All-stars ready to shine
Baseball, softball all-star games take place this weekend
A little of this, a little of that …
• The best and the brightest from the 2018 R.I. high school baseball crop will be on display this Sunday at West Warwick’s McCarthy Field. From 9 o’clock in the morning until almost 9 o’clock at night, players from all corners of the state will put aside playoff position and any chatter related to seeding for the annual all-star production that’s staged by the R.I. Baseball Coaches Association.
Once again, this year’s program will feature five contests. First pitch for Sunday’s first game is 9 a.m. and feature the top players in Division III. The matchup is being hailed as city schools taking on the suburban/charter schools.
The local D-III representation will include three players from Central Falls (senior first baseman Marion Oferman, senior shortstop/pitcher Rasec Torres, and sophomore outfielder/pitcher Kelvin Almonte), three players from Shea (junior first baseman/catcher/pitcher Manny Ortiz, sophomore pitcher/infielder Jacob Faria, and sophomore pitcher/infielder Brandon Ribeiro), four players from Davies Tech (senior catcher Haidyn Nocks, senior pitcher/first baseman Ronnie Gaynor, sophomore short- stop/second baseman T.J. Lach, and freshman outfielder Nick Rossi), and six from North Smithfield (senior infielder/pitcher Adam Blakemore, senior infielder/pitcher Jack Losardo, senior catcher/first baseman/outfielder Devin Albino, junior outfielder/pitcher Michael deRonde, sophomore infielder/pitcher Quinn Parent, and junior infielder/catcher Cole Bubois).
The D-III game will be followed by the 11:15 a.m. Division II underclassmen game. That game will see two players from Tolman (junior third baseman/first baseman/pitcher Izaiah
Rivera and junior outfielder/pitcher Justin Klemamchuck), three players from Mount St. Charles (junior first baseman Jake Meisner, sophomore outfielder Everett Misto, and sophomore catcher/second baseman Trey Bourque), two from Burrillville (junior first baseman Ryan Lockwood and junior infielder/pitcher Cam Toti), three from St. Raphael (junior second baseman Ivan Rosa, junior catcher Devon White, and sophomore Rob Costa (sophomore first baseman), and three from Woonsocket (freshman shortstop Nick Strojny, sophomore catcher/outfielder Latrell Lopez, and junior shortstop/pitcher Harrison Blaise).
The D-II senior all-star game will start at 1:30 p.m. and feature three players from Tolman (outfielder Noel Hernandez, infielder/outfielder/pitcher Ethan Bernardo, and infielder/outfielder/pitcher Kyle Depatie), four from Burrillville (infielder/pitcher Keith Doucette, infielder/pitcher Jason Cabral, catcher/outfielder Tyler Richards, and infielder Cam Stringfellow), and three from Woonsocket (second baseman/pitcher Colin Godfrin, outfielder/first baseman Zack Lorusso, and outfielder/first baseman Peyton Carignan).
The top underclassmen in Division I will square off at 4 p.m. From Cumberland, there’s junior pitcher/outfielder Adam Bertherman, junior pitcher/second baseman Nick Croteau, junior catcher Rueben Hancock, junior pitcher/first baseman/shortstop Addison Kopack, and junior third baseman Joey Molis). Representing Lincoln is sophomore infielder/pitcher Randall Hien, sophomore third baseman Aidan Murtha, junior outfielder Tyler McNulty, and junior outfielder Aaron DeSousa.
The highlight of the day, the game featuring Division I’s top seniors, will commence at 6:30 p.m. There will be two players from Cumberland (pitcher/first baseman/outfielder Zach Fogell and outfielder Drew Szafranski) and three from Lincoln (pitcher/first baseman Dom Cunha, senior shortstop Blake Zaniol, and first baseman Stephen Andrews).
• This Sunday, the Alice Sullivan All-Star games featuring the best from the state’s interscholastic softball ranks will be held at East Providence High. The Division I game is 1 p.m. followed by the Division II/III game at 3 p.m.
• Lincoln High School will open its Athletic Hall of Fame doors next Wednesday, May 23 during the annual Senior Athletic Banquet at Kirkbrae Country Club. The Class of 2018 includes former baseball standout Nick Zammarelli, former cross-country star Hank Sarazin, and outgoing superintendent Georgia Fortunato.
• Speaking of Zammarelli, Lincoln’s Dom Cunha hopes to follow in the footsteps of the current High-A first baseman/outfielder for Modesto when Cunha heads to North Carolina’s Elon University this fall. Zammarelli played at Elon for three seasons (2014-16) before getting drafted by the Seattle Mariners in the eighth-round of the 2016 draft.
“My good friend Nick Zammarelli went there and he said he really wanted me to go there,” Cunha said. “I’m going to try to earn a spot as a walk-on. If not, I can say that I gave it my all.”
• Here’s what Quinnipiac University men’s cross-country head coach Josh Glaab has to say about La Salle Academy all-stater Jack Hilton via Cumberland: “Jack will be a terrific addition for us. He comes from an outstanding high school program at La Salle and is someone we really think can help us build to where we want to get as a program. He’s a great kid too, and we are looking forward to having him join us in the fall.”
• There’s another athletic-related project on tap at Mount St. Charles this summer as a new weight room will be installed. At last Friday’s Athletic Hall of Fame ceremony, MSC president Alan Tenreiro told the room that plans are in the works for a new turf field that would be installed where the soccer and lacrosse teams currently play. If everything checks out accordingly, a shovel will be put in the ground by the summer of 2019.
• Pawtucket native Diandra DaRosa received her undergraduate degree in criminology from Virginia Tech last week. She’s weighing her options as to where to spend her final year of women’s college basketball eligibility after being granted a waiver by the NCAA. A 5-foot-6 guard, DaRosa didn’t appear in a single game for the Hokies this past season due to injuries. At her still-to-bedetermined school, she would continue her education in a master’s program.
• Cumberland native and current Bryant sophomore Chris Wright will be showcasing his baseball skills for the prestigious Cape Cod Summer League, where he’ll suit up for Brewster.
• Rhode Island College junior goalkeeper Julia Eaton from Cumberland High School was named First Team All-Little East Conference for her performance in women’s lacrosse during the 2018 season. Eaton played in 12 games, starting all of them. She played every minute of every game this season for the Anchorwomen and posted a 13.42 goals against average and a .546 save percentage.
• Lincoln native Sean Doris had an outstanding freshman baseball season for Lasell College, one that culminated with his selection to the Great Northeast Athletic Conference All-Conference First Team. Doris made an impact in the batter’s box – .288 (21-for-73) with three doubles and 10 runs scored as a starting right fielder – and on the mound – 3-3 record in six starts with a 3.49 ERA with 26 strikeouts in 28 innings.
• After missing most of the past two seasons with injuries, Cumberland native Juliet Nelson went out with a flourish in her senior year for the Simmons College softball team. A nursing major, Nelson was named to the Great Northeast Athletic Conference All-Conference Second Team after excelling in the pitching circle – 14-8 record in 27 games (21 starts) that spanned 123.2 innings and a 2.83 ERA. Nelson tossed an impressive 15 complete games, held opposing batters to a .269 batting average, struck out 67, and issued 1.36 walks per seven innings.
• It would have been nice to see WEEI extend an opportunity to either one of the Pawtucket Red Sox broadcasters – the dynamic duo of Josh Maurer and Will Flemming – when a spot in the Red Sox radio booth opened up for a couple of games last weekend in Toronto. Instead, NESN pre- and post-game host Tom Caron was chosen to fill in for Tim Neverett, who was attending a family graduation.
Maurer and Flemming are no strangers to the WEEI booth, having called Red Sox spring training games over the past two seasons. Both should be calling games in the big leagues and will hopefully someday have the chance to do just that. Just like when there’s a player need at the major-league level, Boston is going to look to Pawtucket for reinforcements. Such a longstanding practice should also extend to the club’s TV or radio side where the Triple-A guy gets a well-deserved shot.
• Perhaps the R.I. Interscholastic League should back off its eSports pursuit in the wake of a certain high-priced Red Sox pitcher getting diagnosed with a mild case of carpal tunnel syndrome. The last thing we need is teenagers complaining of fatigue from too much video gaming.