Archive - May 2012 - Sports Article
May 25th
PAWTUCKET â Win and youâre in the playoffs. Lose and feel the pain that goes with realizing that your season is kaput before Memorial Day.
With so much riding on Fridayâs outcome, there was no time for either Lincoln or St. Raphael to get caught up with what potentially lies ahead. There would be no tomorrow for one team, nor would any partial credit be awarded as the Lions and Saints entered this pivotal final game of the regular season sporting identical 7-10 league records.
PAWTUCKET â Darnell McDonald knows that the Red Sox need outfield help in the worst way possible. Thatâs why the 33-year-old is holding out hope that his rehab assignment with the Pawtucket Red Sox is of the short and sweet variety.
âHopefully it wonât be more than a few days; a lot of guys up there are out,â noted McDonald Friday prior to going 0-for-1 with a sacrifice fly while playing five innings in left field for the PawSox.
May 22nd
NORFOLK, Va. â The Pawtucket Red Sox broke a 2-2 draw by scoring twice in the top of the seventh inning and held on for a rain-shortened 5-3 victory over the Norfolk Tides on Tuesday afternoon for a split of their four-game series at Harbor Park.
Jonathan Hee led off the seventh with a single to right and Pedro Ciriaco followed with a double to right to put runners in scoring position.
A groundout to shortstop by Jose Iglesias allowed Hee to speed home with the go-ahead run, and Ryan Lavarnway doubled to right to drive in Ciriaco.
May 21st
NORTH SMITHFIELD -- Head coach Tom Bourgeois had told his lone starting senior, Sidra Ethier, that if she had to miss North Smithfield Highâs home clash against Woonsocket on Monday, he more than understood.
After all, Ethier â ranked second in her class â was to accept a National Honor Society award later that afternoon, and he knew she had to properly prepare for the fete.
âShe wanted to be here,â Bourgeois stated. âShe told me, âNo, Coach. Iâm playing! Itâs our Senior Day, and Iâm going to be a part of it.ââ
May 20th
It was a textbook case where the idiom âturnabout is fair playâ directly applies.
From Ryan Mallettâs vantage point, some friendly and well-intentioned payback was in order. It only seemed fitting, considering Mallett had pulled the necessary strings that paved the way for his childhood chum from Texas, Will Middlebrooks, to attend a couple of New England Patriots games last season â sitting in primo seats no less.
May 18th
Contributing writer
LINCOLN --- With a 5-0 shutout against the Smithfield Sentinels Friday, the Lincoln Lions improved their record to 14-0 and clinched the Northern Division.
Including yesterdayâs game, the Lions have only played in five games that were decided by five or fewer runs, one of which came against Smithfield on April 4. During that game, Lincoln came away with a 3-2 win.
Coach Dick Ryan thought that the grit his squad showed against a Smithfield team that always gives Lincoln a close match was a good sign.
WOONSOCKET --- These past two weeks have certainly belonged to Cumberland, and that was evident on Friday afternoon in its Division I-North showdown against Mount St. Charles.
The Clippers took over second place and grabbed their fifth win in their last seven outings with a solid performance that saw the visitors claim the early momentum with five runs in the first two innings, play steady defense, and ride the solid pitching of Caylin Legare to a 6-3 victory that put a damper on the Mountiesâ âSenior Dayâ festivities.
May 17th
CUMBERLAND â Just before Cumberland High hosted St. Raphael Academy in a critical Division I-North tilt on Thursday afternoon, the two squads stood on their respective baselines and watched Sue Lanctot, a Cumberland resident and two-time breast cancer survivor, throw out the first pitch.
The touching moment drew a hefty round of applause, and for good reason: The contest had been set up weeks ago to benefit the American Cancer Society. Both players and coaches had purchased special, blue-and-white âStrike Out Cancerâ caps to wear, at $15 each.
May 16th
WOONSOCKET â When athletic director George Nasuti talks about âNovan Pride,â heâs referring to something that hopefully hits home for anyone whoâs ever been touched by athletics in the Woonsocket School System.
May 15th
CUMBERLAND â The last time Cumberland enjoyed a season as magical as the one the Clippers have put together so far this spring, its current members were learning the sport in middle school, and its head coach, Scott Carpenter, was savoring his retirement from coaching after a long, successful run as the Clippersâ hockey coach.
