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Rhode Island
Swarm of dragonflies startles beachgoers in Rhode Island
WESTERLY, R.I. — A swarm of dragonflies stunned and surprised beachgoers over the weekend in Rhode Island.
Thousands of the dragonflies, relatively large and often beautifully colored insects, descended on Misquamicut beach Saturday. Video of the dragonflies shows beachgoers running for cover and hiding under blankets. People could be heard screaming.
It’s unclear what prompted the cloud of insects to visit the beach for several minutes and then largely disappear.
“One minute everything was calm. The next minute I saw the most dragonflies I’ve ever seen in my life,” Nicole Taylor told WFSB-TV. “It lasted for like 3 minutes, and then they were gone. It was a very strange experience.”
Christina Vangel, who works at Alfie’s Beach Store, said workers had to shoo the dragonflies out. “As the day went on there were tons of them everywhere. We had to close the doors,” she said.
Chris Fiore, whose family owns Alfie’s, across the street from the beach, marveled at the unique onslaught of dragonflies. “It was fascinating. There were big clouds of them,” he said.
Dragonflies feed mostly on insects like mosquitos and midges, relying on a swiveling head and huge eyes to catch their prey. Some species breed in July and August including the common green darner dragonfly found in Rhode Island. They don’t normally sting or bite humans.
Video: Lincoln celebrates its softball championship win over Ponaganset
WATCH: Lincoln celebrates its softball championship win over Ponaganset
PROVIDENCE – The result was so obvious, everyone should have seen it coming.
That’s because Hailey Vigneau doesn’t lose big games.
The La Salle softball team might have been hammered by Chariho during their regular season matchups, but none of that mattered in the postseason. The state’s seen plenty of big-time pitchers, but none that have won like Vigneau. Saturday’s championship game against Chariho only added to her legacy, as she took care of things in the circle, Nikki Pallotta led the offense and the 5-2 win gave the Rams their fourth straight state title.
“We just know how hard we work,” Vigneau said. “We know we have each other. We know how supportive of each other we are. We just know that our team, in the end, will come out on top.”
Softball pitchers are supposed to strike fear with fastballs and sit batters down faster than they can get up to plate. You won’t find many teams that say they’re afraid of Vigneau, but you also won’t find any teams that have beaten her in a game that matters most.
The La Salle senior – who will pitch at Marist next spring – didn’t look bothered by the magnitude of the game she was pitching. If Chariho beat the Rams – which it had done twice this season – that meant an if-game where momentum would be on the Chargers side.
It seemed like a possibility, provided you ignored the fact that Vigneau has never lost a playoff game and wasn’t about to start in her senior season.
Vigneau made one mistake pitch that Adriana Jeannenot hit to outer space, a two-run blast that tied the game in the top of the fourth inning. She took the ball from the umpire, then retired the next batter to end the inning and get her offense on the field.
“I just have to focus on the next one. I can’t dwell on it,” said Vigneau, who gave up four hits and walked two while striking out eight. “Now I can reflect on it, fix what I know I messed up on.
“I didn’t even look. I didn’t turn my head.”
The bats went out and supported their ace. Pallotta had the go-ahead hit, a two-run double that scored Izzy Dong and Samantha Sell. While Pallotta and the Rams struggled to hit Jeannenot in clutch moments in the regular season, it was clear they figured something out.
“Their pitcher is really good and she shut us down in the first game,” said Pallotta, who went 3-for-4 with two RBI and three runs Saturday. “In the second game we started to pick up some hits, we started to learn a lot.
“We were lucky enough to play them twice, we got a lot of data off of that and so when we came into RIC … we had a lot of information and we used it.”
Armed with a 5-2 lead, Vigneau took care of things. The home run was a distant memory and when Alaina Valuk led off the fifth with a single, Vigneau barely noticed. She was in control and remained calm, right up until the final out was recorded, ending her career with a fourth straight title celebration.
“I just pitch one pitch at a time, no matter what the situation is in the game,” Vigneau said. “I can’t focus too much on the big win ahead, just one pitch at a time.”
Chariho was emotional after the loss and why wouldn’t it be? The Chargers entered the season with so much promise, finally got over the hump of beating La Salle and then did it twice in this spring.
But the two playoff losses – Saturday as well as the winners’ bracket final – showed that Chariho still has some work to do to in order to get that title the program wants. The loss will only help inspire the Chargers to keep chasing it next season.
“We had a phenomenal season. I’ve never been more proud of this team,” Jeannenot said. “… It definitely pushes us to go for even bigger things. This year our main thing was to beat La Salle, now I feel like we can have even bigger goals and we can have more success.”
This was supposed to be the year La Salle lost. The Rams graduated all that offensive talent, there’s no way they can overpower teams anymore.
Turns out La Salle didn’t need to. It had a secret weapon who shouldn’t have been so secret and closes her career as the most clutch pitcher Rhode Island has ever seen.
“Without her we probably wouldn’t be here at all,” Pallotta said. “She’s been the ace for the last four years and she always comes up when we need her and she shuts them down.”
“I just enjoyed my time with the girls. Whatever happens, happens, but we just work hard and have fun,” Vigneau said. “I couldn’t have imagined this whatsoever.”
CUMBERLAND, R.I. (WPRI) – Police in Cumberland are investigating what officials are classifying at this time as a suspicious death.
Investigators have been on the scene at 46 E Barrow St. all day, with detectives in and out of the home.
The Rhode Island State Police sent their mobile crime lab to the scene. The entire house is taped off.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as we work to gather more information.
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Watch: Chariho softball beats North Kingstown to reach title game
Watch as Chariho softball beats North Kingstown to reach state title game.
Super Saturday has arrived.
Today is the busiest day of the 2026 RIIL spring sports schedule, with championships being play at Rhode Island College and Brown University. Baseball, softball, lacrosse, volleyball and track and field athletes will all be chasing gold.
It’s a lot of keep track of, so here’s a handy schedule of the day’s events to keep your head from spinning.
High School Schedule – June 6
⚾BASEBALL – State Championship Game 2
No. 1 Hendricken vs. No. 3 East Providence at Rhode Island College, 12 p.m.
⚾BASEBALL – D-II Championship Game 1
No. 2 West Warwick vs. No. 1 East Greenwich at Rhode Island College, 4 p.m.
🥎SOFTBALL – D-I Championship Game
No. 2 Chariho vs. No. 1 La Salle at Rhode Island College, 5:30 p.m.
🥎SOFTBALL – D-II Championship
No. 7 Ponaganset vs. No. 1 Lincoln at Rhode Island College, 7:30 p.m.
🥍BOYS LACROSSE – State Championship
No. 1 La Salle vs. No. 2 Moses Brown at Brown University, 11 a.m.
🥍BOYS LACROSSE – D-II Championship
No. 1 Westerly vs. No. 3 Portsmouth at Brown University, 1:30 p.m.
🥍BOYS LACROSSE – D-III Championship
No. 1 Mt. Hope vs. No. 3 Lincoln at Brown University, 4 p.m.
🥍BOYS LACROSSE – D-IV Championship
No. 1 Scituate vs. No. 2 Rogers at Brown University, 6 p.m.
🏃Track and Field
RIIL Boys State Championship Meet at Brown University, 11 a.m.
RIIL Girls State Championship Meet at Brown University, 11 a.m.
🏐BOYS VOLLEYBALL – State Championship
No. 1 La Salle vs. No. 2 Hendricken, 5 p.m.
🏐BOYS VOLLEYBALL – D-II Championship
No. 1 West Warwick vs. No. 2 Westerly at Rhode Island College, 2:30 p.m.
🏐BOYS VOLLEYBALL – D-III Championship
No. 1 Mt. Hope vs. No. 3 Exeter-West Greenwich, 12 p.m.
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