PROVIDENCE — For just the second time in the near-century long history of the program in the Interscholastic League, the East Providence High School baseball team is a champion.

Tim Robitaille tossed a complete-game shutout and Nolan Lorenz drove in the lone run of the contest in the fourth inning as the Townies defeated East Greenwich 1-0 Monday, June 19, in the third-and-deciding outing of the 2023 best-of-three Division II title series at Rhode Island College's Pontarelli Field.

Robitaille worked himself out of his toughest jam of the day in the bottom of the seventh inning to clinch the crown. The sophomore right-hander gave up two of his four hits in the game to the leadoff and second Avenger to come to the plate in the frame. However, he next enticed a pair of soft pop-outs then fanned EG's Ryan Sheeran for the championship-winning out.

"I just thought to myself throw strikes," Robitaille said of his day on the mound. "And you know we have the one run, but that doesn't mean anything. We just had to keep shoving and hope we came out of this with a championship."

Robitaille, the tough-luck loser in a chaotic finish to Game 1 of the series on June 15, finished with a line of five strikeouts, the four hits and three walks. He actually kept EG hitless through four innings. He threw 106 pitches, four less than the maximum allowable.

Though he faced the minimum nine batters through three, Robitaille was aided after walking the second hitting in bottom of the first by the sixth caught-stealing throw of the series from his batterymate at catcher Brian Rutkowski.

Also, in the fourth, following another free pass and an errant pickoff attempt to first, Manny Santos helped his pitcher avert a deeper crisis with a running catch of a fly towards the left field corner.

And Robitaille got out of the other potential Avenger threat in the fifth when he sandwiched two of his Ks around two EG singles and a lazy flyout to Lorenz in right, who really made his mark on the game a bit earlier.

Lorenz, a freshman left-handed batter and thrower, came up with the day's most clutch knock off East Greenwich starter Grogan O'Brien in yet another hectic half inning played between the sides, the top of the fourth.

Santos, EP's other lefty at the plate, led off the frame with a slicing drive towards the left field line that EG's Sheeran dived for and got a glove on, but could not complete the catch. Instead, Santos safely made it to second. Robitaille followed with a short fly to left center that Sheeran this time dived for and caught for certain. He threw back to second to double-off Santos, who strayed too far off the bag.

O'Brien, a senior right-hander who went the first five on the mound for the Avs, appeared to get out of the jam when he enticed Ziurel Vargas into a grounder to third, but EG's Ryan Fay booted the ball to keep the inning alive.

O'Brien (5 innings, 5 hits, 1 walk, 2 strikeouts, 2 hit batsmen) then hit Oliver Andrews to move Vargas into scoring position, Lorenz followed with a seeing-eye grounder the middle. The ball made it to center and a good throw would have gotten Vargas, but Cade Thomas's toss was well up the third base line and the EP senior scored relatively easily.

O'Brien did get the next batter, Gavin Palombo, to flyout to end the rally. EP's tally, obviously due to the fielding miscue, was unearned.

The run proved enough for Robitaille, who together with classmate and fellow righty Dylan Annicelli formed a formidable 1-2 duo atop the EP rotation all year. Robitaille went 4-1 in the postseason, 3-0 in pod play leading up to the finals. Annicelli went 2-1 in both the pod and championship series.

"To do it with this group of guys, I got really lucky," Robitaille said of winning the title. "From the beginning of this season to now we've been working on becoming one, becoming a family and being better together."

As mentioned, the 2023 Townies captured just the second-ever title in the school's 91-year history of playing Interscholastic League sanctioned baseball. Head coach Bobby Rodericks Jr. was also at the helm when EPHS won the 2014 Division II title, sweeping North Smithfield in the best-of-three final by the scores of 5-2 and 3-1.

This spring, the Townies had to go the distance in the final after losing the first game to East Greenwich 3-2 in eight innings. Annicelli went six-and-2/3s and Jack McKnight struck out the only batter he faced as the pair combined for a 1-0 victory in Game 2 Sunday, June 18.