EAST PROVIDENCE — The East Providence High School softball team returned to the diamond over the last week for the start of its 2023 Division I regular season schedule, in the process christening the new complex on the Townies' Pawtucket Avenue grounds in city.

A year in the making, the location includes dugouts, bullpens, batting cages and roll-away fencing to give the multi-purpose field (which can triple as a full-sized soccer pitch or a lacrosse field) a more cozy feel for softball.

So far this spring, the Townies are already 2-0 on the young league season. EPHS defeated Chariho 3-0 in its D-I opener on March 31 then handed league newbie Prout, the reigning D-II champs, a 12-2 shellacking in the first ever game at the reconstructed Traverse Park, named in the honor of long-time former EPHS coach Rob Traverse.

A few years before voters approved the $189.5 million high school project in 2018, Traverse brought the Townies back from Pierce Field to the EPHS campus by refurbishing the moribund softball diamond. With the help of donors, grants and the East Providence Career and Tech Center Construction program, the field had permanent dugouts, storage, refreshment stand/announcer booth and lighting before it needed to torn down to make way for the new school.

"I could not have asked for a better start than 2-0," said Townies' head coach Katie Kenahan, who actually took over for Traverse in 2020, but saw that initial season canceled due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March of that year.

"From the beginning of the year until now I've noticed a different vibe in the team. It's senior leadership, and they carry us in a really positive way. And I think it trickles down," Kenahan added.

Eight of the Townies' nine starters to begin 2023 are returnees to varsity, including a number of key fourth-year players like senior captain Keira Quadros, back in the circle as East Providence's No. 1 pitcher. Her batterymate, senior captain Ava Mendence, is also back behind the plate at catcher while classmate and captain Emma Bergeron once again plays first base.

"I'm just expecting them to continue to do what they did last year," Kenahan said of her veteran pitcher/catcher combo. "They were already dominating last year, so I'm just expecting them to just continue to roll. The pressure is off for them. They already committed (to attend and continue playing at Roger Williams University in the fall), so now it's just about having fun and playing softball."

Another returning starter is senior Josley Sosa, who moves from the outfield to play second. Sophomore Mackenzie Pimentel starts at short with classmate Emma Boisseau at third.

The outfield to begin the spring includes returning seniors Mariel De Jesus in left and Kayleen Kim in right.

Two newcomers to the opening nine are freshman Trinity Provencher, who starts in center, and sophomore Sylvie Patterson, who has already seen time as the the Townies' Designated Player (DP), the softball equivalent of baseball's Designated Hitter (DH).

At bat, Provencher leads off followed by Sosa. Mendence begins the heart of the order in the three hole. She crushed the first-ever homer at the new EPHS field earlier this week, a three-run bomb. Pimentel is in the clean-up, with Quadros and Bergeron next. Boisseau get the bottom third going with Patterson and Kim rounding out the order. De Jesus is East Providence's "FLEX" player, which means she only bats when Kenahan opts not to use a DP.

"Win or lose, we just want to have fun," Quadros said of the season ahead. "I want us to be able to look back on this time, take whatever we can from it, learn from it and move on. As far as our core senior group, there's a lot of underclassmen and we just want to have a really good environment to come back to because of the vibe we have going this year."

The rest of the opening day varsity roster includes junior Kaylee Paolo, sophomore Hannah Bone, freshman Cassie DuLude, freshman Nethania Figueora, sophomore Brennyn Alves and sophomore Ava Frazao.

"I have six seniors, three captains, but they're all leaders. The rest of the team is young," said Kenahan, who has guided many of her players since her days as head coach the Riverside Middle School squad. "I only have one junior this year. The rest are young kids. So they've all kind of accepted the new kids as part of our little community."

The Townies, as a group, will be seeking to better their 7-11 D-I regular season record of a year ago. East Providence, the ninth seed, lost to eighth-seeded Cumberland in extra innings, falling by a 3-2 in eight.

"I'm super superstitious so I'm not going to say anything except we're just going to take it one game at a time and just keep the positive energy going. But playoffs are definitely our goal," Kenahan added.

After playing rival LaSalle on the road in a league game April 5, the Townies close of the week at home April 7 against Pilgrim at 5:30 p.m. EPHS plays twice over the April recess: a D-I outing Monday the 10th on the East Side of Providence against Moses Brown at 4:15 p.m. and at home Wednesday the 12th in a non-league contest against neighbor Barrington at noon.

The Townies take the rest of the vacation off before returning to D-I action at home Tuesday night, April 18, against Smithfield at 5:30.