A superb summer of baseball for the Riverside Post 10 Junior Division club came to an end Sunday afternoon, Aug. 6, with a 5-0 loss to Post 87 from Lowell, Mass., in the championship game of the 2023 American Legion Northeast Regional Tournament held last weekend at McCarthy Field in West Warwick.

In becoming the first team from Rhode Island to reach the regional final since a previous Post 10 incarnation accomplished the feat in 2013, Riverside opened the single-elimination event by beating the Connecticut state champ from Naugatuck 7-0 on Friday, Aug. 4, then defeated the New York state champ from Rockville 7-4 Saturday, Aug. 5.

Lowell, which finished second to Pittsfield in the Massachusetts state tournament, shutout Connecticut runner-up West Hartford 5-0 Friday, and bested New Hampshire champ Berlin 16-6 on Saturday.

Post 10 finished its summer with a 17-5 overall record. Riverside placed first in the 2023 Rhode Island American Legion Baseball League regular season standings and was the top seed in the state tournament held the weekend prior also at the McCarthy complex in West Warwick. After dropping into the losers' bracket, the locals settled for being the runners-up to state champ Auburn Cranston Post 20, falling in the final by a 7-3 count on Sunday, July 30.

Riverside's effort was hindered a bit at the state tournament by a Legion rule preventing players from competing if they were involved in other baseball activities during the event. The locals were unable to use five of its players last weekend due to the stipulation.

"We certainly had a run," Post 10 head coach Ben Emond said of his team's play the last two weekends. Emond was part of the Riverside staff that also included Frank Devall and Kevin Lethbridge.

He continued, "Before the regional tournament I told our guys let's set a goal of making some noise, show these people who the best team in Rhode Island actually was, considering we were down five players last weekend at states. And I think they really took that to heart. I absolutely believe we achieved that. I feel every team has its own unique individual characteristics. This team was extraordinarily driven, they had fun and they're winners."

Recent Martin Middle School grad and future Moses Brown player Will Haggerty got Post 10 started with a superb pitching performance to begin regionals against Naugatuck. The right-hander went the seven-inning distance, tossing the shutout on just 85 pitches.

On offense, he helped himself with a run-scoring single. His batterymate, Riverside catcher Aiden Martins, scored twice from the leadoff spot. Nolan Lorenz paced the Post 10 attack, going 4-for-4, including a triple. Oliver Andrews also went a perfect 3-for-3. Both drove in runs.

Of note as well, Emond made special mention of Martins for his defensive the last two weeks. The East Providence resident had a superb weekend receiving and throwing out runners attempting to steal while he caught 35 innings in 48 hours in searing heat during the state tourney. He continued his fine work behind the plate at regionals.

Saturday against Rockville, Barrington's Connor Marley was the standout for the locals, throwing five innings to pick up the victory in relief of injured starter James Murphy.

Trailing 2-0 into the fifth, Riverside scored three times to take the lead. Martins put Post 10 in front with a two-run single. The locals tacked on four more tallies in the sixth to build a 7-2 edge. Another Moses Brown product, David Murphy, plated a pair with another base hit during the rally.

In Sunday's final against the Mass. state champs, Ben Hellene kept Riverside in the game with a fine start on the mound, but he was matched by Lowell left-hander Keegan Hunt whom Emond credited with "working quickly and keeping us off balance. It was a very impressive performance."

Hunt gave up just two hits, singles by Haggerty and Lorenz. Lowell led only 1-0 after scoring a run in the third then the eventual region winners scored four times in the bottom sixth to break the game open.

"I would say that we had a dream season," Emond added of the 2023 summer as a whole. "I told a few trusted friends before the season began that this was the most talented team I've ever been a part of putting together. We finished first in the regular season, went to the state finals. We beat the Connecticut and New York state champs and made it to the regional finals, so I think they achieved everything we expected of them and more. It was a great year."