Watch: Woonsocket baseball beats Pawtucket at Slater Park
Patrick Munger’s complete game leads Woonsocket baseball past Pawtucket.
- Bishop Hendricken, last year’s unbeaten state champions, suffered their first loss of the season against North Kingstown.
- Despite a 10-game winning streak, Westerly remains outside the top five in Division I.
- North Providence leads Division II despite recent struggles, while Burrillville’s sweep of them creates a wide-open playoff race.
- Woonsocket remains atop Division III despite not playing last week.
No baseball team in the state will finish unbeaten this spring.
North Kingstown made sure of that while taking advantage of a rare chance to get on the field during a rainy stretch of weather. The Skippers dealt Bishop Hendricken its first defeat of 2025, offering some inspiration to the rest of Division I.
The Hawks suffered a 7-2 setback against a program that has been a thorn in their side over the better part of the last two decades. North Kingstown is still chasing South Kingstown, Cumberland and La Salle in the RPI standings, but make no mistake — that paperwork won’t make the Skippers any less of a threat to reach the postseason.
Want more evidence that the current standings don’t matter? Westerly has won 10 straight and still can’t crack the top five, trailing North Kingstown and the quartet in front. North Providence remains atop Division II despite just one win this month, with pursuers like St. Raphael, Central, Burrillville and West Warwick feeling encouraged. Woonsocket didn’t play a game and remained atop Division III, with its rivals not enjoying the chance to close the gap.
To echo the warning that accompanied the debut of these rankings last week, a simple reminder — these aren’t etched in stone. And a reminder, before we get to business — you can reach us by phone at (401) 277-7340 each weeknight from 6 to 10 p.m. or by email at [email protected] to report scores. Those will help us in terms of crafting these rankings and our Player of the Week selections.
With that, on to this week’s rankings.
Providence Journal baseball rankings
Division I
Bishop Hendricken (11-1)
Last year’s state champions rolled through the 2024 schedule unbeaten. That won’t be the case if the Hawks repeat in 2025. North Kingstown posted a 7-2 win at Lischio Field last week, a first blemish for Bishop Hendricken after some early near misses. Portsmouth, Smithfield, La Salle and Cumberland make for a challenging four-game week upcoming.
South Kingstown (12-3)
The Rebels packed a week’s worth of drama into one game with Cranston West, escaping with a 2-1 victory. South Kingstown has lost just once to in-state opponents since April 16 and opens a four-game week with a Monday matchup against sizzling Westerly.
Cumberland (10-3)
A showdown with La Salle in a rematch of the 2023 state championship series gave the Clippers a perfect opportunity to build on their recent momentum. They responded with a fourth straight win in a 3-0 shutout, riding right-hander Ben Jahnz and his three-hit complete game.
Westerly (12-4)
You might have expected to see North Kingstown here, right? The Bulldogs beat the Skippers as part of their current 10-game winning streak, one that continued thanks to a 4-0 shutout of Chariho on Saturday. Tom Fiore struck out eight over six scoreless innings and helped himself with an early RBI double.
Division II
North Providence (10-3)
The Cougars don’t have much margin for error in the top spot after dropping three of their last four. One of those defeats was to neighborhood rival La Salle, but a season sweep at the hands of Burrillville threw open the doors to any and all playoff possibilities in June.
Burrillville (9-5)
The Broncos can’t seem to figure out Woonsocket and were shut down by West Warwick on Wednesday, but three of their last four games have featured some hot hitting. Burrillville has scored at least eight runs in three victories, including a 13-2 triumph that made it two victories over North Providence in less than two weeks.
Central (9-5)
The Knights could help solidify their contender status with wins over Chariho and East Greenwich this week. They extended a recent hot stretch with a 5-1 victory over Toll Gate, a fifth in their last seven games.
St. Raphael (9-4)
The Saints have shown the ability to win close games, and last week’s 3-2 squirmer against Chariho was the latest. St. Raphael has captured five straight by a total of seven runs, including three games by just one.
Division III
Woonsocket (12-1)
The Villa Novans were idle last week thanks to the rain. They’re scheduled to be back in action against Juanita Sanchez, Tiverton and regional rival North Smithfield, starting with a Tuesday visit from the Cavaliers.
Exeter-West Greenwich (8-4)
The Scarlet Knights saw their six-game winning streak come to an end with an 8-4 loss against Mount Pleasant. One rough day shouldn’t erase what Exeter-West Greenwich did in the previous couple of weeks, including pinning a lone loss on Woonsocket.
Scituate (8-6)
The Spartans cling to the third spot despite losing their lone game last week. They suffered a second defeat of the season to West Warwick but it’s difficult to penalize anyone for falling to an opponent playing in a league above them.
Pawtucket co-op (8-4)
A loss to Tiverton proved to be just a bump in the road. Pawtucket rebounded with a comfortable victory over Providence Country Day and faces a five-game marathon this week. Tuesday’s home doubleheader with Times2 kicks it off with the Eagles visiting Slater Park for a pair.
On X: @BillKoch25
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