Saturday, June 8, 2024 RI High School Championship Recap

Another crop of high school champions were crowned Saturday in Rhode Island, ending the spring season for all but a few teams and The Journal staff – Eric Rueb, Bill Koch and Jake Rousseau, along with freelancer William Geoghegan and photographers David DelPoio, Louis Walker III and Glenn Osmundson – were there at every stop, from the baseball and softball diamonds and volleyball courts of Rhode Island College to the legendary Cardines Field in Newport.

Here’s a recap of Saturday’s championship action.

BASKETBALL

Hendricken claws his way to the state championship

Bishop Hendricken star Griffin Crain had a game he will remember for the rest of his life. The Louisville commit threw a complete game on the mound and the Hawks offense put together a pair of rallies that made the difference in the Division I state championship against South Kingstown. Hendricken won 7-1 to complete a Division I sweep in this best-of-3 title round at RIC’s Pontarelli Field.

“I feel like I needed it,” Crain said of winning the title. “I feel like I’m complete. Three years without it, a few heartbreakers – it’s just great to come out of here with a win.

Westerly meets the high expectations

The Bulldogs put the finishing touches on a second Division II championship at Rhode Island College, more glory for a city and a team that has endured three decades without anything like it. Jack Tenuta, Zach Miner and Tom Fiore all played at Pontarelli Field. East Greenwich came under fire early and couldn’t catch up as Westerly cruised to a 6-3 victory and a best-of-3 series sweep.

“I’m just happy that we can represent the community in a positive way,” Tenuta said. “Everyone was behind us. It just feels great to do this for our city and for our community.”

Not done yet

The third baseball championship game of the day was not as decisive as the first two. That’s because West Warwick, which lost its first game of the season on Wednesday when Rogers stunned the Wizards 3-1 in the best-of-three Division III title series, returned to form in Game 2 at Cardines Field. West Warwick posted an 11-1 win over Rogers to force a winner-take-all match Sunday at 1 p.m. (Check providencejournal.com/sports for the outcome later today.)

SOFTBALL

Tribal Chiefs Survive Bulldogs for Div. III Championship

In what was a shaky battle for the Division II championship, it was a freshman who delivered in the bottom of the eighth inning for Ponaganset against Westerly at Rhode Island College. Ponaganset’s Ava DiFiore led off the bottom of the eighth with a double and two batters later, freshman Mia Duncan singled to bring DiFiore home with the winning run in a 9-8 win over Westerly that gave the Chieftains the D-II title.

“I’m ecstatic,” Duncan said. “There really are no thoughts up there. I’m just over the moon right now.”

BOYS VOLLEYBALL

La Salle takes its second straight state title

The Rams appeared poised to claim another championship, but gave up five straight match points to North Kingstown to turn a fifth-set lead into a deficit in the Division I boys volleyball final. But La Salle wouldn’t be put away Saturday at Rhode Island College without a fight for the crown of his own. Christopher Benell won a point in the middle to regain the lead, and again on match point the Rams turned to their star.

Ephraim Abhulime, lined up on the outside, charged up for the game-winning block. And the senior came through with a denial of North Kingstown’s surge in an emphatic return-to-sender finish for a 3-2 (23-25, 25-18, 25-15, 16-25, 17-15) victory for La Salle’s second consecutive state championship.

“I’m ecstatic in that moment after the block,” Abhulime said. “I was hoping to take it home because they were fighting for every ball, so it felt great to get the last action of the game.”

Confident Pawtucket walks the walk

Hayson Ortiz called his team’s shot after the semifinals. He knew Pawtucket boys volleyball was destined to win the Division III crown before Saturday’s match even started, and he said so. And the No. 1 seed Shea/Tolman (19-1) co-op made good on the junior’s claim as Pawtucket powered its way to the league crown, 3-0 (25-19, 25-22, 25-12), against Central Falls.

“I knew we were going to win and we came in and won in three sets,” Ortiz said. “Once the ball went out of bounds (for the final point), I was so excited.”

Pawtucket never trailed by more than a point against second-seeded Central Falls (17-3) to cap off a dominant season.