March 28, 2024

Riverside/Central beats Rumford in Little League Majors All-Star Semifinal.

JJ Renaud tosses 2 hit, 10K, 2-0 shutout. Gains berth in district finals Saturday.

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Rumford still alive. Plays Barrington Wednesday night. Riverside/Central LL only unbeaten team left in tourney.

Riverside pitcher Jonathan JJ Renaud spun a masterful two-hit shutout over cross-town rival Rumford, in little league major division all-star semi-final at Kim Rock Field in Rumford, RI. Riverside/Central gained a berth in the District Two championship Saturday at Forbes Field in Riverside. Renaud struck out 10 and didn’t issue a walk in the complete game victory. Both teams came into the game undefeated with Riverside beating Little Compton/Tiverton, Newport and Darlington American. Rumford beat back Barrington and Warren.

Riverside/Central went out in order in the top of the first and after a single by Rumford in the bottom of the first inning, Renaud struck out two and a ground ball out ended Rumford’s threat as they stranded a runner on third base.

The top of the second had Renaud with a lead off walk but he was left there as Riverside/Central couldn’t do much with Rumford’s starting pitcher Will Haggerty who pitched extremely well.

Riverside/Central got things going in the fourth with a lead off smash to the outfield by Alex Enright for a single. Aiden Martins then hit a double to deep center field with Enright scampering to third base. JJ Renaud walked to load the bases. With no outs, Parker Andrews popped up a bunt for an out but Chris Charbonneau hit a fielder’s choice scoring Enright with the games first run. With Martins and Renaud on third and second respectively, Josh Shanty was batting and on a passed ball, Martins stole home for the second run. The inning ended with the score now 2-0 in favor of the visitors.

The game remained tight as both teams played well and both pitchers were keeping the game close. Rumford had two runners on base in the fourth and during a double steal of second and third, both runners were sent back for leaving base to soon. Renaud continued to dominate on the mound with a mix of stinging fastballs and slow curveballs keeping Rumford off balance all night. To end the fourth, a Rumford runner from first delayed a steal attempt to second and then took off for the steal but getting the ball from his catcher, Renaud wheeled and threw a strike to shortstop Aiden Martins who tagged the runner out.

The game continued 2-0 through the sixth and final inning. Martins laced a single to deep left but Riverside couldn’t add to their total as Rumford was down to their final three outs. Rumford lead off the sixth with a drive to center field off a Renaud slow curve but Parker Andrews charged in and made the catch. An infield hit to deep third put a runner on first base in a close play but an infield pop was grabbed by first baseman Parker Andrews and Renaud recorded his 10th strikeout to end the game sending Riverside/Central to the District Two championship.

Riverside/Central can win it all with a win on Saturday, 5:45 pm at Forbes Field in Riverside. Because the Riverside team is undefeated, they will have two chances at the title should they lose on Saturday.

Rumford is still alive and needs to climb back from the loser’s bracket to hopefully gain a rematch against their nemesis Riverside/Central on Saturday. Rumford now plays again tomorrow (Wednesday) against Barrington (possibly at home at Rock Field) and is in a must win situation.

After the game Rumford Manager Dave Murphy was upbeat. “You played well tonight, nothing to be ashamed of,” Murphy told his team. “Stay positive, we’re still in this. Think of it as we play more baseball games. We can do this,” said Murphy. Rumford has to win a couple more games for a chance to face Riverside/Central again.

On the other side, winning coach Vin Enright had a lot to be positive about. “Great, great effort tonight. We win because we’re united and play as a team. Keep holding each other up. Pitching, timely hitting, defense, baserunning - everyone contributed tonight. We may be the first East Providence team in a long time to play for a major division District championship. Now have fun, go home and keep playing hard,” added the coach.

(For those wondering about the name ‘Riverside/EP Central’ – roster numbers are dropping across the area causing leagues to merge. Pawtucket, once featuring 4 and 5 different leagues, are now down to just two. Many other towns are combining. There are only three major division teams in EP Central, Riverside & Rumford - combined. Accordingly, Riverside/EP Central have combined in some respects. A future article will discuss this issue in much more detail in the Reporter.)

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