EPHS sports notes: Townies fall out of baseball, softball playoffs

Springs seasons end for most EPHS athletes

Photos by Tyler Maxwell
Posted 6/3/19

EAST PROVIDENCE — The 2019 spring seasons for most of the East Providence High School teams came to a close over the last week plus, including the Townies’ baseball and softball sides, …

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EPHS sports notes: Townies fall out of baseball, softball playoffs

Springs seasons end for most EPHS athletes

Posted

EAST PROVIDENCE — The 2019 spring seasons for most of the East Providence High School teams came to a close over the last week plus, including the Townies’ baseball and softball sides, which after each won their respective 2019 Division I state tournament openers played Wednesday, May 29, both fell in the single-elimination second round.
Softball
On campus, the EPHS softball side easily handled visiting Cumberland by a 7-2 score in its preliminary round contest last Wednesday. Tanya Cooper was the winning pitcher, throwing six innings for the sixth-seeded Townies, who scored runs in the bottom of the second through the sixth to build a commanding 7-0 lead. The 11th-seeded Clippers got on the board with two in the top of the seventh, but it was too little, too late.
Cooper had two of the 12 EPHS hits in the contest. Sophie Patterson went 3-for-3 and scored twice while Vianna Cunningham drove in four on two hits, including a solo homer.
The win sent the Townies into the quarterfinals against third-seeded and host Coventry for a game Thursday afternoon, May 30, when the host Oakers held off the locals for a 5-3 victory. The contest was a quick rematch of a game played Memorial Day also in Coventry, when the Oakers defeated the Townies, 6-5, and topped EPHS for first place in the division. Coventry earned a first-round bye wit the victory.
Last Thursday, the host Oakers spotted the Townies a run in the top of the first prior to putting a pair on the board in the bottom of the fourth. EPHS cut its deficit in half with a run in the sixth, but this time Coventry answered with three in the home half to regain a working advantage. East Providence tacked on a run in the seventh before the potential rally and its season ended.
Coventry earned a berth into the double-elimination portion of the state tournament, both the semifinal and final rounds, which started Tuesday, June 4, at Rhode Island College.
Baseball
At Pierce Field, the EPHS baseball team defeated guest Toll Gate, 6-1, in its first round contest. The Townies, seeded fourth out of the I-A subgroup, led for most of the contest, gradually building its edge before ended the season for the Titans, seeded fifth from I-B.
Seth Daly was the winning pitcher for the locals, going the seven-inning distance and tossing exactly 100 pitches. The senior scattered six hits, struck out eight and the Toll Gate run was unearned. Julian Reis and Zach Fanara each had two hits to pace the Townie offense.
EPHS advanced to the quarterfinals opposite I-B top seed and rival LaSalle in Providence Friday afternoon, May 31. The host Rams scored twice in the bottom of the first inning to build an early lead then tacked four more tallies to its advantage in the home half of the fourth. Fanara drove in the Townies’ lone run with a two-out, bases loaded single in the fifth. The rally, however, ended when a second runner attempting to score on the play was thrown out at the plate.
LaSalle, which went 16-2 to place first in its pod and had a bye through the opening round, moved on to a best-of-three semifinal round series this week against Portsmouth, 13-11 winners over Ponaganset in its quarterfinal game. EPHS finished its spring with a 12-8 record in league games.
Boys’ volleyball
The EPHS boys’ volleyball team closed its 2019 season last week with a pair of Division I matches, including its first win in the league. The Townies did so in their final home outing, a 3-0 decision over Central by the scores of 25-21, 25-23 and 25-22. Fittingly, seniors Tiago Fernandes led the locals with 10 kills and Tyler Martins added five.
Thursday night, May 30, in Providence, EPHS capped its campaign with a 3-0 loss to host LaSalle by the scores of 25-18, 25-19 and 25-14. Fernandes had a team best six kills for the locals. The Townies completed their year with a 1-16 league record and 2-17 overall.
Golf
The EPHS golf team returned to the RIIL State Championship Tournament for the first time in a decade last week at Cranston Country Club. The Townies shot a combined 366 to miss the team cut. EPHS was led by the 81 of freshman Michael Wetmore. The other scorers for the locals were Kyle Duggan with a 93, Tyler Azevedo with a 95 and Cam Ellenwood with a 97.
Wheeler won the title by one shot over Hendricken and East Greenwich with a two-day total of 645. Reigning champ Moses Brown was fourth at 654 and Barrington was fifth at 658. Middletown’s Mason Gilman was the individual champion shooting rounds of 73 and 70 to finish at 1-over, 143 over two days. He was nine shots better than Nick Petracca of North Providence and 10 shots ahead of East Greenwich’s Ethan Kuzneski. Wetmore wound up alone in 20th with a 166 total. Twenty-nine individuals made the solo cut, which was 10 shots within the first round lead.
Two weeks ago in the girls’ individual championship tournament played at Newport Country Club, Wheeler’s Allison Paik won the title with a three-over round of 75. Bay View’s Lauren Dohoney finished third with an 89 followed teammate Emily Levesque in fourth with a 91.

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