, helped Portsmouth starter John Pedrotty keep the Rebels off the scoreboard.
But in the fifth, Pedrotty get himself into trouble with wildness. He started the inning by issuing a walk to Ryan Stone, then hit Kevin Carey, the Rebels’ ninth hitter. Pedrotty got himself in deeper trouble when he attempted to get Stone at third on Zac Johnson’s bunt back toward the mount, but Stone beat the throw.
Pedrotty did manage to get one out on a short fly ball to center, but then he hit two straight batters, forcing home a pair of runs.
Geary, who was playing first base until he came on in relief in the sixth, followed with a single to right, driving home South Kingstown’s third run. The Rebels then were handed two more runs on a passed ball and a wild pitch. By the end of the inning, the Rebels had five runs on only one hit.
The wildness bug must have been contagious because in the bottom of the fifth South Kingstown starter Andrew Joyce, who had walked only two in the first four innings, walked three of the next four batters he faced.
Cory Benton came on in relief and got the second out of the inning on a strikeout, but then the Rebels picked up two runs on Brian Shelburne’s grounder over the second-base bag and a wild throw to the plate. But Benton came back with his second strikeout, leaving the potential tying run on third.
After Pedrotty struck out three of the four batters he faced in the top of the sixth, Portsmouth jumped on Benton in the bottom of the inning. Benton issued a leadoff walk to Jimmy Ayars, then Ryan Westmoreland moved him to second with a single to right.
That’s when Sauro decided it was time for Geary.
The junior right-hander didn’t have any problem answering the call, and he needed only 16 pitches to get the six outs in the sixth and seventh.
The way Geary was pitching, the one-run advantage probably would have been enough. But the Rebels added some insurance with three more runs in the top of the seventh.
As if his pitching effort wasn’t enough, Geary also made a contribution to the Rebels’ offense when he singled home the first run in the top of the seventh. Two more hits, two errors and a well-executed squeeze produced the other two runs in the seventh.
Division I Championship: Portsmouth 7, South Kingstown 4
WEST WARWICK – Portsmouth maintained its status as Rhode Island’s only undefeated high school baseball team yesterday as the nationally ranked Patriots posted a 7-4 victory over South Kingstown in their opening round game of the R.I. Interscholastic League’s four-team, double-elimination Division I Championship series.
Portsmouth now will play Cranston West in the tournament’s winners-bracket final tonight at McCarthy Field at 7 p.m. South Kingstown will play Hendricken in a losers-bracket game at 4 p.m.
Portsmouth combined a strong pitching from Ryan Westmoreland, a few timely hits, 12 walks and 4 South Kingstown errors for their 22nd consecutive victory in Interscholastic League play this season.
Westmoreland, the Patriots’ junior right-hander limited South Kingstown to five hits over the seven-inning route.
Portsmouth broke a scoreless deadlock in the bottom of the third when John Sleeper, who had singled with one out, scored on a wild pitch after moving to third on John Pedrotty’s double.
South Kingstown took a 2-1 lead on Brian Lessard’s two-out, two-run single, but Portsmouth regained the lead with two runs in the bottom of the fourth.
The Patriots’ James Ayars raced home from first with the tying run when Westmoreland’s sinking line-drive single to left skipped past the South Kingstown left-fielder.
A walk and infield error then loaded the bases and Westmoreland came home with the tie-breaking run when Matt Billington walked on a 3-2 count.
Portsmouth added two more runs in the bottom of the fifth when South Kingstown starter Corey Benton, showing the effects of his 100-pitch effort in the bottom of the fifth, issued two straight walks with one out.
Senior Andrew Joyce came on in relief and struck out Westmoreland for the second out, but Adam Reece’s fly ball to deep right bounced off the glove of South Kingstown right fielder Kevin Carey, sending home two runs.
That pushed the Portsmouth lead to three, but South Kingstown cut its deficit back to one in the top of the sixth when the Rebels scored two runs without the aid of a hit.
An infield hit and an infield error gave South Kingstown runners on first and third with no outs. Westmoreland eventually struck out the side, but not before the Rebels scored the two runs on a passed ball and a wild pitch.
But Portsmouth didn’t waste any time regaining the three-run cushion. Nick Grande’s one-out single with runners on first and second scored one run and the Patriots added another run on a wild pitch with the bases loaded and two outs.
Division I Championship: Cranston West 7, Hendricken 3
WEST WARWICK – Small ball, long ball, the Cranston West baseball team does whatever it takes to win a game.
The Falcons, who earlier this season posted a 1-0 victory over Hendricken by stringing together three singles, blasted three home runs yesterday as they rolled to a 7-3 victory over the Hawks in their opening round game of the R.I. Interscholastic League Division I double-elimination Pawtucket Red Sox/Amica Insurance state championship tournament.
Cranston West, the defending state champion, now will play (Portsmouth/South Kingstown) in the winner’s bracket final of the tourney tonight at 7 o’clock back at McCarthy Field.
The Falcons overcame an early 1-0 deficit with three runs on two home runs in the bottom of the first inning then took a commanding five-run lead on Dan Hopkins’ three-run homer in the bottom of the second.
“Last time we had to use the small ball to score a run then today we ended up hitting the long ball to start the game,” said Cranston West coach Rob Malo.
Hendricken, which had only scored one run off Cranston West starter Anthony Meo in two previous games this season, jumped on the Falcons ace for a run in the top of the first yesterday as Freeman doubled home Chris Hardy with two outs.
But the Hawks were not in front for long.
With only one out in the bottom of the first Cranston West’s Ryan Raleigh tied the score with a solo homer over the left-center field fence.
“That was his eighth one (home run) of the season,” said Malo. “He’s on a tear. Not just because he is my guy, but he is playing above and beyond what the rest of the guys are doing around the league.”
A few minutes later West had a 3-1 lead as Chris Famiglietti, the Falcons clean-up hitter, blasted a two-run homer over the left-field fence.
The Falcons threatened to increase the advantage later in the first as Hendricken starter Eric DiBiasio issued a pair of walks with two outs. Sophomore Chris Sheehan came on in relief of DiBiasio and get the final out of the inning, but the Falcons got three runs off Sheehan in the second.
Dan Hopkins, who had singled in the first inning, produced the second inning runs with a three-run homer over the center-field fence.
All totaled the Falcons only had six hits all day, but three of them were home runs.
Hendricken added some suspense to the game in the top of the fourth when it cut the deficit to 6-3 with two runs with two outs. A hit-batsmen and three successive hits by Travis Smith, Evan Marzilli and Dan Gamache produced the runs.
But that’s all the Hawks managed off Meo, although the Falcons junior righthander worked with runners on base in five of the six innings he pitched.
By the time he gave way to Hopkins in the seventh, Meo, who is undefeated this season, had struck-out six and given up eight hits.
“He didn’t seem to have his pop like he normally does, but then this is the fourth time they (Hendricken) has faced him going back to last year so they are going to make the adjustments.” Malo offered about Meo’s performance.
Despite not dominating like he usually does, Meo did get the big outs when he needed them. In the second he struckout the side after the lead-off batter had led off with a hit. He also worked his way out of a runners on first and second with only one out situation and also retired three straight after giving up a lead-off hit in the sixth.
After Hendricken cut its deficit to three in the top of the fourth, Cranston West quickly pushed the advantage back to four with a run in the bottom of the inning. The Falcons Shane O’Connell opened the inning with a triple to right center and eventually scored on Raleigh’s sacrifice fly.
Ponaganset's Jake Keeling and Classical's Victoria Flowers have been named Gatorade Rhode Island State Track & Field Athletes of the Year.
The award recognizes individuals' outstanding athletics performances, high academic achievements and exemplary personal character on and off the track.
Keeling, a senior, won the javelin and shot put events in the State Meet. He threw a personal best 206 feet, 8 inches in the javelin. He also won the shot by better than a three-foot margin with a throw of 52-.5. Keeling also maintained a 3.40 GPA.
"He's a gentle giant," said Ponaganset head coach Tom Marcello. "He's physically imposing when you see him, but he has a heart of gold. He will do anything you ask of him. He's really a kind soul. Even better for us, he didn't lose one meet."
Flowers, a junior, owns the No. 4 prep hammer throw in the country with a throw of 171 feet, 2 inches. She set a pair of records in the hammer throw and shot put at State Meet. In the classroom, Flowers maintained a 3.11 GPA.
"Without a doubt,she's a superior talent," said Classical coach Rob Palazzo. "Never before did she even attempt traqck in her younger years. Now, she's got state records. She's a special talent."
Baseball playoffs set, Hendricken 4-3 over North Kingstown in 8 innings
EAST PROVIDENCE – The Hendricken baseball team was a strike away from going home last night, instead the Hawks are headed to the Final Four.
Trailing 3-2 with two outs and two strikes on the hitter in the bottom of the seventh, Hendricken tied the score on Alex Verrecchia’s run-producing single then scored the winning run in the bottom of the eight as the Hawks posted a 4-3 triumph over North Kingstown in the deciding game of their Interscholastic League Division I Region 4 qualifying tournament at Pierce Field.
The victory moved Hendricken into the four-team, double elimination Division I championship tournament where they will meet Cranston West, the defending state champion, in the opening round Saturday at McCarthy Field in West Warwick.
Portsmouth will meet South Kingstown in the other opening round game on Saturday.
Dan Gamache’s bases-loaded single up the middle, with no outs, brought home Isaac Alves with the eventual game-winning run in the eighth, but it was a gutsy effort by a trio of Hendricken hitters in the bottom of the seventh that gave the Hawks a chance to send the game into the extra inning.
North Kingstown had broken a 2-2 tie with run in the top of the seventh and it looked that was going to be enough for Skippers starter Cody Normand as Normand struck-out the first batter in the bottom of the ninth then quickly got two strikes on the Hawks next hitter, senior Chris Hardy.
But Hardy, who had been a questionable starter because he was suffering from flu symptoms, fouled off four pitches with the two strikes on him before he finally drew a walk.
“He had an awesome at bat. He came through big-time for us,” Hendricken coach Ed Holloway offered about Hardy, who had two hits earlier in the game. “That was the key to our coming back. He just battled and battled. He had been sick today, but he gave it everything he had for us tonight.”
After Hardy gave the Hawks a base-runner, Normand got two strikes on the first two pitches to clean-up hitter, Pat Freeman. Freeman also fouled off a pitch before he hit a slow roller to shortstop on which the Skippers couldn’t make a play at either first or second..
But Normand moved the Skippers only an out from the Final Four when he got the next hitter on an infield popup. That put Hendricken’s fate in Verrechia hands and after falling behind 1-2, he managed to loop a short, opposite-field fly to left that dropped in front of North Kingstown leftfielder Jamale Horn and allowed Hardy to race home from second with the tying run.
That was it for Normand, who had constantly worked his way out of trouble while holding the Hawks scoreless after giving up two runs in the second inning.
Reliever Dave D’Errico managed to get the final out in the seventh, but in the bottom of eighth the Hawks loaded the bases on a walk and two bunt hits giving Gamache the chance to deliver his game-winning hit.
“We battled and we didn’t give up,” said Holloway.
North Kingstown had jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the second when Mark Moran’s sacrifice fly brought home Horn, who had led off the inning with a walk.
Hendricken came right back with two runs in the bottom of the second.
Gary Hunt’s one-out double drove home the first run and Evan Marzilli’s sacrifice fly produced the other run.
North Kingstown, however, didn’t waste anytime tying the score as D’Errico doubled home the tying run in the top of third.
Normand and Hendricken starter Dave Palms then took turns working their way out of trouble over the next three innings. Hendricken stranded five runners over the next four innings and North Kingstown left six runners on base from the fourth through the sixth.
North Kingstown finally took a 3-2 lead in the top of the seventh when Jeff Cammans reached on a walk, stole two bases then scored on a throwing error of Horn’s grounder to short.
But Hendricken wasn’t finished.
After the Hawks tied the game in the seventh, Alves led off with a walk, Hunt bunted for his fourth hit of the night and Marzilli loaded the bases with another bunt hit. Gamache then delivered his game-winning hit..
“We could have packed it in,” Holloway said. “Their pitcher is really a great pitcher who does a real good job. But our guys fought and came through. It was a great comeback.”
Long's hitting, pitching performance powers Bay View to first Division I fast-pitch championship
Bay View successfully completed its impressive climb out of the losers’ bracket, defeating Lincoln, 5-2, to capture the Division I crown of the Amica Insurance R.I. Interscholastic League Division I Fast-pitch Softball Championships at Rhode Island College.
``Ever since March, we’ve been in the gym every single day, just working so hard,’’ said the Bengals sophomore second baseman and leading hitter Kristen Mitchell, who was 2-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored in the title game, played before a crowd of about 400 at Dayna A. Bazar Memorial Field. ``It really came down to who wanted it more, and we wanted it so bad. You could definitely tell. Like, oh my gosh, it’s so overwhelming.’’
Bay View received another stellar performance from pitcher Marian Long. Working the ball inside and out and hitting her corners, the junior scattered five hits and struck out seven en route to the victory. She also came up big at the plate, driving in three runs on a pair of hits.
Hallam hurls Barrington to Division II fast-pitch crown
Sophomore Jamie Hallam tossed a three-hitter with 12 strikeouts, as Barrington defeated Moses Brown, 4-0, to capture the Division II title of the Amica Insurance R.I. Interscholastic League Division I Fast-pitch Softball Championships at Rhode Island College.
Patricia Hendrickson knocked in Jill Lewis for what would prove to be the game-winning run in the first and Sarah Whitten helped seal the win with a two-run triple in the fifth that drove in Lewis and Valerie Luks.
Bay View forces if-game with win over Lincoln in Division I fast-pitch championship
Junior pitcher Marian Long pitched a two-hitter and also scored the winning run, as Bay View defeated Lincoln, 1-0, in today’s Division I final of the Amica Insurance R.I. Interscholastic League Division I Fast-pitch Softball Championships at Rhode Island College.
Because it was Lincoln’s first loss of the double-elimination tourney, the teams will meet again in a deciding game, tomorrow at 6 p.m. at RIC. That matchup will follow the Division II Championship between Barrington and Moses Brown, which has been moved up two hours tomorrow to 4 p.m.
Fatima wins D-III fast-pitch crown; Moses Brown earns D-II title appearance
In the Amica Insurance R.I. Interscholastic League Fast-pitch Softball Championships, yesterday at Rhode Island College, Fatima defeated Tolman, 12-2, to clinch the best-of-three Division III Championship. It is the Tigers' second title in three years.
Earlier in the afternoon, Moses Brown defeated Smithfield, 1-0, in the Division II losers’ bracket final, earning the chance to play II-South champion Barrington in tomorrow's Division II Championship, at noon at RIC.
Bay View earns spot in fast-pitch finals with win over Westerly
Junior catcher Kim Pelland went 2-for-3 with two triples, scoring on the first one to tie the game and knocking in the game-winner with the second, in leading Bay View to a 2-1 victory over Westerly in the Division I losers’ bracket final of the Amica Insurance R.I. Interscholastic League Fast-pitch Softball Championships, yesterday at Rhode Island College's Dayna A. Bazar Memorial Field.
Battling its way back after dropping its first playoff game to Lincoln, the Bengals have earned themselves a rematch with the Lions. The two teams will meet in the Division I Championship tomorrow at 2 p.m. at RIC, following the Division II final at noon.
Bishop Hendricken made history by becoming the first team in Interscholastic League history to win four consecutive Division I boys volleyball state championships by sweeping East Providence, 25-16, 25-21, and 27-25, at Rhode Island College.
Hendricken hitters David Rufful, Brendan O’Brien, Andrew Simmons, and Mike Delsignore dominated the net.
James Boyce, Hidao Garcia, Sterling Saint, and Sean Rahill were East Providence’s top players.
La Salle captured its first Division II boys volleyball state title since 1999 with a 25-17, 25-21, and 25-21 victory over Scituate at Rhode Island College’s Murray Center.
William Kelleher, Thomas Allin, Douglas Drexel, and Kristofer Petrie powered the Rams to the sweep, which avenged their only loss of the season.
Joseph Catanzaro Mike Wilbur, Gabriel Oldham, Thomas Ferranti, and Alexander Amylon were the Spartans go-to-guys.
La Salle captured its first Division II boys volleyball state title since 1999 with a 25-17, 25-21, and 25-21 victory over Scituate at Rhode Island College’s Murray Center.
William Kelleher, Thomas Allin, Douglas Drexel, and Kristofer Petrie powered the Rams to the sweep, which avenged their only loss of the season.
Joseph Catanzaro Mike Wilbur, Gabriel Oldham, Thomas Ferranti, and Alexander Amylon were the Spartans go-to-guys.
Four days, six victories, two championships – not a bad week’s work for South Kingstown’s Kyle Burke.
Burke, the sophomore whose victory at first singles helped South Kingstown win its ninth consecutive state team title on Saturday, completed his three-day run to the Interscholastic League state singles championship yesterday with a 6-2, 7-5 victory over Wheeler freshman Jesse Frieder in the title match at Slater Park.
The title-match victory was Burke’s fifth consecutive straight sets triumph in the three-day singles tournament after he had battled to a three-set victory in the first singles match of the team championship on Saturday.
“I’m dead. I’m going to take a week off,” said an exhausted, but jubilant Burke.
Burke, the tournament’s top seeded player, needed all his energy - and pen-point placements – to close out the match in straight sets after Frieder came within a game of evening the match in the second set.
After dropping the 6-2 decision in the first set and falling behind 2-0 in the second set Frieder, the tourney’s second seed, won four straight games. Burke came back and won the seventh game of the set, but then Frieder held serve for a 5-3 lead.
That put Burke on the verge of being pushing into a third set, but then the Rebels star suddenly turned the tide back in his favor with some crafty shot-making.
He held serve to cut the deficit to 5-4 then deadlocked the set at 5-5 by breaking Frieder’s serve at love. He then closed out the match by taking the next two games after both games had been 30-30.
From the outset, it was obvious Burke felt finesse rather than power was the best route to the title. He continually kept Frieder off balance by mixing his straight forehands with some high-looping forehands, top-spin lobs and wide-angle, slice backhands.
“I knew I needed to change the pace,” said Burke. “He (Frieder) has an amazing ground game so I thought I won’t play his game. He beat my brother in a tough match where they were just pounding away. I saw that he’s too tough there so I just switched it up and tried something different. It’s not really my game to loop it, but I though I would give it a try because he was beating me on the flat balls.”
Frieder finished the day with a few more winners than Burke, but he also made considerably more errors than the champion. Several of Frieder’s unforced miscues, however, were created by Burke’s outstanding defensive play. Time after time Burke would send Frieder back to the backline with a deep lob after he had made a sensational backhanded save of a Frieder forehand blast deep into the corner.
Burke’s backhanded slices also took Frieder out of his comfort zone, especially in the first set when Burke jumped out to a 3-0 and 5-1 leads.
“On the short ones I was trying to draw him in so I could tire him out and on the deep ones I was just trying to change-up the pace and make it a little different for him,” Burke offered about his slicing backhands.
“Kyle is so tough, for a sophomore he doesn’t make many errors,” said South Kingstown coach Andy Carr. “He changes his angles, he changes his speeds. It’s tough to get under his skin. You really have to beat him, you have to outplay him and that’s tough to do.”
South Kingstown completed a sweep of the major schoolboy titles this season as the Rebels duo of Mike Hartley and Jake deMesquita captured the state doubles title yesterday with a 6-4, 1-6, 6-2 victory over Hendricken’s Chris Toegemann and Mike Fallone.
Hartley and deMesquita also had given South Kingstown one of its five points in Saturday’s team championship match against Barrington with a victory at first doubles.
At Barrington’s second team meeting of the season, the Eagles created a goal-setting pyramid for themselves. At the very top of that pyramid, the golfers immediately filled in their ultimate objective: To regain the state title.
Yesterday, they made it happen.
Sophomore Tyler Fay and senior Matt Osman shot the third- and fourth-lowest scores of the day, respectively, in leading Barrington to its fifth R.I. Interscholastic League Golf State Team Championship in six years, its 19th overall, at Cranston Country Club.
``I think they were very focused on that (title),’’ said Bill McCagney, in his fourth year as the Eagles head coach. ``We meant to get back and fill in the rest of the pyramid, but we never did. But that thing stayed there, and I could see an intensity developing the last couple weeks, in practices and in matches. They wanted to bring it back this year.’’
This season marks only the third time in 24 years that a team has won the Challenge Cup, gone undefeated and then captured the state championship. The Eagles, who captured the Eastern Division title with a 14-0 record, also achieved the feat in 2003, and Cumberland did it in 1989.
With such a talented team, McCagney says it was a challenge making sure everyone received the playing time they deserved.
``We’re very well balanced,’’ he said. ``I don’t think a stroke or two separates all eight. So it was just difficult trying to figure out who to put on the team [of five that would compete for the team title] and who not to put on the team, and I’m glad it worked out because one of the guys that was playing as an individual was low medalist today - Jake DiMario. He shot 72. So it’s just an unusual collection of players.’’
Well aware of the winning tradition that Barrington’s golf program has established, beginning with its first state title in 1934 and featuring at least one championship in each of the last eight decades, the current generation of Eagles say they take great pride in adding to that string of success.
``It’s all over the walls in the gym,’’ said Osman, a second-team All-Stater last year, who shot a 75 yesterday. ``In the ’80’s, the ’70’s . . . it’s all there, and we just want to continue that.’’
``They had [an unprecedented] four-year streak going,’’ before last season, when Tiverton won its first state championship in that program’s history, added Fay, who fired a 74. ``I’m just happy to bring it back for them.’’
Fellow sophomores Ed Hjerpe and Jeff Ray shot 77 and 83, respectively, in helping the Eagles post a decisive winning score of 309, putting them 16 strokes ahead of Lincoln and Toll Gate, which finished tied for second at 325 in the 15-team field.
Senior Michael Hamilton (76) and sophomore Scott Boulis (78) paced the undefeated Northern Division champion Lions.
Freshman Tyler Cooke fired a 78 in leading Toll Gate, which finished as co-champs with Hendricken in the Central Division.
Yesterday’s round also served as the first round of the State Individual Championship, which will conclude with another 18 holes today at Cranston.
Offering further proof of Barrington’s tremendous depth, the medalist of the day was an Eagle who had not been among the five selected to vie for the team title.
``I went out there trying to swing really easy on every shot, just hit fairways and hit greens, and that’s what I did,’’ said sophomore Jacob DiMario, who took the lead in the race for the individual crown after firing a 1-over par 72. ``I bogeyed the first hole and then a couple holes later, putts started falling, and that’s just what did it. I just swung solid all day.’’
La Salle senior Alex Jestings recorded the second-lowest score of the day, helping the Western Division champion Rams to a fifth-place team finish with his 73.
``I hit the ball very well,’’ he said. ``I had a rough day on the greens. I three-putted the first two holes . . . and it just seemed like everything that was close kind of lipped out on me today and it was disappointing. But I had a good birdie on the last hole, which kind of rectified it a little bit. I had a couple birdies on 9 and 18. Those were big confidence boosters for me because I just missed a short birdie-putt on 17. . . . It’s definitely exciting. I mean, I’ve seen the course once, so I feel like I can show up and go low (today).’’
Westmoreland named Rhode Island's top baseball player.
Portsmouth High's Ryan Westmoreland was named Gatorade's Rhode Island Baseball Player of the Year. He is now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade National Baseball Player of the Year award to be announced in early-June.
At the time of his selection, the 6-foot-1, 185-pound junior right-hander had compiled a 6-0 record and a 1.02 ERA with 64 strikeouts and just 11 walks in 41 innings. Opponents were hitting just .136 against Westmoreland through the Patriots’ 17-2 start. Portsmouth has already earned a first-round bye in the upcoming Division I state tournament, which begins June 2.
Westmoreland has maintained a 3.48 GPA in the classroom. He serves as a volunteer coach at local youth baseball camps and clinics, and also donates his time to the Portsmouth Little League’s “Challenger Division” assisting youth players with mental and physical disabilities.
“Ryan is without a doubt the most talented kid I've ever had,” said Portsmouth head coach Dave Ulmschneider. “Every time he pitches, we know he might do something special. He’s just incredible to sit back and watch.”
The Gatorade Player of the Year program recognizes one winner in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia and the selection process is administered by RISE Magazine, which works with top sport-specific experts and a media advisory board of accomplished, veteran prep sports journalists to determine the state winners in each sport. Baseball America served as the sport-specific chair of the 2006-07 baseball selection.
The outdoor track class meets schedule for this weekend has been changed. Here are the new dates and times:
Boys Class D and Girls Class A: Saturday, 2 p.m.
Boys Class A: Sunday, 1 p.m.
Boys Class C: Saturday, 3 p.m.
Girls Class B and C: Monday, 3:30 p.m.
A decision for Boys Class B will be made tomorrow morning; the event could be rescheduled to Monday at 3:30 p.m.
The boys tennis main draw at Slater Park has been postponed until Saturday, May 19, at 10 a.m.
Here are the other postponed events. Reschedule dates, where they are known, are in parentheses
Baseball
Scheduled Friday
Juanita Sanchez at Classical
South Kingstown at Woonsocket (Saturday, 1 p.m.)
Prout at Exeter/West Greenwich (Saturday, 4 p.m.)
Ponaganset at Johnston (Saturday, 6:30 p.m.)
Mount Pleasant at Central (Wednesday, 4 p.m.)
PCD at Mt. Hope (Wednesday, 4 p.m.)
West Warwick at Lincoln (Thursday, 3:15 p.m.)
Tolman at Mount St. Charles (May 25, 3:45 p.m.)
Burrillville at Shea (May 26, 1 p.m.)
Scheduled Saturday
Saint Peter-Marian at La Salle (Sunday, 2 p.m.)
Softball
Scheduled Friday
Central Falls at Fatima
Ponaganset at Classical
Central at Mount Pleasant
Hope at Shea (Wednesday, 4 p.m.)
Exeter/West Greenwich at West Warwick (Thursday, 3:30 p.m.)
Bishop Keough at Tolman (Thursday, 3:30 p.m.)
Scheduled Saturday
Coventry at East Providence
Warwick Vets at Toll Gate
Bay View at Woonsocket (Tuesday, 3:30 p.m.)
Boys lacrosse
Scheduled Friday
Warwick Vets at Middletown
Prout at South Kingstown (Saturday, 6 p.m.)
Mt. Hope at Tiverton (Sunday, 4:30 p.m.)
North Kingstown at Hendricken (Tuesday, 4 p.m.)
Girls lacrosse
Lincoln at Prout (Sunday, 2 p.m.)
South Kingstown at Middletown (Tuesday, 3:30 p.m.)
East Greenwich at Portsmouth (Tuesday, 6 p.m.)
Boys tennis
Middletown at Coventry (Monday, 3:30 p.m.)
East Greenwich at North Smithfield (Tuesday, 3:30 p.m.)
Golf
Chariho and South Kingstown at North Kingstown (Tuesday, 2:30 p.m.)
Here, belatedly, is the list. Reschedule dates are in parentheses, where known.
Baseball
Toll Gate at Tiverton
Coventry at East Providence
West Warwick at Lincoln
Hendricken at Rogers
Warwick Vets at Moses Brown (tomorrow, 3:30 p.m.)
North Kingstown at La Salle (Monday, 3:45 p.m.)
Westerly at Cumberland (Monday, 4 p.m.)
Cranston East at Middletown (Monday, 4 p.m.)
Narragansett at St. Raphael (Monday, 4 p.m.)
Chariho at Smithfield (Monday, 4 p.m.)
East Greenwich at North Providence (May 4, 6:30 p.m.)
South Kingstown at Woonsocket (May 18, 4 p.m.)
Softball
Davies at Fatima
Toll Gate at Cranston West
Moses Brown at Cranston East
Bishop Stang at Tiverton (tomorrow, 11 a.m.)
Bishop Keough at Shea (Monday, 3:30 p.m.)
Warwick Vets at East Providence (May 4, 3:45 p.m.)
North Providence at Burrillville (May 10, 3:30 p.m.)
Ponaganset at Smithfield (May 10, 3:30 p.m.)
Mount Pleasant at Central Falls (May 11, 4 p.m.)
Rogers at Narragansett (May 19, 11 a.m.)
Boys lacrosse
Tiverton at Cumberland (May 4, 3:30 p.m.)
North Kingstown at Wheeler (May 7, 4:15 p.m.)
Girls lacrosse
Classical at Warwick Vets
Cranston West at Portsmouth
North Providence at South Kingstown (May 17, 6 p.m.)
Boys tennis
Narragansett at Chariho (Wednesday, 3:30 p.m.)
Tiverton at Woonsocket (May 8, 3:30 p.m.)
Here's the list. As always, makeup dates are in parentheses where known.
Baseball:
Central Falls at Johnston
Scituate at Davies
Exeter/West Greenwich at Juanita Sanchez
Mt. Hope at Mount Pleasant, (tomorrow, 4 p.m.)
Barrington at Middletown, (tomorrow, 4 p.m.)
La Salle at Woonsocket, (Friday, 3 p.m.)
Shea at Mount St. Charles, (Saturday, 1 p.m.)
Classical at Fatima, (Saturday, 10 a.m.)
North Smithfield at Ponaganset, (April 27, 3:30 p.m.)
Toll Gate at Pilgrim (April 30, 3:45 p.m.)
Moses Brown at Portsmouth (May 19, 3 p.m.)
Burrillville at Tolman (May 21, 4 p.m.)
Softball:
Portsmouth at Exeter/West Greenwich
Mount Pleasant at Shea (tomorrow, 3:30 p.m.)
Tiverton at Prout (Saturday, 1:30 p.m.)
Ponaganset at Moses Brown (April 26, 4 p.m.)
North Providence at Burrillville (April 27, 3:30 p.m.)
Smithfield at West Warwick (May 3, 3:30 p.m.)
Central at Bishop Keough (May 11, 4 p.m.)
Boys lacrosse:
Smithfield at Mt. Hope (Monday, 4 p.m.)
Boys tennis:
Cranston West at La Salle
Shea at Tolman (April 25, 3:30 p.m.)
Here's the list. Makeup dates are in parentheses where they are known.
Baseball
Cumberland at Lincoln
Cranston East at Hendricken
Toll Gate at Pilgrim (tomorrow, 11 a.m.)
East Greenwich at North Kingstown (tomorrow, 11 a.m.)
La Salle at Woonsocket (tomorrow, 3 p.m.)
St. Raphael at Smithfield (Thursday, 11 a.m.)
Burrillville at Scituate (Thursday, noon)
Rogers at Portsmouth (Friday, 10:30 a.m.)
Westerly at Chariho (Friday, 1 p.m.)
West Warwick at North Providence (Friday, 3 p.m.)
Tiverton at Barrington (Saturday, 3 p.m.)
East Providence at Moses Brown (May 14, 4 p.m.)
Softball
Tolman at Fatima
Westerly at South Kingstown
Ponaganset at North Smithfield
Chariho at Mount St. Charles
Coventry at Lincoln
Davies at Central Falls (tomorrow, 11 a.m.)
Moses Brown at Burrillville (Thursday, 4:15 p.m.)
La Salle at Cranston West (Friday, 4 p.m.)
Hope at Central (Monday, 3:45 p.m.)
Shea at Scituate (Monday, 4 p.m.)
Warwick Vets at Bay View (April 25, 3:45 p.m.)
Cumberland at East Providence (April 25, 3:30 p.m.)
Bishop Keough at Mount Pleasant (April 26, 3:45 p.m.)
East Greenwich at Middletown (May 3, 3:30 p.m.)
Boys lacrosse
Smithfield at Mt. Hope (tomorrow, 4 p.m.)
East Lyme at North Kingstown (Thursday, 7 p.m.)
Prout at Lincoln (Saturday, noon)
Girls lacrosse
Middletown at Tiverton
Cranston East at Warwick Vets
Cumberland at Bay View (May 5, 3 p.m.)
Boys tennis
Coventry at Tiverton
Cranston East at PCD
La Salle at Mount St. Charles
Westerly at Prout (tomorrow, 2 p.m.)
North Smithfield at Cumberland (tomorrow, 2 p.m.)
North Kingstown at Barrington (Friday, 11 a.m.)
Scituate at Burrillville (Friday, 1 p.m.)
East Greenwich at Warwick Vets (Friday, 3:30 p.m.)
South Kingstown at Hendricken (Saturday, 10 a.m.)
Wheeler at Cranston West (Monday, 3:30 p.m.)
Woonsocket at North Providence (Monday, 3:30 p.m.)
Lincoln at Smithfield (April 26, 3:30 p.m.)
Here's the list. Where known, the reschedule date is in parentheses.
Baseball:Woonsocket at Coventry
Mount Pleasant at PCD
Central at Fatima
Burrillville at Scituate, tomorrow, 11 a.m.
Exeter/West Greenwich at Mt. Hope
Juanita Sanchez at Hope, Thursday, 10:30 a.m.
Mount St. Charles at Ponaganset, Thursday, 11 a.m.
Shea at Central Falls, Thursday, 11 a.m.
Classical at Prout, Thursday, 11 a.m.
Johnston at Davies, Thursday, 11 a.m.
Tolman at North Smithfield, April 23, 3:30
Softball:
Narragansett at Barrington
Rogers at St. George's
Prout at Portsmouth
North Smithfield at Classical
East Greenwich at Middletown, tomorrow, 11 a.m.
Moses Brown at Burrillville, tomorrow, 4:15 p.m.
West Warwick at Johnston, Thursday, 3:30 p.m.
Tiverton at Exeter/West Greenwich, Friday, 4 p.m.
Hope at Mount Pleasant, April 23, 4 p.m.
Boys lacrosse
Portsmouth at PCD
Barrington at Wheeler, April 23, 4:15 p.m.
Girls lacrosse
East Greenwich at North Kingstown
Lincoln at Narragansett
Barrington at Portsmouth
Cranston West at Prout, April 30, 3:30 p.m.
Here's the updated list. When known, the makeup dates are in parentheses:
Baseball
PCD at Hope, tomorrow, 4
Classical at Exeter/West Greenwich
Portsmouth at Barrington
Prout at Central, tomorrow, 4
Mt. Hope at Juanita Sanchez
Davies at Ponaganset, tomorrow, 3:30
Johnston at Burrillville, tomorrow, 3:30
Scituate at Shea, May 7, 3:45
Tolman at Central Falls, tomorrow, 4
Softball
East Providence at Cranston West, tomorrow, 3:30
Coventry at La Salle, Monday, 4
North Kingstown at Pilgrim, tomorrow, 3:45
Lincoln at Chariho
North Providence at Ponaganset, May 3, 3:30
St. Raphael at Warwick Vets
Cumberland at Toll Gate, April 20, 3:30
Westerly at Bay View
Mount Pleasant at Shea, Wednesday, 3:30
Boys lacrosse
Mount St. Charles at Prout
Smithfield at Scituate
Mt. Hope at Tiverton, May 18, 4
East Greenwich at Cumberland, April 21, noon
Middletown at Toll Gate
Girls lacrosse
Bay View at Classical
Cumberland at North Providence, Tuesday, 4:30
South Kingstown at Middletown
Boys tennis
Hendricken at North Kingstown
Middletown at Exeter/West Greenwich
Mount St. Charles at Barrington
Cranston West at South Kingstown, tomorrow, 3:30
Narragansett at Chariho, April 27, 3:30
Portsmouth at Rogers, tomorrow, 3:30
Westerly at East Greenwich, tomorrow, 3:30
Burrillville at Smithfield, tomorrow, 3
North Providence at Mt. Hope, April 30, 3:30
Toll Gate at Warwick Vets
St. Raphael at Tolman, tomorrow, 3:30
Girls track
Hope and St. Raphael at Ponaganset, May 3, 3:30
Most Rhode Island Interscholastic League events for today have been postponed due to the rain.
Click below for a list of all postponed events. Reschedule dates, if known, are in parentheses.
Baseball
Exeter/West Greenwich at Mount Pleasant (tomorrow, 4 p.m.)
Hope at Prout (tomorrow, 4 p.m.)
Johnston at Tolman (Friday, 11 a.m.)
Shea at Ponaganset
North Smithfield at Scituate (April 13, 3:45 p.m.)
Classical at Mt. Hope (Friday, 10 a.m.)
Central at PCD (tomorrow, 4 p.m.)
Burrillville at Central Falls (tomorrow, 4 p.m.)
Fast-pitch softball
Fatima at Bishop Keough (April 11, 3:30 p.m.)
North Smithfield at Moses Brown (tomorrow, 3:45 p.m.)
Johnston at Ponaganset (tomorrow, 3:30 p.m.)
Prout at East Greenwich (tomorrow, 3:30 p.m.)
Smithfield at North Providence (tomorrow, 3:30 p.m.)
Mt. Hope at Narragansett (tomorrow, 4 p.m.)
Burrillville at Cranston East (tomorrow, 3:30 p.m.)
Barrington at Exeter/West Greenwich (April 13, 4 p.m.)
Warwick Vets at Coventry (April 13, 3:30 p.m.)
West Warwick at Classical
Rogers at Portsmouth (tomorrow, 3:30)
Boys tennis
Exeter/West Greenwich at Coventry (Friday, 9 a.m.)
Girls track
Lincoln, Johnston and Burrillville at Cumberland (tomorrow, 3:30 p.m.)
Stephen Buco scored the game's only goal at 5:57 of the third period and goalie Scott Hefferman stopped 21 shots as Hendricken won its second straight Division I boys hockey championship with a 1-0 victory over Mount St. Charles in game three at PC's Schneider Arena.
Hefferman, who posted his 11th shutout of the season, was named the series MVP.
PROVIDENCE — They had tasted the agony of defeat, which may be why Sean Donlon, Zach Rotundo and Alex Miller savored the thrill of victory so much last night.
Two years ago the trio, the tri-captains of this season’s East Greenwich High hockey team were sophomores on the East Greenwich team that lost to Burrillville in the title series of the Division II state tournament.
“It was the worst bus ride I have ever been on,” Rotundo offered about the trip back to East Greenwich after the loss in the 2005 state tourney.
Last night Donlon, Rotundo, Miller and their Avenger teammates discovered the thrill of a championship ride home as they completed a sweep of their best-of-three Division IA title series against Barrington with a 1-0 victory over the Eagles in the second game of the series at Providence College’s Schneider Arena.
Last night’s triumph, combined with a 6-0 victory in the first game of the series Saturday, gave East Greenwich its first state hockey title in 24 years.
“To win it right now is the sweetest thing because it has been so long since East Greenwich won a championship in hockey,” Rotundo said.
It was Miller’s goal at 4:50 of the second period that provided the difference on the scoreboard, but it also took some big third-period saves by East Greenwich goaltender Nolan Paduto to keep the Avengers on top.
Last night’s third-period heroics, combined with a shutout in the first game of the series, earned Paduto tournament MVP honors.
Last night’s game was a complete contrast to opening game of the series, in which East Greenwich virtually settled the issue late in the second period when it jumped out to a 3-0 lead with two goals within two minutes.
“They came to play tonight,” Miller said about the Barrington effort that left the outcome in doubt until the final buzzer.
Both teams started slow last night, and after eight minutes they had been a combined total of only four shots on cage, three by East Greenwich and one by Barrington. In fact, Barrington went nine minutes before getting its second shot on cage with 4:30 to play in the opening period.
East Greenwich did managed to put four shots on Barrington netminder Marshall Jamerson during a late first-period power play, but there were no serious scoring threats. East Greenwich finally started applying pressure on Paduto during an early second-period power play, but Paduto made the initial stop on three shots, and his defensive corps made sure the Eagles didn’t get any rebounds.
But shortly after the teams were back at full strength, East Greenwich’s Dave Paduto took the puck into the Barrington zone along the right boards and fired a shot at Jamerson from just inside the right face-off circle. Jamerson had a bead on Paduto’s shot, but just before the puck reached the Barrington netminder, Miller made a mid-air deflection that redirected the puck over Jamerson’s glove into the upper right corner of the cage.
Barrington didn’t challenge Nolan Paduto with any serious scoring threats in the first two periods, but during four minutes of a man-advantage in the first 10 minutes of the third period the Eagles definitely tested the Avengers junior netminder. Paduto, who needed to make only 10 saves in the first two periods combined, made 10 more stops in the final period.
“We have 11 seniors on this team. To send them off to college with this is great,” Nolan Paduto said.
For Donlon and teammate Steve Salvator, last night’s victory gives them two state titles in their first two sports seasons of their senior year. Both played major roles in the East Greenwich’s football team’s victory in the Division III Super Bowl this past fall.
“Going into East Greenwich, knowing it was such a small school, I never expected this,” said Donlon about the two championships.
First Period – No scoring: Penalties – B 1-2, EG 1-2
Second period – Miller (D. Paduto) 4:46. Penalties – B 3-6, EG 1-2.
Third period - No scoring. Penalties EG 2-4.
PROVIDENCE -- Most teams would buckle trailing by a game in the best-of-three Division II state championship series if they fell behind by two goals in Game Two.
But not Smithfield.
The Sentinels were in that exact same position last year in the semifinals of the Division II-Small playoffs but rallied to beat Cumberland on their way to winning their sixth state title in school history.
That experience helped Smithfield yesterday as the Sentinels rallied from a two-goal deficit to even the series at one game apiece with a 3-2 victory over Ponaganset in Game Two.
Forward turned defenseman Joseph Gonsalves scored the game-winning goal 6:27 into the third period to force a deciding Game Three which will be held tomorrow night.
Gonsalves, surrounded by three Ponaganset defenders in front of the Chieftain net who all expected one of their teammates to make the play, scored the biggest goal of the Sentinels’ season when he poked the puck between Ponaganset goalie Anthony Fernandes’ (32 saves) legs and into the net to score the game-winner and stun the Ponaganset fans.
The deciding game will be held tomorrow night at Schneider Arena.
Ponaganset star Derek Rogala scored off the opening faceoff to give Smithfield a 1-0 lead, 11 seconds into the game. It looked like Ponaganset was going to run away with the game when Ryan Chelo blasted in a rebound off of a Rogala shot with 2:32 left in the first period to extend Ponaganset’s advantage to 2-0.
But Smithfield’s leading-scorer Nick DiCarlo answered for the Sentinels 16 seconds later by going top-shelf to slash the Chieftains’ lead to 2-1.
Smithfield was awarded a penalty shot after a Ponaganset infraction with 25 seconds left in the first period. Daniel Sleboda took the shot. He faked right and shot left to beat Fernandes and even the score.
Smithfield survived an early 5-on-3 Ponaganset power play in the second period by playing great defense and that allowed Gonsalves the opportunity to score the game-winning goal in the third session. Smithfield goalie Nathan York made 20 saves.
First period: P, Derek Rogala (Daniel Foster, Samuel Tridenti), :11; P, Ryan Chelo (Rogala, Matt Dunn); 12:25; S, Nick DiCarlo (Daniel Sleboda), 12:41; S, Sleboda (penalty shot), 14:35; Penalties: none.
Second period: none; Penalties: S 2-4, P 1-2.
Third period: S, Joseph Gonsalves (Corey Nangle), 6:27; Penalties: P 1-2; S 1-2. Saves: Anthony Fernandes, P, 32; Nathan York, S, 20
North Kingstown captures Division III championship
PROVIDENCE -- At the start of the season late last fall, the North Kingstown boys hockey team came up with a team motto: ``Destination Schneider.’’
The Skippers then spent the next several months making it happen, capturing the III-Central title, sweeping through the opening rounds of the playoffs and arriving at their ``destination’’ this weekend.
North Kingstown apparently decided rather quickly that it wouldn’t be content with simply getting to the finals at Schneider Arena, though.
Playing just their fifth season in the Interscholastic League, the Skippers spent the last two days putting the finishing touches on their dream season with a sweep of St. Raphael -- following up Saturday’s 5-3 win in Game One with a 4-2 victory yesterday to claim the Division III crown of the Dunkin’ Donuts Frigid Four Hockey Championships at Providence College.
``Three years ago, we had a couple of kids who couldn’t even skate. We were lucky to have one line,’’ said junior center Gregory Fallon, who was named the 2007 Reverend Robert C. Newbold MVP after scoring two goals and assisting on another for the Skippers. ``So it’s great to have come so far.’’
``It feels so good to finally make it here,’’ added captain Matthew Collins, who assisted on James Burke’s third-period goal that put North Kingstown on top for good. ``I remember my freshman year, I think our final record was 1-19. And to come so far in four years is just such an accomplishment, and it was all a team effort.’’
St. Raphael, the top seed with a 15-1-2 record, and North Kingstown, the second seed with a 15-2-1 mark, traded goals in the first period, and that’s the way it would stay until 1:26 of the third, when Fallon came through with his second tally while North Kingstown was enjoying a 5-on-3 advantage.
St. Raphael’s freshman goaltender Joe Mello made a diving stop on a shot by Ryan Merz, but Fallon quickly knocked back the rebound to put the Skippers up, 2-1.
That lead would be shortlived, as St. Ray’s center Andrew Bettencourt picked up the puck at the Saints’ blue line and made a bee-line for the Skippers’ net, firing a shot past goalie Ian McKay’s glove side at 3:08.
But Burke, who had scored a hat-trick in North Kingstown’s Game One victory, skated through three defenders and slipped one past Mello at 6:32 to give the Skippers a lead that this time they would not relinquish.
``I can’t really explain it. The defense threw it off the boards and I just picked it up and went,’’ said Burke. ``It was just a rush of excitement.’’
Their 210 penalty minutes the highest of any team in Division III this season, St. Ray’s again found itself on the short end of a 5-on-3 situation a few minutes later. And North Kingstown again capitalized, as Willard Davis gave the Skippers some insurance with about 5 minutes to play, converting a pass from behind the net by William Bennett.
McKay took it from there, finishing with 29 saves on the night.
``We’re really proud of where we’ve come from,’’ said Keith Higgins, a Skippers assistant for the team’s first two years and the head coach for the last three. In the first couple of seasons, ``we weren’t on the winning end too often, and the older guys that are on this team were a part of that, so they’ve gone through the growing pains with us. So it’s nice for them. We came out at the beginning of the year, and they just made sure that they had a goal in mind. To make it here was the goal, and thankfully, it turned out well for us.’’
Mt. St. Charles takes game one 3-0 over Hendricken
John Guay and Peter DeAngelo scored within 30 seconds of one another 3 minutes into the third period and James Fuoroli tallied a shorthanded goal with 39 seconds left to play as the Mounties took game one of the Boys Division I hockey playoffs.
St. Andrew's Accoui verbally commits to play at Vermont
BARRINGTON - Joe Accoui, a senior shooting guard at the St. Andrews School, has verbally committed to play at the University of Vermont next year.
Accoui is a dangerous deep shooter who helped lead the Saints to two straight Class B New England Prep championships the last two seasons. Accoui visited Vermont the last two days and was offered a full scholarship by Catamount’s coach Mike Lonergan, according to Saints’ coach Mike Hart. Accoui becomes the second St. Andrews player to accept a scholarship from UVM. Garrett Kissell, a 6-8 center from Springfield, Mass., signed a letter-of-intent with the school last fall.
``It’s great for Joey and his family. He’s worked very hard for a Division One scholarship and he’s been a very good student and a good player for us,’’ said Hart.
Accoui, Kissell and Rakim Sanders (Boston College) are all targted fro D-I schools in the fall. Accoui, who is from North Providence, had heard from several D-I programs and was interested in Cornell and High Point, among others. Accoui and Sanders are believed to be the first set of Rhode Island residents and teammates to leave a high school in the Ocean State in the same year and receive Division One basketball scholarships.
St. Andrew's basketball star to play in national all-star game
St. Andrew’s will be well represented at the Adidas Derby Classic April 14 at Freedom Hall in Louisville, Ky. as Rakim Sanders has been selected to play and Coach Mike Hart will be directing the East team. The 6’6” Sanders can play either shooting guard or small forward, has a four-star rating on this year’s Scout.com website where they list him as the #12 pick at his position. Next year he’ll be attending Boston College.
WOONSOCKET – A 17-year-old Cumberland student faces a juvenile hearing on a disorderly conduct charge for his involvement in fights that broke out last night at the Mount St. Charles hockey arena during the boys hockey playoffs.
Tensions between Cumberland and Smithfield hockey fans flared around 9:45 p.m., after the second period of the hockey game, Woonsocket Lt. Timothy S. Paul said this morning.
A parent first reported to the police officer who had been hired for the game that a Smithfield student was making crude gestures toward Cumberland fans. Sgt. Todd Boisvert asked the boy to leave, but he said his ride was at the game and not prepared to leave. Boisvert then insisted the boy spend the rest of the game at his side.
A short time later, Cumberland fans surrounded that Smithfield fan. The officer escorted them into the lobby, where several fights broke out among the crowd of about 50 to 75 people in the lobby.
Boisvert called for backup and when every available officer in the city and those from nearby communities arrived, tensions subsided.
The arrest came after the Cumberland student refused police attempts to get him to leave the area and used obscenities against an officer, Paul said.
All eight of tonight's scheduled high school ice hockey playoff games have been postponed because of the weather. We'll have more information later today.
The first games in each series will now be played tomorrow night. Second games will be played Monday, and the third game of each series, where it is necessary, will be Tuesday.
Kyle McLaughlin scored two goals and Matthew Jones had the game-winner as sixth-seed Cumberland defeated three-seed Coventry, 3-1, in the decisive game of the best-of-three Division II quarterfinal series. Patrick Norton had 36 saves for Cumberland. Derrick Bonin scored for Coventry.
Boys hockey playoffs: Mt. Hope 2, North Providence 1
Corey Lescault stopped 52 shots and Ben Morrissette scored the game-winning goal with 2:49 to play as Mt. Hope defeated North Providence, 2-1, in the deciding game of the Division III Quarterfinal best-of-three series.
Julian Malakom and Tom Shavley each had a goal, Jordan Messier had 2 assists and Jake Rinn made 46 saves as Toll Gate shutout Moses Brown, 2-0, in the deciding game the Division I quarterfinal best-of-three series.
Late basket gives La Salle Division I girls basketball title
Sophomore Torey Jones sank a basket with 5 seconds to play giving La Salle a 61-60 victory over Bay View in tonight's Division I girls basketball championship game.
Barrington captures Division II girls basketball crown
Jillian Lewis, Barrington's Player of the Game and the Tournament MVP, helped the Eagles overcome a sluggish first half with her 16 points and 13 rebounds, as Barrington secured the Girls' Division II title of the 2007 Credit Union Basketball Championships with a 37-24 victory over Scituate.
All-Tournament selection Julie Ruggieri had 12 points, 14 rebounds and 5 steals for the undefeated Eagles.
Katie Birrell led Scituate with 15 points.
Classical's Victoria Flowers wins national track and field championship
Classical’s Victoria Flowers won the national championship in the girls 20-pound weight throw yesterday at the National Scholastic Indoor Championships held at the Armory Track and Field Center in Manhattan, N.Y. Flowers won the event with a throw of 58-1 ¼ (17.71 meters).
Boys Basketball: Feinstein captures Division II title
Adalberto Bueno and Jerell Gomes each had 16 points leading five Feinstein players in double figures as the Falcons cruised to an 82-53 victory over Rogers in the Division II final of the 2007 Credit Union Basketball Championships at the Ryan Center.
Two R.I. swimmers shine at New England Championships
South Kingstown’s Ryan Garr and Westerly’s Katie Mangano stole the show yesterday at the New England Interscholastic Swimming Championships at Roger Williams University. Garr broke a 30-year old record in the 100 backstroke with a time of 53.50. The old record was set by Cumberland’s Kurt Langborg back in 1977. Garr also led the 200 freestyle relay team to a new meet record. Mangano set meet records in the 100 freestyle (54.68) and the 100 backstroke (1:00.30).
High school girls basketball championship capsules
Division I: Bay View vs. La SalleBAY VIEW
Bay View
Record: League Overall 15-3
Top Scorers Player Class Position Ht. PPG RPG
Brittany Wilson Jr. F 5-9 16.0 11.0
Kashaia Cannon Jr. G. 5-7 12.0 5.0
Eileen Marran Sr. F 5-8 4.0 6.0
Olivia Pezzullo Sr. G 5-4 6.0 2.0
Jessica Battista Jr. G 5-7 8.0 2.0
Q: What does your team need to do to be successful in the Championship Game?
"Be able to handle La Salle half-court man defense and transition defense getting back on defense" - Coach Doug Haynes
La Salle
Record: League 20-0; Overall 23-2
Top Scorers Player Class Position Ht. PPG RPG
Cynthia Gaudet Sr. G 5-5 15.0 4.0
Torey Jones So. G 5-6 12.0 2.0
Jamelia Dillon So F 6-0 8.0 8.0
Monica Bharoocha Jr. F 5-8 10.0 5.0
Willeen Capehart G 5-7 4.0 4.0
Q: What does your team need to do to be successful in the Championship Game?
"Run, run, run and run some more. Play hard, play defense and rebound" - Coach Sean Reddy
Division II: Barrington vs. Scituate
Barrington
Record: League 18-0; Overall 24-2 Player Class Position Ht. PPG RPG
Jill Lewis Sr. F 5-11 19.0 12.0
Lindsay Legro Jr. G 5-3 11.0 5.0
Julie Ruggieri Sr. G 5-6 9.0 10.0
Liz Moiak Sr. C 5-11 12.0
Q: What does your team need to do to be successful in the Championship Game?
"Mental, physical toughness; defensive pressure and rebounding are the staple of our team; they are a must on Sunday." - Coach Steve Lenz.
Scituate
Record: League 14-4; Overall 20-5
Top Scorers Player Class Position Ht. PPG RPG
Katie Birrell So G 5.6 16.0
Kelsey Lally Sr. F 5-7 12.0 10.0
Courtney Mc Kiernan Jr. g. 5-6 8.0
Katherine Corsi Jr. F/C 6-0 7.0. 9.0
What does your team need to do to be successful in the Championship Game?
"Continue to play great defense; Work as a team; Keep Barrington off the boards; Hustle to the last second." - Coach Jean Angell
Division III: Central Falls vs. Mount Pleasant
Central Falls
Record: League 12-2; Overall 17-6.
Top Scorers Player Class Position Ht. PPG RPG
Carlene Fonseca Sr. G. 5-1 17.0 8.0
Varlerie Bioscochea So.C/F 5-9 11.0
Tatiana Baena Jr. G. 5-0 9.3
Jeiza Munoz Sr. G. 4-9 6.3
Q: What does your team need to do to be successful in the Championship Game?
"Slow the tempo of the game; create mistakes from their ballhandlers; work hard to prevent second and third opportunities on the boards" - Coach Joe Handy
Mount Pleasant
Record: League 15-0
Top Scorers Player Class Position Ht. PPG RPG
Ebony Briggs G. 5-5 15.0 3.0
Andrea Deschamps C 5-7 10.0 5.0
Ayesha Griffin C 5-7 12.0 17.0
Q: What does your team need to do to be successful in the Championship Game?
"Bring their "A" game and have fun." - Coach Linda Paolozzi.
The two teams that tied for the regular season title at 15-3, Prout and Juanita Sanchez, will fittinginly be playing for the title Saturday at 1 p.m. in the Ryan Center. The teams split their regular season meetings, each winning on their home court.
Prout edged Central Falls, 74-71, taking advantage of the fact that the Warriors' leading playmaker Billy Collado picked up his third foul less than five minutes into the game. That allowed Austin Martin (28 points, 14 rebounds), William Carlow (20 points), and Josh LaBossiere (16 points) to take command. Even so, when Collado re-entered the game he sparked Cental Falls and got the house jumping on a thrilling dunk that tied the score at 52 in the second half. But at the end of the game it was Martin and Labossiere making key shots to give the Crusaders the edge.
Juanita Sanchez was never in danger of losing to Burrillville. The quick and athletic Cavaliers used an early 19-2 run to build a 17-point lead by halftime. Despite receiving 18 points from junior guard Kyle VanRossum, including 10 in the second half, Burrillville, was not able to put a dent in the Cavaliers’ lead.
The championship game will be the first for each school in boy's basketball.
It'll be a return trip to the Division II championship game for the Barrington girls this year as Lindsay Legro led the Eagles with 17 points from the perimeter and Jillian Lewis worked the inside for all 9 of her points, including the winning basket to defeat Portsmouth 43-41. The Patriots had a 35-26 advantage in the second half but Legro led a 15-2 run in which she knocked down 3 of her 5 three-pointers to give the Eagles the lead.
Barrington's opponent this year will be a Scituate team that returns to the championship game for the first time in six years. The Spartans were led by Kelsey Lally who netted 18 and collected 15 rebounds in a 54-48 win over Smithfield. The Sentinels were down 10 at the half but powered their way back with a 26-2 run on the backs of Jenna Buffi (27 points) and Meghan DiCenzo. Scituate wouldn't quit though and closed the game on a 21-4 run of their own to get the win.
Sunday's championship game will take place Sunday at 3:30 p.m. in the Murray Center on the Rhode Island College campus.
The Rhode Island High School swim championships, which were postponed this week because of concerns about the roof at the Brown University Smith Swim Center, will now be held on Friday, March 2, and Saturday, March 3, at the University of Rhode Island. This is a change from the original rescheduling plan, which was to hold the meets at Roger Williams University.
Also, the boys and girls competitions will now be held on separate days. The boys championship will be March 2 at 6:30, with a 5:30 warmup. The girls championship will be March 3 at 2 p.m., with a 1 p.m. warm-up.
High school swim championships pushed back to March
The state's boys and girls high school swimmers will have to wait two more weeks to decide their state team and individual champions.
The boys and girls state championships meets had been scheduled for this weekend at Brown University's Smith Swim Center, but on Tuesday Brown closed the swim center because of concerns about facility's roof.
Yesterday Brown athletic department officials informed R.I. Interscholastic League officials that they could not be sure when the swim center would reopen. That sent league officials scurrying to find a new location for the meets.
The only other swimming facilities in the state that are large enough to host the combined championships are the pools at the University of Rhode Island and Roger Williams College, but both of those facilities were unavailable the next two weekends.
So league officials were forced to postpone the event for two weeks. The championship meets are now scheduled for Sunday, March 4, at Roger Williams. The qualifying competition will be held on March 3. Because the Roger Williams facility is not as large as the Smith Center, qualifying may also need to be held on March 2.
Also, the Divisions II and III boys swim championships, originally scheduled tonight at the Roger Williams, have been postponed because of weather and rescheduled for tomorrow night.
