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Looking for high school playoff scores?
This is your one-stop-shop for all of Rhode Island’s playoff results for Friday, May 24. Baseball, softball, boys and girls lacrosse and tennis were all in action for a busy night around the state.
Coaches, reporting scores and stats is easy. You can call us (401-277-7340) or email us (PJSports@ProvidenceJournal.com) with the following information – final score, three big performers from the winning team, one from the losing team and any other information that is pertinent to the game.
We’ll make sure it gets in.
No. 6 La Salle 4, No. 11 Pilgrim 1
La Salle trailed briefly before plating three runs in the home half of the third inning to advance to the opening round of the double-elimination portion of Pod 2. The third-inning rally came with two outs in the frame, and the Rams down 1-0, as Aiden Ciprian (2-for-3) started the sequence with a single to the left side to score Angelo Fuscellaro from second. The Rams then worked back-to-back walks before Nate Bautista had a massive two-RBI single to left field for a 3-1 advantage. Caden Calabro capped the scoring for the Rams with an RBI-single in the sixth. Patrick Jones picked up the win with a complete game effort with seven strikeouts to just three walks and a trio of hits allowed.
La Salle now plays at Cumberland, in a rematch of last year’s championship, on Tuesday.
Tyler Nadeau scored on a wild pitch to give Pilgrim its 1-0 lead. Jack McConnell went 4 1/3 innings with three earned runs on three hits.
No. 8 Coventry 7, No. 9 Cranston West 1
Coventry defended its home diamond beautifully behind a massive day from its star, Anthony Colucci. The senior went the distance on the mound allowing just three hits to silence Cranston West. Colucci landed the game’s biggest blast, a third-inning grand slam, to run the Oakers into the Pod 1 opening round against Hendricken. Alex Donehower also had some clutch hitting just an inning later with a bases-loaded two-RBI single for Coventry.
No. 7 Portsmouth 7, No. 10 Moses Brown 3
Here’s what you need to know about the RI high school baseball playoffs
No. 7 Narragansett 2, No. 10 Tiverton 1
Jackson Hohl did not let the Mariners’ season end early as the sophomore smacked the walk-off hit to center to top Tiverton at Sprague Field in eight innings. Skyler Fratiello-Soule walked to start the game-winning sequence and then Finn Jennings (2-for-3 day) knocked an infield single to give the Mariners runners on first and second with no outs. After a strikeout and a fielder’s choice, Riley Cronin singled to load the bases and then Hohl (3-for-5 on the day) ended the game with his heroics. Zayden Kent pitched 5 1/3 innings and had seven strikeouts for Narragansett, who face Barrington in the next round. Zachary Previte gave Narragansett its first lead with an RBI knock to left in the fifth inning.
Kamdyn Rego pitched six innings giving up just an unearned run and fanned six. Brody Travers had Tiverton’s lone RBI to knot the contest in the sixth inning.
No. 5 East Providence 1, No. 12 Chariho 0
Fifth-seeded East Providence survived No. 12 Chariho’s upset bid on Gavin Palombo’s walk-off hit in the bottom of the eighth. The sophomore smacked a ground ball up-the-middle to score Nolan Lorenz from second with two outs in the inning. Lorenz walked and then advanced to second on a fielder’s choice before Palombo dashed the Chargers’ hope. It was a true pitcher’s duel with Tim Robitaille going 7 2/3 with just three hits allowed, while fanning 10 for East Providence. And Chariho’s Landon Sumner, a sophomore, matched the Townies with three hits allowed, 10 strikeouts and four walks.
East Providence takes on Johnston in the Pod 1 opening round on May 28 at 6 p.m.
No. 6 St. Raphael 4, No. 11 North Providence 3
The Saints surrendered three runs, and their lead, in the top of the seventh. But that just made for some walk-off baseball. Tyler Tremblay singled to center and Harold Fernandez worked a five-pitch walk. Michael Frausto also walked to load the bases and Tremblay scored the winner on a past ball. Tremblay was 2-for-2 with three runs scored and Carson Dupras finished 2-for-3 with a pair of RBIs.
St. Raphael moves on to play No. 3 East Greenwich on Tuesday.
North Providence made it interesting on Tony Abed’s two-RBI single to center to tie the game, but the Cougars stranded two runners in the frame.
No. 9 Burrillville 10, No. 8 Prout 4
No. 9 North Smithfield 10, No. 8 Classical 0
The Northmen bats gave starting pitcher, Kayden Artruc, more than enough support. The senior pitched five innings of two-hit ball with four Ks as North Smithfield secured the mercy rule win and advance to play West Warwick on Tuesday. Artruc was part of the terrific hitting for North Smithfield after a 4-for-4 day with an RBI and two runs scored. The Northmen were leading 4-0 after four innings, but plated six in the sixth inning. Daniel Harrison went 1-for-3 with two RBIs. Nathan Dec was 2-for-4 with two RBIs and Jayden Lynch also had a pair of hits with an RBI.
No. 6 Mount Pleasant 9, No. 11 Providence Country Day 1
The hosts and defending league champs, tallied eight hits in six innings to cruise to the preliminary round win. The damage was done in the fifth inning as the Kilties broke open a 2-0 game with five runs in the frame. Ed Roquez doubled in the first run and then the Kilties had four straight baserunners (three walks; HBP) before Alci Castillo’s two-RBI single made it 7-0. Castillo finished 2-for-3 with three RBIs. Roquez picked up the win with just one hit allowed through six innings.
Mount Pleasant travels to No. 3 Rogers on Tuesday at Cardines Field. First pitch is set for 5 p.m.
No. 5 Exeter-West Greenwich 2, No. 12 Hope 1
Two runs in the bottom of the fourth for the Scarlet Knights was the difference in this nail-biter. After Kole Kilduff reached on an error, James Smith hit a two-bagger to left to score Kilduff to tie the game. Smith advanced to third later in the frame on an error and came into score on a past ball. Smith was 2-for-3 in the game and Kilduff pitched four innings of two-hit ball with seven strikeouts. Tyler Medeiros also threw three scoreless innings to keep Hope from equalizing.
EWG plays No. 4 Scituate on Tuesday in the Pod 1 opening round.
Raynel Rodriguez did everything he could for the Blue Wave with six innings on the bump and just three hits and no earned runs. The junior also struck out six with one walk.
No. 7 Juanita Sanchez 15, No. 10 Times2 4 (5)
The Cavaliers scored 15 runs on 14 hits to advance to the next round with ease. Isaiah Bento Vasquez had the biggest day at the plate with a 2-for-3 effort with a home run and four RBIs. Juan Castillo managed three hits (double, triple) with three RBIs. And Brailin Dominguez struck out 11 and 4-for-4 at the dish.
No. 6 East Greenwich 1, No. 11 North Kingstown 0
Ava Fairbanks led off the bottom of the first with an inside-the-park home run and then went out and shoved for six more innings, guiding the Avengers to a 1-0 win over the Skippers.
After pitching a 1-2-3 first, Fairbanks led off for East Greenwich in the bottom half of the inning. She took a ball on the first pitch, the sliced a shot to left field on the second offering. The North Kingstown left fielder tried to make a diving play on the ball but couldn’t get to it and it ran to the fence, allowing the speedy Fairbanks to circle the bases with the game’s first run.
It proved to be enough. The All-Stater had her A-game on Friday. She retired the first 13 batters she faced before giving up a hit to Gianna Amedeo with one out in the fifth.
North Kingstown tried to rally in the seventh. Mia D’Andrea – who reached via a fielder’s choice after a Riley McHale single – took second on an infield single by Julianna Bucci, but Fairbanks locked in from there. She induced a pop out, then finished the game with a strikeout.
Amadeo picked up the tough-luck loss for NK. The sophomore was electric, giving up five hits and walking one while striking out four.
East Greenwich now moves on to the double-elimination portion of the Division I Tournament and will travel to take on Pilgrim next week.
No. 5 Cranston West 4, No. 12 Moses Brown 1
With teammate Mia Crudale engaged in a pitching duel with Anna Costello, Falcons’ freshman Mia Baffoni came up in the sixth inning with the support Crudale needed, ripping a two-out, two-strike double that scored the go-ahead runs in their 4-1 win over the Quakers.
Cranston West’s first run of the game was scored because of an error and when Moses Brown handed out another extra out in the sixth, the Falcons took advantage.
Samantha Healy’s bloop single advanced Nicole Silvestri to second and set the stage for Baffoni. The freshman took a strike, fouled off a pitch and after a ball, ripped a shot over the left-fielder’s head for a two-run double. Mia Santomassimo followed with an RBI single to put West ahead 4-1.
It was more cushion than Crudale needed. The junior didn’t get off to the best start, walking MB leadoff batter Abigail DeWolfe, who advanced on a steal and a bunt single before scoring on a passed ball.
But after that Crudale was lights out. After pitching herself out of the jam in the first, she gave up one more hit and didn’t find herself in trouble until the fifth. Crudale again walked DeWolfe to start the inning and DeWolfe took second on a sac bunt, forcing Crudale to face Coco Medeiros and Costello – the Quakers’ best two hitters – with one.
Crudale – who finished the game with 10 strikeouts – came through clutch, getting a pop fly to center and a strikeout to end the threat.
Costello was impressive in defeat. The two-time All-Stater dominated from start to finish, striking out 11. Costello gave up four runs, all unearned.
Cranston West moves on to the double-elimination portion of the Division I Tournament and will take on No. 4 Prout Tuesday at 4 p.m.
No. 1 Central Falls 15, No. 4 Juanita Sanchez 1
LC Collins and Jeilyn Nieves paced the offense as the Warriors cruised to a 15-1 win over the Cavaliers.
Collins was a beast hitting out of the six hole. The freshman went 3-for-5, including a home run, with five RBI and two runs scored. Nieves had a nice day hitting in front of Collins, going 2-for-3 with three RBI and three runs scored.
Chloe Acosta pitched a five-inning complete game, striking out nine and giving up just one hit while walking one.
Jezaidy Cortes-Crespo had the only hit for Juanita Sanchez. The Cavaliers drop to the losers’ bracket and will play the loser of Friday’s game between Classical and Providence Co-Op.
The winning coach for the following game did not report results to the Providence Journal or the RIIL:
No. 3 Classical at No. 2 Times2/St. Patrick’s/Paul Cuffee/Lincoln School
No. 4 Barrington 16, No. 5 North Kingstown 4
The Eagles came out flying early and never looked back, cruising to a 16-4 win over the Skippers.
Barrington couldn’t be stopped in the first half and led 10-1 at the break. The Eagles kept their foot on the gas pedal and never gave North Kingstown a chance to think about getting back in the game.
Colin Hope was the motor that made the offense go and finished with three goals and four assists. Ben Parylak and Nick Spaight both scored three goals and had one assist apiece and goalie Grant Isdale had a terrific game in net with 10 saves. Onson Tieu helped ensure the Skippers’ had minimal chances to work with, winning all 14 faceoffs he took.
Collin Petrella and Kaden Priest did all the scoring for North Kingstown with two goals apiece.
Barrington moves on to the Division I semifinals and will play 11-time defending state champ La Salle Tuesday at Cranston Stadium at 5 p.m.
No. 4 Rogers 10, No. 5 Tiverton 3
No. 5 Prout 14, No. 4 East Greenwich 13
Ella Martin came through when the Crusaders needed her most, scoring midway through the fourth quarter before the defense helped secure the 14-13 win over the Avengers.
Offense ruled the day and it was a back-and-forth affair all afternoon. Prout led 13-11 in the fourth quarter before East Greenwich scored two quick goals to tie things up.
Up stepped Martin, who found the back of the net for the fifth time with just over six minutes left and the defense made sure the lead stuck.
Sylvia Mayo led the Crusaders with seven goals and Lizzi Hill had the other two scores. Tessa Charello-Ingegneri led East Greenwich with five goals and Maeve Kiernan scored three.
Prout moves on to the Division I semifinals and will play defending state champion Moses Brown Thursday at Cranston Stadium at 5 p.m.
No. 2 Chariho 13, No. 7 Toll Gate 6
The first half was closer than the Chargers would have liked, but the offense turned things on in the second half and took over the game in a 13-6 win over the Titans.
Chariho was the favorite in this one, but nobody bothered to tell Toll Gate, which hung tough and trailed 6-4 at the break.
It was the wakeup call the Super Chargers needed as the offense exploded in the second half with wins in the draw circle that led to possessions that led to goals and allowed them to build separation to earn the victory.
Chaia Elwell led the way for Chariho with seven goals, Emily Ballard put home two to go with three assist and sister Megan had one goal and three assists. Lola DosSantos, Kylie Hoffman and Aubrey Currier accounted for the other goals.
Adeline Areson was Toll Gate’s top scorer, putting home three goals. Lucy LoJole, Isabelle Lafontaine and Delanie Wheeler scored the other three.
Chariho moves on to the semifinals and will host No. 3 Burrillville next week with a spot in the Division II title game on the line.
No. 3 East Providence 4, No. 6 Prout 0
The Townies wasted little time earing their semifinal spot, getting four straight sets wins capped by No. 1 James McShane to pick up the 4-0 victory over the Crusaders.
East Providence grabbed three singles wins and one in doubles, coming from the No. 2 team of Justin Petion and Brayden Rouette, who grabbed a 6-1, 6-4 win. In singles, No. 3 John Vaughn was the first to finish with a 6-3, 6-3 win and No. 4 Jayden Amaral was done shortly after with his 6-1, 7-5 victory.
With three other matches still going on, McShane sealed the Townies’ semifinal bid with his 6-4, 6-3 win at No. 1.
East Providence advances to next week’s semifinals and will travel to take on No. 2 North Kingstown at a date to be determined.
Winning coaches for the following matches did not report results to the Providence Journal.
No. 4 Moses Brown 4, No. 5 Hendricken 1
No. 8 Narragansett 4, No. 9 Cumberland 1
No. 4 Coventry 4, No. 5 Woonsocket 1
Local News
Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce made a $1 million donation to the Rhode Island Community Food Bank ahead of the couple’s wedding at New York City’s Madison Square Garden, the nonprofit organization announced.
The Rhode Island Community Food Bank — which acts as the primary food distribution center for a network of 137 member agencies across the state — intends to use the contributions to purchase additional food for local families and to provide further support to its member agencies, the food bank said in a press release.
“We are incredibly grateful to Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce for their extraordinarily generous and unexpected gift,” CEO Melissa Cherney said in the release. “As the need across our communities continues to grow, this $1 million donation will go a long way in helping us purchase and distribute the nutritious, culturally appropriate food that Rhode Islanders deserve.”
The food bank thanked the couple in social media posts Friday, a day before Swift and Kelce’s wedding.
“We were THRILLED to learn of this unexpected gift,” the organization wrote, “which comes at a time when the need for food assistance in our state is at an all-time high.”
The food bank said the gift is particularly valuable during the summer, which typically means slower food donations.
“Gifts like this are a powerful reminder of the good we can do with the support of our community,” Cherney said. “This act of generosity shows that, together, we can meet this moment and truly eliminate hunger in our state.”
The $1 million gift is one of several donations the couple made prior to their wedding. Swift and Kelce donated to other northeast charities, including nine in New York and Helping Harvest, a food bank in Pennsylvania, Variety reported.
Rhode Island Community Food Bank noted other large donations made to charities — Feeding America, one of the largest food banks in the U.S., and Harvesters, a regional food bank serving Northeast Kansas and Northwest Missouri.
Feeding America received a $2 million donation, while Harvesters were given $1 million, according to social media posts from the organizations thanking the couple.
“I hope their gift inspires others,” Cherney added. “It has certainly inspired us.”
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DERRY, N.H. (WJAR) — The six New England states are joining forces to help reduce speeding-related crashes and deaths on highways across the region.
Officials announced the “New England Drive to Save Lives” campaign on Monday morning, saying that they were hoping to help shift drivers’ mindsets and foster community responsibility amongst New Englanders on the roads.
As part of the campaign, officers will conduct increased patrols on the road. In addition, highway safety offices throughout New England will hold community outreach events and put public service announcements on social media.
“Throughout the Drive to Save Lives campaign, you will see additional Rhode Island State Police patrols on our highways and local road,” Rhode Island State Police Lt. Brendan Doyle said. “We’ll be working alongside our partners and police departments up and down Interstate 95, and across the state, with one shared goal- saving lives.”
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The Drive to Save Lives campaign is expected to continue through the end of the month.
LaPlante and the school’s board chair, Carol Aguasvivas, had pleaded with lawmakers not to include the bilingual school in the three-year charter school ban, since it had already received an initial approval from the state in January. They met with McKee and asked him to veto it, citing his longstanding support for charter schools. He signed the bill the next day.
“I didn’t think that we were going to have to fight this hard for dual language,” Aguasvivas said. In the workforce, she noted, “Everyone wants you to be bilingual. But how are we going to prepare these children for the future when we’re not giving them the basics to be able to do that?”
The school leaders said they are exploring their options, including litigation, now that it’s been blocked from opening.
De La Comunidad was planning to open in Providence with 140 students in kindergarten through second grade to start, and then expand over nine years into a K-12 school with more than 600 students from Providence, Pawtucket, and Cranston.
The school would have taught both native English and Spanish speakers, with classes taking place in both languages throughout the school day. The goal is for students to become fluent in both languages.
“The only population that’s being affected here are the children,” Aguasvivas said. “Because the school was definitely going to make a difference. And the doors were shut on us before we could even open.”
The school had the backing of state education commissioner Angélica Infante-Green, and its leaders argued it was meeting the needs of Rhode Island’s exploding population of multilingual learners, the term for students learning English as a Second Language.
“We are responsible to going back to those families and telling them that they no longer have a choice,” Aguasvivas said.
The fierce opposition to De La Comunidad was not necessarily about the school itself, or any of its planned bilingual programming. Officials in Cranston and Pawtucket argued another charter school serving their cities would pull even more resources from strained public school budgets. Both cities sued to try and block the school from opening after it received preliminary state approval. (The lawsuit is still pending.)
The teachers unions that pushed for the charter ban also did not cite any specific issues with De La Comunidad’s curriculum or programming, but said local school districts simply cannot afford to send any more money to charter schools.
“They’re laying off large numbers of teachers in some districts,” said Maribeth Calabro, the president of the Rhode Island Federation of Teachers and Health Professionals, one of two major unions. “It’s time for a thoughtful pause of charter expansion, period, full stop.”
“The dual language is absolutely not the issue,” Calabro added.
Tuition at charter schools is paid by the school district where the child lives.
Aguasvivas said she understood the need for a charter pause, but said it should not have applied to a school that was already in the pipeline to open.
“De La Comunidad Bilingual School was not going to be the one school that was going to take away so much funding that it was going to cripple the entire system,” she said.
Brand new charter schools require two approvals by the Rhode Island Council on Elementary and Secondary Education. After an application and hearing process, the preliminary approval allows them to prepare to open, including getting a lease for premises and posting jobs. Once the school is ready to launch, they go back for final approval.
Existing charter schools that are expanding require only one vote of the council, which is why the Greene School in West Greenwich — which got a favorable vote from the council on the same day as De La Comunidad — will be allowed to move forward with its plans to open a new middle school during the moratorium.
Aguasvivas and LaPlante noted that most children in Rhode Island don’t have access to dual language programs. In the three communities they planned to serve, Providence has dual language programming available to about 10 percent of the total school population, Cranston doesn’t have any, and Pawtucket has only a limited program.
“District schools should have dual language programs,” LaPlante said. “But we’re at 30 years of the same conversation, and they’re not there.”
Cranston Superintendent Jeannine Nota-Masse told the Globe the district doesn’t have the money to start a program, and charter schools are making it harder.
“Frankly, I would love to start a dual language program,” Nota-Masse said. “I have to cut programs, and I have to cut staff, because of the financial problems municipal districts have. I don’t have the program because I can’t afford it.”
She said Cranston lost $8.7 million last school year to charters.
“It’s not about that school in particular,” Nota-Masse said of De La Comunidad. “No matter the charter school, the way the funding formula works, every single opportunity a charter has to pull kids away from Cranston, I have to be concerned.”
No families were officially enrolled in De La Comunidad yet, as it was slated to be part of Rhode Island’s annual charter school lottery in the spring. But many parents had expressed interest, Aguasvivas said.
One of them was Marlena Stachowiak, also a city councilor in Pawtucket, who was hoping to sign her youngest son Truman up for kindergarten at De La Comunidad next fall.
“It was definitely something we were looking forward to,” she told the Globe. She hoped to enroll her two older children once the school expanded to middle and high school.
One of her sons, 9-year-old Braelyn, had been enrolled in a dual language program in Pawtucket from kindergarten until second grade at Nathanael Greene Elementary School, but he lost access when the program was cut and moved to Baldwin Elementary, she said.
The family only speaks English at home, but Braelyn was learning Spanish and using it around friends and neighbors.
“It abruptly stopped,” Stachowiak said. “He was really enjoying it. It’s been over two years and it’s slipping away,” she said.
Pawtucket Superintendent Randy Buck said the reason the district could not maintain dual language programs at both schools was because of staffing. There are not enough teachers certified in bilingual/dual language to meet the demand, he said.
Infante-Green, an enthusiastic supporter of dual language programs who recommended the approval of De La Comunidad’s application last year, did not respond to requests for comment.
When her department was considering the application, it received 1,778 letters of support, 99 percent of which were in favor of the school, according to RIDE.
The school had been approved for startup funding from the state and other grants worth about $1 million that it now must forfeit, LaPlante said.
Another $70,000 in funds came from the Rhode Island Education Collective, an education nonprofit where LaPlante also works.
Victor Capellan, the founder and CEO of the collective, said the group’s funding comes from local and national backers including the Papitto Opportunity Connection, Bank Newport, Centreville Bank, The City Fund, Bloomberg Philanthropies, and individual donors.
McKee had years ago vowed to veto a charter moratorium. After signing it into law last month, he told the Globe the situation had changed; public school enrollment is dropping, causing serious funding issues.
He confirmed that he met with De La Comunidad leaders the day before he signed the bill, but they didn’t change his mind.
“If they feel strongly that they have support in the General Assembly, they should go back in the next session,” McKee said. “Go deliver your case.”
Steph Machado can be reached at steph.machado@globe.com. Follow her @StephMachado.
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