EP Baseball Title is History Making!

EPHS First Baseball Title - Drought is Over!

Some knew, but many Townie sports fans didn't realize that baseball was the only major sport in the Townies long storied athletic history, to not have a state championship. That all changed with the East Providence two game sweep of a very good North Smithfield Northmen team to win its first state championship in over 100 years. At one point this season the Northmen were undefeated and playing well. Ironically the Northmen are coached by Townie graduate Jon Leddy. "Jon did a fantastic job this season. North Smithfield is a great team," said Townie 3rd year head coach, Bobby Rodericks. East Providence has had its share of great baseball players through the years. They just always fell short of a state title. "The 1945 team lost in the finals to a great Warren High School team," said retired EP football icon and athletic director William "Bill" Stringfellow. "That team had great players like Gid Spence, Billy Whitaker, Ralph Seaberg and Vic Allienello - to name a few. We could have won it that year but warren was tough," remembered the elder Stringfellow. There have been other names like Junior Butler, Harry Mutter, Mike Roe, Howie Levine, Tom Antonian and so many more. And so it went, the fifties, sixties, seventies, eighties right through 2013. The Townie baseball drought made the Red Sox world series void look pretty good. The Townies had great coaches, players and fan support but just fell short each time a great team surfaced.

And so enter the current group of Townies. Solid pitching and timely hitting carried the team. When asked to point out individual players, Rodericks refused. Instead he talked about balance. "Our great pitching and solid defense was consistent. We were strong at catcher and had some speed on the base paths," said Rodericks preferring not to single out many players.

The Townies opened the championship series as CJ Woods pitched another complete game and East Providence came through when and where they needed to. EP took game one of the best of three Championship Series against North Smithfield, 5-2. The game wasn't an artistic gem as North Smithfield had some costly errors but the Townie Cy Young winning pitcher was tough all game. Woods had a nasty slow curve that was very effective as he struck out 7 Northmen in the game. The Townies came out strong in their half of the first inning with a leadoff hard single by center fielder Jasiah Hatch. Allienello moved Hatch on a deep fly to right field and a NS error led to Colin Costa getting an RBI single scoring Hatch.

Woods did his job holding NS scoreless until the 6th inning. A couple of hits and a Townie error scored two runs for the Northmen but Woods held tough throwing a quick scoreless 7th inning. The Townies got a minor scare when Woods was hit hard off the foot by a line shot off the bat of Ian Pascoe. Woods walked it off, waved off Townie coaches and the team trainer and continued to throw for his complete game victory. Jasiah Hatch has continued to shine with two hits and three runs scored on the day. Hatch also showcased his speed by swiping two bases as EP took game one.

The second game in the best of three finals also featured a complete game pitching performance by Keith Grant. Grant gave up three harmless hits and struck out 7. EP got a hit from Tyler Lockard and eventually loaded the bases in the first but came away scoreless. NS picked up an infield hit but Grant struck out two and the Northmen failed to score.

EP went down quietly in the top of the 2nd but NS made some noise in their half of inning two. After NS captain Chris Forbes struck out, Ian Pascoe hit a solid double down the left field line. Michael Cicerone hit a foul fly ball to the right side enabling Pascoe to tag up and reach third. A NS infield hit pulled the Townies Collin Costa off first base and Pascoe scored the first run of the game. NS threatened again but an infield groundball induced a runner interference call against NS and the inning ended with NS up 1 to 0.

EP tied the game in the top of the 3rd on a single by tourney MVP Jasiah Hatch who stole 2nd and then stole 3rd. Hatch gave the Northmen trouble for the entire series with his base stealing ability. Collin Costa then knocked in Hatch with a single.

Grant sailed along through the bottom of the 4th and the Townies scored two runs in the top of the 5th. Hatch led off with an infield error and proceeded to steal for the third time, taking 2nd base. Hatch then scored on a base hit by Marc Lavalley. Costa then plated Lavalley with his second hit of the game. EP loaded the bases again but didn't score.

Grant and his team mates would do the rest as NS came up scoreless in the last inning triggering a wild celebration on the field and in the stands of McCoy as East Providence had finally won their first baseball championship in the school's history. "I'm so proud of my players today. We worked them hard all season and they deserved this win," said Rodericks. "We came close last year and were disappointed. We've been determined ever since to take the title. Our plan was pitch by pitch, inning by inning and game by game," said the ecstatic young coach. "You not only won this for this team, but you won it for Townie baseball of the past," Rodericks told his team.

Costa had a remarkable 5 hits in the series and could have been an MVP himself. "Woods, Grant, Costa and Hatch were our senior leaders. My big four horsemen and everyone else played well," said Rodericks. "Yes, by losing last year we became hungrier this year," said stellar pitcher Keith Grant. "With CJ Woods and Grant giving us complete game wins, that was big," Rodericks added.

And so these first ever baseball champions of EP soaked in all the well wishes. The East Providence Police arranged for a motorcade escort from McCoy Stadium to EPHS where close to 1,000 middle school gym restoration pasta dinner patrons gave the team a rousing ovation upon their arrival. Others like Junior Butler, Harry Mutter Dr. Izzy Ramos, Bobby Fontes and other Townies of the past were there. The motorcade had dozens of cars filled with fans following the team bus and police vehicles. A Townie tradition usually reserved for volleyball, football, hockey or other sports. Now baseball has had its' first motorcade of champions. "We hope to do this again," said Bobby Rodericks.

(Disclosure: EPHS head Coach Bobby Rodericks is the son of Reporter columnist Bob Rodericks. "I feel uncomfortable writing about my son as the coach, but this team deserves to be covered by the press and that includes its coach, too. I try to write fairly and state the facts.")