Bodington tosses first no-hitter
Cumberland splits pair of games to finish No. 6 in D-I
CUMBERLAND – A good sign materialized for the Cumberland High softball team on Saturday, one coming on Senior Night and with the postseason right around the corner.
Making her return to the circle for the first time in two weeks, junior ace pitcher Jocelyn Bodington registered the first no-hitter of her career as Cumberland closed out the regular season with a 1-0 win over Bay View at Tucker Field.
Bodington’s masterpiece capped off a Saturday doubleheader that saw Cumberland drop a 3-2 decision at Smithfield. The split means the Clippers wrap up Division I play with an 11-6 record, good enough to earn a home game when the single-elimination round of the playoffs takes place on Tuesday. Cumberland will be home for a 4 p.m. game that day.
Saturday began with Sydney Provencal deserving a better pitching fate for Cumberland after holding Smithfield to three runs on three hits with five strikeouts and two walks. At one point, she retired 11 in a row.
Cumberland’s runs against a Smithfield squad that needed a win just to qualify for the Division I playoffs came in the second and fifth innings. Katie Calabro led off the second with a double and came around to score on a single by Emily Anderson. Smithfield tied the game at 11 in the second and went ahead for good behind a two-run flurry in the third.
Cumberland closed to within a run in the fifth as Kailey Brodeur reached on a walk and scored on a base hit by Maddi Leite.
The nightcap saw Bodington settle into a groove early as she retired 11 in a row heading into the fifth. That was the only frame where Bay View had a chance to do something after Bodington issued a walk and hit a batter. She was helped by a 4-6-3 double play that featured Brodeur to Leite to Provencal.
Cumberland’s lone run came in the fifth. Renae Lacroix led off with a single and eventually came around to score on a sacrifice fly by Calabro.
Bodington retired six in a row to notch the 13th no-hitter in Cumberland program history.
“The kids were very resilient,” CHS head coach Marty Crowley said. “We had the right mental mindset coming off the Smithfield game.’
The Clippers honored eight seniors before taking on the Bengals: Brodeur, Leite, Calabro, Provencal, Anderson, Jaidyn DeJesus, Sam Jalbert and Miranda Veliu.
Cumberland 010 010 0 2-7-1 Smithfield 012 000 x – 3-3-1 Sydney Provencal and Emily Anderson; Megan Long and Megan LaFlamme.
Bay View 000 000 0 – 0-0-0 Cumberland 000 010 x – 1--5-0 Madison Castigliego and Hope Lincoln; Jocelyn Bodington and Emily Anderson.
Novans drop season finale
WOOD RIVER JCT. — It was another game against a playoff team where the Woonsocket softball team showed it could compete in Division I.
The Villa Novans grabbed the lead against Chariho on a Lauren Peloquin run in the second inning, but the Chargers scored single runs in the fourth and fifth innings before scoring three in the sixth of a 5-1 D-I home win Sunday afternoon.
“Overall, there are many, many positives to take away from this season,” Woonsocket coach Dan Belisle said. “Lundyn’s (Forcier) improvement as the season went along was a real factor in us getting better. She still has to take that next step next year, but she really improved.”
Chariho’s victory means Cumberland will be the No. 6 seed in the playoffs and face Blackstone Valley rival Tolman Tuesday in an elimination game at Tucker Field.
Woonsocket (3-14 Division I) saw its season end short of the playoffs a year after winning the Division II title. Belisle said he was proud of the way his team battled against the top teams in the state. Outside of a lopsided loss to North Kingstown, the Novans were in nearly every game.
“It’s about consistency,” Belisle said. “We’re a very young team and sometimes the errors we made were compounded because of a lack of experience. They should know by now we can compete in Division I. We’ve been in just about every game, unfortunately the results weren’t there.”
Sunday, Peloquin delivered a single and a double and scored her team’s lone run when Chariho pitch Kate Powers was called for an illegal pitch in the second inning.
Defensively, Belisle praised the play of two underclassmen. Sophomore catcher Maddie Hereth threw out a pair of would-be base stealers, while freshman second baseman Mia Plasse made a couple of important stops.
Woonsocket 010 000 0–152 Chariho 000 113 x–580 Lundyn Forcier and Maddie Hereth; Kate Powers and Lauren Rousseau