Sports Update

State Champions - Martin Middle School
MMS Boys Track & Field Take Home Title
Earlier in the track & field season, Martin Middle School head coach Michael Almeida felt good that his team finished second in divisional play. "That in itself was quite an accomplishment for these kids but they believed that they weren't quite done as we entered the state championship meet," said coach Almeida. "I can't say enough about this team. They remained resilient enough to win the State Championship after a close and hard fought State Meet. I am proud of the Martin Middle School Boys," beamed the highly successful coach and East Providence teacher.

The State Championship meet was held in late May in Narragansett. Martin boys were victorious, narrowly winning the State Championship by 2 points. Between the girls and boys teams, this marks 3 out of the 4 past years Martin has won the State Championship. The other year Martin was a State Runner Up (2018.) "Going into the State Meet I knew we had a chance but it was going to be tough and I explained to the boys that we needed to squeeze out as many points as possible in order to win and that they did," said Almeida. One major performer was Jared Gibbons who won the 100m, 200m, Long Jump and 4x100m relay. "In my 9 years of coaching at Martin, it was one of the most clutch performances I had ever seen," added Almeida. "Martin Moniz was also clutch placing 2nd in the Long Jump, 3rd in the 400m, 1st in the 4x100 relay and making the finals in the 100m, but collapsed across the line due to fatigue from just finishing a hard fought 400m run. Brandon Rowe also made the 100m final, part of the winning 4x100 relay, and 6th in the high jump. Caleb Luna placed 6th in the 400m and was the 4th leg of the winning 4x100m relay. On the distance side Andrew Worden ran the race of his life with a PR in the 3000m by over 32 seconds. We had a game plan going in and I explained to him in the beginning of the season, in order to place in the 3000m he'll have to run a 10:30. We had a plan each lap and what time he should be at but due to bad weather and injuries we were having a tough time getting there," explained Almeida.

But on a warm sunny day Worden ran a perfect race placing 6th. Ryan Decampos also placed in the 800m earning 6th and part of the 4x400m relay who broke a school record 4:04.2 but was disqualified due to cutting the break lines too early. That team consisted of Sam Taromina, Max Collins, Ryan DeCampos, and Caleb Luna. Other boys who did well but didn't place were Hunter Robbins, Peter Caron, Cameron Chase, Jayden Delgado, Trent Jackson, Kaleb Soares, Seth Soares, Toby Gwin, darlin Herrera, Ethan Latrobe, Jerry Mercedes and Drew O'Brien.

On the girls side Kenna Wigginton placed 6th in the long jump. Wigginton was also part of the 4x100m relay team which placed 6th and consisted of Wigginton, Candace Daniels, Amari Johnson, and Emma Heatherton. "These students were poised and determined and they represented our school and community very well," said Coach Almeida.

"After Martin soccer & wrestling both came up short of a title and finished 2nd in the state, the track team wins the 2019 state title! Congrats to the Martin boys track team and the coaches for the hard work and becoming State Champs," said Martin wrestling and Townie baseball coach Bobby Rodericks. "Job well done."

RMS Track
Members of the Boys and Girls Track teams had impressive finishes at the state meet in late May. Yusuf Abdullah finished 2nd in the 200 meter dash and 3rd in the 100 meter dash. Jacob Poore was 2nd in the 80 meter hurdles. Hailee Mantiega was 2nd in the high jump. The boys 400 meter relay of Jacob Poore, Jordan O’Hara, Kalib Mata, and Yusuf Abdullah finished.

EPHS Softball
Townie veteran softball coach Rob Traverse has announced that he will retire from coaching at the end of this season. "Congratulations to Coach Rob Traverse. The softball field was dedicated in his name after coach announced his retirement from coaching after 20 years, 19 playoff appearances and 230 wins. 'Traverse Park' was christened with a 3-1 Townie win on Senior night. Special thanks to Chris Voll, Matt Fagan and John Voll from East Side Construction for installing the sign which was made and donated by Dave Mitchell at Signs and Sites," said EPHS Director of Athletics.

Coach Traverse was mainly responsible for raising funds to build the softball field on the grounds of EPHS. Donations were received for scoreboards and the field has lights to allow for more games to be played.

The 10-7 Townies were scheduled to take on Cumberland in Division One preliminary playoff action on May 29th. The Reporter will provide on line updates throughout the playoffs.

The Townies improved to 11-7 with a 4-0 win over Prout on May 22nd. In the Townie win, Emma DaSilva had a homerun and three RBI's and Tanya Cooper and Paige Messier each chipped in with two hits. Tanya Cooper pitched the distance for EP with 12 strikeouts.

The Townies took a tough loss on May 21st, losing to North Providence 9-2. North Providence had 15 hits in the game. Tanya Cooper slugged a two-run homer for the Townies. EP moved to a 9-6 record as of press time with 4 games to go.

Earlier East Providence upset Chariho, 2-1, in a key Division I battle. Chariho came into the game against EP with 15 wins and a 14 game winning streak. The Townies broke that streak behind superb pitching of Tanya Cooper. Senior Amaya Dacier scored the winning run after she walked to open the last inning. Dacier eventually got to third base on a Haley Martins single and scored on a Chariho wild pitch. It was just the second loss of the Chariho squad.

Townie softball continued their winning ways with an 11-1 drubbing of Lincoln High. The Townies scored one run in the second inning with four in the third, five in the fourth and one more in the fifth for the shutout. Ninth grader Vianna Chamberlain slugged her 5th homerun of the season and Haley Martins had four RBI's. East Providence is in 2nd place, just a half game out of first with a 7-4 record. Earlier the Townies bopped Barrington High 15-0 while getting 17 hits. Chamberland and Amaya Dacier each went four for four at the plate. Chamberland hit two homeruns and Dacier had 3 doubles with an RBI. Sophia Patterson was impressive in her first pitching assignment and also on the mound was Taylor Babcock for EP.

EPHS Baseball
As of press time, the third place Townies are entering state playoff action with an 11-7 Division One record. The Townies are scheduled to take on Toll Gate on May 29th. Games will be updated on ReporterToday.com.

Townies take two over Cranston East as playoffs approach. East Providence had a five run lead over pesky Cranston East but had to hold on for an 8-6 win on May 23rd at Cranston. The Bolt rallied with four runs in the third inning and outhit EP 10 - 8. The Townies scored four runs in the top of the first inning and another two in the second and fourth innings. Robbie Costa pitched six innings for EP striking out four along the way. Costa also batted three for four and Seth Daly added two hits. Cole Poissant scored three of the Townies runs. Ron Lima pitched the last inning for EP striking out two.

The Townies scored an impressive 7-0 win over Cranston East on Senior Day, May 21st at Pierce Stadium. Seth Daly shut out Cranston East with a complete game victory. Daly had command of his pitches all day as he struck out 10 and only allowed two hits while not walking a batter. The Townies offense did the rest as they started early by taking a 1-0 lead after the first inning. East Providence only amassed 7 hits but they came in timely fashion and EP took advantage of a couple of Cranston East errors. The Townies scored 2 runs each in the 2nd, 3rd and 4th innings. Silveira and Daly each had two hits for the Townies. EP had 6 stolen bases with Josh Silveira leading the way with 3 thefts. Rob Costa stole 2 and Cole Poissant stole a base. There were no Townie errors.

Earlier in May, East Providence split a series with Smithfield with similar scores. Seth Daly shut down Smithfield, throwing a complete game shutout and leading the Townies to a 5-0 victory on May 15th. Winning pitcher Seth Daly singled on a 3-1 count in the first inning for an RBI. EP scored three more runs in the fifth inning. Rob Costa, Javonie Lindell, and Nate Anselmo all moved runners across the plate with RBIs in the inning. Seth Daly allowed three hits and no runs over six and two-thirds innings. Daly had 11 strikeouts and just one walk. East Providence had 12 hits. Cole Poissant, Josh Silveira, Anselmo, and Costa all managed multiple hits for East Providence. Poissant went 3-for-3 at the plate to lead the Townies Varsity in hits. The Townies were quick on the bases stealing seven bases during the game. Poissant had two steals.

However, Smithfield came back the next day and bopped the Townies 5-1. Smithfield scored three runs in the seventh inning to break open a close 2-1 game. Each team had 9 hits. Rob Costa pitched for East Providence, allowing five runs on nine hits over six and a third innings. Ron Lima threw two-thirds of an inning in relief for EP. Micah Abrams and Nate Anselmo each had two hits for East Providence.

The Townie nine also shut out Johnston 10-0 at Pierce Stadium last month. Cole Poissant, who usually is behind the plate catching, was on the mound for East Providence. Poissant impressed with a complete game three-hit shutout with 7 strikeouts. Sam Budnick and Julian Reis had key doubles and Burdick had 5 RBI's. Along with Burdick's three hits, Zack Fanara, Seth Daly, Cole Poissant, Julian Reis and Andrew Mongeon chipped in two hits each. With Poissant on the mound, Andrew Mongeon caught and did a great job. Out of 97 pitches, Poissant threw 57 strikes in an impressive performance.

EP also beat Johnston again the next day with a 5-0 shutout on a Seth Daly masterpiece on the mound. Daly allowed no runs and gave up three hits for the complete game shutout. The Townies Josh Silveira and Cole Poissant each two hits to lead the EP offense.

In early May the Townies defeated Moses Brown in back to back wins. East Providence won 6-4 and then 3-0. With the first game at four, Julian Reis knocked in a run on a ground ball. Earlier in the game Rob Costa drove in a run on a double. Costa pitched seven innings giving up
four runs on nine hits, striking out two and walking none. East Providence had seven hits in the game. Zack Fanara and Nate Anselmo each had two hits to lead the Townies.

Seth Daly tossed a shutout as East Providence defeated Moses Brown 3-0 on the next day. Daly allowed just three hits and struck out 13 batters. Nate Anselmo led East Providence going 3 for 3 at the plate.

Five Townies on Division One All-Star Team:
Five EPHS Baseball players selected for Division 1 All-Star Game. Cole Poissant, Josh Silveira, Zack Fanara, Seth Daly and Nate Anselmo.

EPHS Boys Tennis Quarterfinals
The Townies lost a close quarterfinal playoff match to Scituate, 4-2 in late May. In singles play the Townies Constantino Capobianco defeated Shane Langton, Scituate,6-2,6-3. EP's Louis Mesi defeated Noah Brown, Scituate, 6-3,6-2. Doubles team victories put Scituate over the top stopping the Townies. Scituate moved to 12-2 on the season and East Providence finished at 10-4 for a solid season.

The Townies tennis team had rolled into playoff action with a 10-3 record. East Providence had wins last month over Burrillville, Providence Country Day, Exeter West Greenwich and Woonsocket. The team lost to Scituate and Shea/Tolman.

Against PCD, EP singles winners were; Louis Mesi and Jackson Ponte. Doubles winners were; Nikolai Zakrzewski and Kendrick Dias, Brandon Charette won by forfeit.

Against EWG, EP singles winners were; Constantino Capobianco, Jared Zollo, Louis Mesi, and Jackson Ponte. Doubles winners were Brandon Charette, Kendrick Dias.

EPHS Lacrosse
The EPHS boys and girls lacrosse teams have struggled this season to find wins in a relatively new sport to the High School, but the boys team had an impressive first win last month. The Townies defeated North Smithfield 7-5 in an away contest. "Our team keeps playing hard," said coach Angelo Pizzi. "Our players had a pretty well-balance offense and we played good defense," added the coach. East Providence came from behind to gain their first victory. Noah Kollett led EP with 3 goals, John Voll added 2 goals with Jeff Clark and Owen Charron each scoring a goal. Townie net minder Sean Baird was impressive with 15 saves.

EP also beat Scituate in an exciting 3-2 game. With under a minute left to play, Owen Charron scored giving East Providence the win. Charron had two goals for the Townies. Goalie Sean Baird made 12 saves for EP.

EPHS Girls Lacrosse: While the girls LAX has not found a win, it isn't for lack of trying. The team has had a couple of close games and the players continue to work hard. Several Townies have scored on the season in search of that first team win: Leading the Townies with 18 goals so far is Ashley Dias. Kylie Bahry and Olivia Williams have scored 10 goals each. Ellen Phillips has 6 goals. Lilly Palumbo has scored 5 times.

EPHS Golf Team Move On To State Title Meet
In a three-way match on May 20th at East Providence's Metacomet Golf Course, the Townies bested Bay View and Middletown in an Eastern Division playoff. The Townies showed a winning team score of 181. Middletown was at 191 and Bay View finished with a 195 score. Michael Wetmore 43, Seth DiMaria 45, Tyler Azevedo 46 and Cameron Ellinwood 47 were the Townie players and scores for the par 36 course. The Townies last played for a state title in 2008.

Bay View Softball
Bay View defeated Portsmouth and Tiverton in May while losing to St. Ray's, South Kingstown and Scituate. In the 5-2 win over Tiverton, Becca Vaillancourt had 3 hits including a homerun. Emily Heath pitched the last three innings and struck out seven. Elayan Jaques also pitched for the Bengals. BayView defeated Block Island 5-1 on May 24th and also defeated Portsmouth 10-5 on May 23rd. The Bengals began playoff action on May 29th against West Warwick and scores will be updated on the ReporterToday web site.

CCRI On To National Junior College Baseball Title With EP Flair
Former Townie standout and RI Player of the Year, Ben Sears, has pitched CCRI into the National Championship game to be played in Greenville, Tenn. CCRI swept Suffolk County CC of New York in a best of three series. Sears pitched a complete game victory for the Knights giving up just 5 hits and striking out 12. Also pitching tremendous baseball for CCRI was former Townie C.J. Woods. Woods tossed a complete game victory for the Knights. Joining Sears and Woods on the CCRI squad are former Townies Ray Aponte, Anthony Ramos and Alex Martinez. In one of the earlier playoff games, Aponte had three hits including a homerun. Updates will be provided on line.

Townie Grad Jarron Santos to Attend Virginia State University
Former EP Townie basketball star, Jarron Santos, known as "JC," has excelled at CCRI and now has signed on to play ball for Virginia State University. Santos helped CCRI to a 28-4 record and made it to the 2019 National Division Two tournament, according to the CCRI athletic web site. Santos averaged over 16 points a game for CCRI and is projected to help VSU.

New England Junior Jaguars AAU Take Holiday Baseball Title
The New England Junior Jaguars 9U AAU baseball team, made up of local players from five different little leagues, won the 2019 Memorial Day Blast Tournament. The Jaguars finished the two day tournament undefeated with a 5-0 record.

The Jaguars won two games handily on the Saturday and then won three consecutive games on Sunday including an exciting walk off win in the last inning of the second game. In the final championship game, the Jaguars got behind early but rallied for a crowd pleasing championship win. "We played five games in two days and every player contributed," said coach Vincent Enright. "Myself and the coaches are very proud of these players. They came from Riverside, EP Central, Barrington, PineView and Darlington. They came together as one super team, not just a group thrown together. They worked very hard and played together as a baseball family," added Enright.

Enright who is also a coach in Riverside Little League expressed his appreciation to Rumford Little League President Ed Wencis for hosting the tournament. The games were played at the Kim Rock Little league Complex in Rumford. Eight teams from throughout New England participated. In the end, it was the local Jaguars defeating a team from Maine for the title.

In random order the Jaguars players are: Chris Charbonneau, Jacob Allard, Jordan Nary, Jose Figueroa, Alex Enright, Jonathan "JJ" Renaud, Finn Loverme, Parker Andrews, Andrew Schebel, Anthony Nolette, Wyatt Andrews and Gabe Ferreira. Team Manager is Vincent Enright, assisted by Matt Ferreira, Michael Sabourin and Vinny Enright.