By Russ Waterman
MaxPreps.com
Bishop Hendricken is still on the state baseball title radar screen for 2008 despite the two-year title reign of Cranston West and the Hawks' 4-3 loss to the Falcons last Tuesday.
Hendricken, state champions in seven of the last 14 seasons under Coach Ed Holloway, and Cranston West attracted 350 fans to Art Pagano Field in Cranston last Wednesday, with the Falcons evening the teams' season series at one apiece and tying for the Division I West lead.
"We have a good, strong team, with a combination of seniors and juniors and one sophomore," said Holloway.
But the Hawks' veteran mentor notes there is a glaring difference between this year's Hawk squad and those of the past.
"This is the first year in a long time we did not have a returning star pitcher," he says of a program that has produced several All-State and future college hurlers, most notably Jay Rainville, who was drafted by the Minnesota Twins as the 39th pick overall in 2004 and is now playing for the Class AA New Britain Rock Cats of the Eastern League.
But some opponents wish they were in the same predicament as Bishop Hendricken (15-2), whose pitching staff has permitted just 32 runs and produced three straight shutouts.
"Our pitchers have been helped all season by a good defensive corps," Holloway said. "They are young and inexperienced as a group but they have been stepping up and doing a very good job."
Chris Sheehan (5-0) and Andrew Ferreira (4-0) have been the pitching aces thus far for the Hawks.
But Josh Lynch and lefty Rob Curran ("Over the past two years has been lights out as a closer", Holloway says), as well as Alex Maratta, Nick Fontaine and Mike Acciardo have all contributed. First baseman Chris Costantino (the second leading hitter at .463) may also be called in to pitch in the postseason.
Strong all-around in the middle, Hendricken has junior catcher Milan Adams, batting .404; shortstop Dan Gamache, a three-year starter and two-time All-Stater hitting .600; second baseman Travis Smith at .436; and speedy junior centerfielder Evan Marzilli, a returning second team All-Stater batting .341 in the leadoff position.
"There are lots of good players and teams in the state," said Holloway, who along with long-time assistant Bill Campbell, Ian Smith and first-base coach Brett Bodine have Hendricken primed for a run deep into the playoffs.
"The race is wide open, with so many top teams that perhaps haven't always got the recognition they deserved that could a win state title. It could be exciting."
Diamond notes:
* Portsmouth was shocked by Division I North leader, Lincoln, 6-2, paced by the three-hit, nine-strikeout performance of John Pedrotty, with seven errors plaguing the Patriots. But Portsmouth then went on to defeat two league foes, second-place Moses Brown, 14-0, and then Tiverton, 7-4 Portsmouth, now 17-1, has allowed just 32 runs all season.
* In Cranston West's 4-3 win over Hendricken, the Falcons and Hawks were scoreless through the first four innings before play unraveled a bit with an uncharacteristic five errors in the game overall, three by Cranston West and two by Hendricken.
Speedster Chris Famiglietti of Cranston West stole two bases and caused two infield errors with sometimes risky running to put his team ahead, 1-0, in the fifth. The Hawks got through to Falcon ace Anthony Meo on two hits and two walks for two runs in the sixth before the Falcons regained the lead on a two-run single by Brian LaBianca in the bottom of the inning. In the seventh, Meo gave up two more walks and hit a batter to force in a run and tie the score. Dan Hopkins then was issued a bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the seventh to clinch the game.
* Some might disagree with a format that allows 24 of 28 Division I teams to qualify for the postseason, regardless of record. But like MLB's wild-card setup, the format is creating excitement over the last week of regular-season competition. Eight teams are trying to crowd into the last six available spots, including Tiverton, Barrington, Smithfield, West Warwick and Pilgrim with six wins each, and Middletown, Coventry and Toll Gate, each with five victories.
* Two teams on the playoff bubble met last week. East Greenwich (7-12), on a two-run single by Mike DePasquale in the bottom of the seventh, halted a three-game skid by pulling out a 6-5 dramatic win over Pilgrim (6-12) in a topsy-turvy affair. Pilgrim had rallied from a 4-1 deficit on hits by Mike Nadiger and Mark Melchiorre, a two-run triple by Kevin Stenhouse and a pinch-hit single by Matt Langevin. The Patriots scored an unearned run off reliever Brad Van Fechtmann to go ahead, 5-4, in the seventh, before the Avengers pulled it out in their last at-bat.
* In Division II, Mt. Hope (13-2) has clinched the East over second-place Tolman (10-6). Division II North is still up in the air between North Smithfield (14-3) and Johnston (12-4), which defeated the Northmen twice this season. D-II North also features four squads at .500 or better, including Mount St. Charles (12- 5); Burrillville and Scituate at 9-7 and Ponaganset (8-8). In Division II South, Prout (13-4) defeated Exeter/West Greenwich (12-4) earlier, but the two clash again this week in a contest that could decide the regular-season title.
Russ Waterman covers Massachusetts and Rhode Island for MaxPreps.com. He may be reached at rwathoop3@aol.com.
