School Sports Update

The 2024 school year is closing with some teams still chasing championships amid playoff action.  Games are scheduled right at Reporter publishing deadlines and up to the minute scores and updates will be posted regularly at ReporterToday.com.

EPHS Baseball
The Defending D2 Champion Townies will need a small miracle if they are to repeat as title winners this year.  East Providence at the paper’s publishing deadline must win three consecutive games to stay alive.  After a disappointing 3-2 loss to Westerly in an away playoff game on May 30^th, EP has to claw their way back to win it all.  The Townies and Westerly played fairly even and the Townies had the tying and go-ahead runs on 2^nd and 3^rd base with two outs in the last inning.  A questionable called third strike ended the Townies chances and pushed them into loser bracket play.  Once again, game recaps will be posted online.

Baseball fans were treated to an old-fashioned pitching duel in a must win playoff game which was tied at 0 with Chariho at the end of 7 innings.  Tim Robitaille pitched a strong 7.2 shutout innings, striking out 10 Chariho batters while scattering three hits.  Robitaille’s batterymate Brian Rutkowski allowed no pass balls and was strong behind the plate.  With one out in the Townies half of the 8th inning Nolan Lorenz walked.  Chariho relief pitcher Ethan Elderkin kept Lorenz close to first with three unsuccessful pick-off attempts, but next batter Oliver Andrews’ sacrifice grounder moved Lorenz to second base.  With two outs and the large Townie crowd cheering him on, Gavin Palombo came to the plate.  If the Townie third baseman was nervous, he didn’t show it. On a count of two and two, Palombo lined a single to center field and Lorenz wheeled around third and headed home scoring the winning run ahead of the throw. 

In an earlier playoff wins the 15-5 Townies beat back Ponagansett twice in back-to-back games and Chariho.  After a May weekend in which the Townie Junior Varsity baseball team won four games, including three in a row on Sunday, to win the state JV championship, the varsity squad travelled to Ponagansett and gained a come-from-behind victory.  Leading the Townies to the 9-5 win was Tim Robitaille with three hits in three at bats. Robitaille also got the win with two innings of scoreless relief, walking none and striking out three. Robitaille had hits in the first, second and seventh innings. In the first inning Kyler Lorenz walked and Robitaille singled sharply to right field. Nolan Lorenz singled advancing the runners and Kyler Lorenz scored on an Oliver Andrews ground ball out to second base.

Ponagansett got to Dylan Annicelli for three runs in their half of the first after a couple of singles and a ground out to take a 3-1 lead. In the top of the second, the Townies tied the game at three. Gavin Palombo singled and Brian Rutkowski walked. Palombo stole second base and with two outs, Robitaille singled on a 3-2 count and Rutkowski and Palombo scored to tie the game.

East Providence drubbed Ponagansett on senior night before a packed crowd at EPHS on May 21st. The Townies scored 12 runs on just 7 hits in a game shortened by the 10-run rule. The 7 hits by 7 different players were timely however and produced 8 RBI as well as forcing 8 walks with plate patience. Townie starting and winning pitcher Tyler Dicecco contributed an RBI double and Nolan Lorenz added a triple. Other players scattering hits for the winners were Aidan Martins, Kyler Lorenz, Gavin Palombo, Max Correiro and Brian Rutkowski. The always aggressive Townies as base runners had stolen bases by Kyler Lorenz, Palombo and Martins.

East Providence acknowledged their three seniors with their families before the game. Seniors Malaquais Fernandes, Kyler Lorenz and Tyler Quadros accepted team gifts

Walk off Win Against Saints:
It took an extra inning, but the Townies baseball squad had an exciting walk-off victory over St. Raphael Academy early last month. With the game tied at 5, freshman Aidan Martins led off the bottom of the 8th with a hard single to left field. Kyler Lorenz grounded to 3rd base moving Martins to 2nd on the sacrifice. Tim Robitaille was hit by a pitch and Colin Roche flied out to centerfield. Up next was Nolan Lorenz whose line drive single to center field scored Aidan Martins with the winning run.

Townie JV Baseball Wins State Championship
The East Providence High School JV baseball team won the Justin Rocha Memorial JV Tournament held at EPHS in May. The Townies took the tourney by playing and winning 4 games over 2 days. EP played and won 3 of those games in back-to-back action on Sunday May 19th. Kyle Desrosiers needed only 92 pitches to shutout the tourney favorite Bishop Hendricken. The game was scoreless until the Townies broke the ice in the last of the 8th inning. With two runners on base a groundball brought in the winning run as the Townie players and fans celebrated. Umpires did not allow the post-game handshake between teams due to a 7th inning incident. An EP player attempted a steal of second and was clearly tagged out. The Hendricken player making the tag was ejected from the game for inappropriate actions after making the out. The game continued with no further incident until the winning run crossed the plate for East Providence.

The RI Interscholastic league does not organize a JV tournament and East Providence Varsity Head Coach Bobby Rodericks offered to sponsor a league tourney. "I thought it important to have JV kids from throughout Rhode Island participate in a tournament," said Rodericks. 12 high schools participated: Barrington, La Salle, Hendricken, Cranston West, Cranston East, Burrillville, Smithfield, Mt. Hope, Chariho, Ponagansett, Johnston and East Providence.  The three wins by East Providence featured complete game pitching performances by Owen Richards against Barrington, Jayden Healey against Cranston West, and Kyle Desrosiers against Hendricken.

Rodericks named the tournament after his 1998 Townie teammate, Justin Rocha. Rocha was an all-state Townie athlete in baseball and football. Rocha, a Warwick firefighter, died unexpectedly in October 2022 at the age of 43. Rocha's family, including his son Cole, were on hand to award the tournament plaques for 1st place and runner-up. 

EPHS Boys Volleyball
The Townies boys volleyball squad moved ahead in the quarterfinal round game against Central High in a May 31^st match at home. It wasn’t an easy match but the Townies held on for a 3 games to 2 Quarterfinal win.  Game Scores were 25-27, 25-11, 25-20, 21-25 and 15-13.  Central was led by Jet Nascimento with 28 Kills and 13 digs.  For the Townies it was Loden Broe with 42 Assists, Brandon Mimande with 15 Kills, 12 digs and Jordan Rodriguez’ 14 Kills and 8 Digs.  The Quarterfinal win moves East Providence to a semi-final match against number 2 seed Barrington at Barrington on June 5^th at 6 pm ( www.ReporterToday.com will update).   

EP actually lost the first set 27-25 but rallied back to win the next two sets 25-11 and 25-20.  Central fought right back and grabbed the fourth game 25-21 but the Townies righted themselves with some good passing to just get by the final set 15-13.  During the season East Providence and Barrington each won a match in their own gym.  “The Eagles are a tough team.  We’ll have to be on top of our game to win in the semis,” said EP coach Dan Cabral.

In earlier action last month, East Providence garnered a shutout win over Woonsocket High. EP scored wins of 25-20, 25-21 and 25-20. DJ Lepine and Jordan Rodriguez led the Townies with 10 kills each. The Townies have several players among league leaders in many categories such as kills, hits, assists and digs. “We’re playing well and hope to keep it going. The team works hard and improves every day with intense practice and play,” said Head Coach Dan Cabral.

Boys Volleyball Roster
DeCosta, Trent; Broe, Loden; Pereira, Ethan; Rodrigues, Jordan; Leite, Jason; Philip, Naya; Lepine, Damien; Varela, Antonio; Medeiros, Pedro; Carela Lopez, Frank DeCosta, Trey Capobianco, Nick; Calouro, Logan; Mimande, Brandon; Jean-Louis, Joshua and  Espada, Andrew.

EPHS Girls Lacrosse
The girls lacrosse team lost their quarterfinal game with Bay View in a close 8-7 match.  The team finished a good season with an 8-7 record in the still growing sport.  Getting to the Quarterfinals is an achievement an one in which we hope to improve upon next year,” said Head Coach Nicholas Boyce.  Roster: Katherine Almeida, Julia Escobar, Abigail Leddy, Charlotte Kane, Carter Bessette, Ava Soares, Alyssa Karalekas, Ava Williams,  Dylan Flynn, Aubrey Facteau, Maggie Robinson, Kaylee Vieira, Rylee Jackson, Kloey Iacovone, Kenna Wigginton, Nadiyah Calouro-Vargas, Jayla DaGraca, Sydney Olson, Kaytlynn Enos, Rai Flynn and Sophia Carreiro.
Head Coach: Nicholas Boyce; Assistant Coach: Kathy Dias

EPHS Tennis:
The tennis team opens their division 2 playoffs vs. Prout at home on May 24th. East Providence easily defeated Prout in what was a quarterfinal round of the Division II championship tournament. The Townies improved to 12-2 with the win.  East Providence is hoping to win a second title in three years.  Check ReporterToday.com for further tournament results.

The EPHS Tennis Program is running its first ever summer development program this year. It has been designed for students across the East Providence community and beyond who are interested in learning or developing their skills for tennis, no matter their skill level.  This program will be open to students from 4th to 8th grade and will take place over two separate three-week-long sessions at East Providence High School. The first session will be from July 1st - 19th. The second will take place from July 22nd - August 9th.

The players will be divided up into three groups to adjust for coaching needs. Groupings are made according to most recent grade level completed as of June 2024 (i.e., if your child is in 5th grade for the 23-24 school year, they will be in the 4th & 5th grade session). Each group will meet four times per week (Monday-Thursday) for 1 hour. The times and grade groupings are listed below:

4th & 5th: 8:30-9:30am; 6th & 7th: 9:30-10:30am; 8th: 10:30-11:30am (Groups and times may be subject to change depending on demand).

“This program is open to all students, including those outside of the East Providence School District. Our goal with this program is to increase exposure to the sport of tennis in the East Providence community.  Through drills, one-on-one coaching, team games, and more, this program offers the perfect opportunity to develop the skills for a sport that will last you a lifetime. Our program will be run by the head coach of both our boys and girls team, Slade Sharma, with assistance from current and former players,” said Coach Sharma.

The cost of each three-week session is $200 per player. If you choose to participate in both three-week sessions, you are eligible for a discounted price of $380 per player.  Requirements: Players must bring their own racket and come prepared with water/snacks and athletic clothing.

It is an outdoor program held at the East Providence High School tennis courts. Any cancellations due to inclement weather will be made up on the Friday of that week. Attendance at makeup sessions is optional, but highly encouraged. If there is inclement weather on that Friday, there will be no makeup session.

Freshman Girls Track & Field
The freshman girls track and field members finished 5th at the freshman state meet. The 4x100m relay team consisting of Leyla Bates, Riley Souto, Kaia Greene, and Abigail Raphael earned 1st place. The 4x800m relay team consisting of Sadie Gagnon, Layla Bates, Zariahlece Pina, and Melanany Sotomayor finished 4th. The 4x400m relay consisting of Layla Bates, Sadie Gagnon, Riley Souto, and Kaia Greene also finished 4th. Individual medalists were Abigail Raphael finishing 8th in the 100m and 4th in the high jump. Whitney Monteiro finished 6th in the hammer. Layla Bates finished 4th in the 300m hurdles and Rylie Souto finished 5th in the same event.

 EPHS Golf:
The EPHS Golf team ended the regular season with a 12-2 record. The team was led by Captain - Senior Zach Mendo. Leading players include: Sophomore Nathan Carter (37.4 average), Senior Billy Fitzgerld (40.4 average) and Sophomore Noah Araujo  (42.2 average).  Other players included: Senior Nathan Tavares, Freshman Matt Lalanne, Sophomore Jacob Grilo, and Freshman Jericho Seals.  EPHS Golf Coach is Bill Mc Enery.

Riverside Middle School Baseball & Softball End Winning Seasons:
RMS boys baseball ended its season with a loss to Broad Rock middle school in a home game on May 31^st.  The Vikings were shut out 8-0 in a game which the home team couldn’t get on track.  Although disappointed, the team enjoyed a great season.  The Vikes finished in first place in the Eastern Division with a 9-1 record. RMS’ only other loss came earlier against Birchwood MS in North Providence. In their next to last regular season game RMS got a much-needed win against always tough Kickemuit (Bristol/Warren) in a 5-1 game at home. Kickemuit scored a run in the first inning after an error, a hit batsman and a passed ball. However, Vikings pitcher JJ Renaud settled down and struck out the next eight (8) batters he faced. In that first inning, Kickemuit had runners on first and third when the Vikings Sousa cut the ball off on an attempted steal and threw the runner out at home to stop any further Kickemuit scoring.  The score remained 1-0 until the bottom of the 5th inning. With 2 outs, Alex Enright walked, Chris Charbonneau walked, Wyatt Andrews walked, and Enright scored on a wild pitch to tie the game.  In the bottom of the 6th inning, Myles Hall walked with 2 outs. Damian Duarte pinch ran for him. JJ Renaud hit a single and Alex Enright followed with another single scoring Duarte. Then Charbonneau hit a 2-run double to make it 4-1. Charbonneau scored, as he stole 3rd he made it home on a throwing error. The final score in favor of Riverside was 5-1.  Game highlights: JJ Renaud finished the game with 13 strikeouts and contributed a single. Chris Charbonneau went 3-3 including a double, walk, 2RBI and 1 run scored. Wyatt Andrews went 1-1 with 3 walks and Alex Enright got an RBI single, walked and scored twice for the Vikes.

Impressive Playoff Win:
Westerly Middle School had no answers for the dazzling performance by Riverside Middle School’s top pitcher, JJ Renaud in first round baseball playoff action on Wednesday, May 22nd. Before a home crowd at the Riverside Recreation Complex, Renaud spun a 14 strikeout 2 hit gem for the 7-0 win. Renaud also hit a triple, walked twice and scored three runs. “There wasn’t much coaching to do today as Westerly couldn’t touch Jonathan (Renaud),” said RMS coach Matt Laroche after the game. “He just dominated the game.” Renaud had a commanding fastball and tricky curveball as he had strikeouts in every inning. At one point Renaud had 7 consecutive strikeouts including striking out the side in the second, third and sixth innings.

After a scoreless top of the first for Westerly, the Vikings scored 2 runs in their half of inning one. With leadoff walks to Renaud and Alex Enright, and a one-out walk to Chris Charbonneau, Jake Iacavone singled to score Renaud and Enright. Renaud struck out the side in the Westerly second inning and RMS picked up their third run in the second. Chris Charbonneau doubled scoring Renaud who had walked. The home team plated two more runs in the fourth when Ryan Kyote walked and then stole second base. Renaud then slammed a triple which scored Kyote to stretch the lead to 5-0.

Riverside made it 7-0 with two more runs in the fifth. Tristan Lawton singled and scored ahead of pinch-hitter Damian Duarte who homered to deep left field. Westerly could not get anything going as Renaud struck out the side in the sixth inning and Alex Enright got in some work on the mound in the seventh without allowing a run.

RMS Roster:
JJ Renaud, Jake Iacavone, Ryan Kyote, Lilly Silva, Wyatt Andrews, Jacon Sousa, Jordyn Forrest, Randy Vasquez, Alex Enright, Tristan Lawton, Myles Hall, Preston Nicholas, Damian Duarte, Chris Charbonneau. Head Coach: Matt Laroche, Assistant: Michael Sabourin.

Riverside Middle Girls Softball:
RMS softball won the Riverfront Division title with an unblemished 9-0 record.  Riverside lost in playoff action to Warwick.  “We had an amazing team and they played extremely well all year,” said coaches Mike and Lauren Farnsworth.  Due to time and playoff schedules, the Reporter is planning an exclusive story on this team and other related topics in the next issue of the paper and at ReporterToday.com.  Stay tuned.

EPHS Herd Selects Top Students:
The male and female members of the year were voted on.  Members Jason Russo and Trinity Provencher were top vote getters. “They have been both outstanding members of the herd and have put countless hours in to make it grow and become successful this year,” said faculty advisor Joe Andrade.  “The herd tailgate was a success as we had a good crowd that came out to celebrate the herd for a great year supporting our teams and each other.”

Popular Townie Summer Baseball Camp Returns:
The 2024 Friends of Townie Athletics Baseball Camp will be held from Monday, July 22 to Friday, July 26 at the EPHS Baseball Turf fields. Players T-Ball through high school are welcome. Hitting, Fielding, Bunting, Base Running, Skills, Drills, and Competitions.   Fun Contests with prizes and Awards.  Camp runs from 9 am to 12:30 pm each day.  The mission of the camp is to teach skills, proper techniques, and the correct approach.  To the game, all in a fun-filled atmosphere. Tee shirts will be provided to participants who register early. Registration on a first come first serve basis. Register early to secure a spot! Late registrations accepted, but no guarantee on camp shirt.  Campers should bring own equipment! Campers are encouraged to bring own water! Free Box lunches will be available for those who want one. Complete & mail in a registration for EACH camper!  For a registration form, email: bobbyrodericks@aol.com 

Camp Director:  Bobby Rodericks                                    
Camp Instructors:
PE/Health Teacher EP School Dept. 2007-Present - EPHS Baseball Staff
EPHS Head Baseball Coach 2012-Present - Townie Seniors 2024
Middle School Coach 2005-Present - Former Townie All-Staters & Players
2014 RI Baseball Coach of the Year - Local Collegiate Players
2014, 2023 D2 State Champions - Owner/Director of ATC Training Facility