Time for curtain calls: Five stories we missed during the high school spring sports season
The significance of having three sports reporters was on display this spring.
That made finding five things we missed from the spring high school sports season an arduous task. We got to as many games as we could but some stories still didn't get the coverage they should have received. Everything below we covered in some regard at playoff time, but the storylines were missed during the regular season.
We aren’t perfect, of course, and should have gotten to these teams/players before the playoffs. And therefore, they deserve a curtain call.
Here are five stories we missed:
Ephraim Abhulime's standout sportsmanship
Abhulime received plenty of attention from us during the regular season and it was his sportsmanship that deserves recall. The La Salle boys volleyball team had back-to-back five-set wins to capture its second straight state championship this spring.
The Rams dispatched Cranston East in the Final Four in what was a terrific appetizer for the championship and rightfully earned their chance to celebrate. But Abhulime instead used the win as a teaching moment.
One of his teammates rushed the court with a cell phone to video a Thunderbolt player upset after the loss and Abhulime saw it unfold. He halted the player before it went too far and collected the team in a masterclass on sportsmanship. After the match had been interrupted earlier due to an unruly fan, it was a powerful moment that the senior policed.
Jamilson De Pina Almeida is a star
The Central Falls boys volleyball tram reached the Division III championship game in just its third season as a program.
It lost to a Pawtucket team that finished second in 2023 and was just better than everyone in the league. There was no shame in that loss if you are the Warriors; making it to Rhode Island College is an impressive achievement alone.
But what really stood out for CF was its hitter, Almeida. The junior is listed as an outside hitter and middle, but he’s so much more. He never rotates out and he can do just about everything better than the rest of D-III. He’s a legit star and one to watch next year.
Conor Donahue wows for Rogers
If there was anyone that deserved a curtain call after an immaculate playoff performance, it’s Donahue. We had planned on seeing Rogers’ right-handed fireballer during the regular season, but didn’t get the chance.
We did cover both his championship starts though as the Vikings stunned top-seeded West Warwick in the best-of-three Division III championship series. The sophomore threw 106 pitches (70 for strikes) with 10 strikeouts to take Game 1 in a 3-1 final at McCarthy Field.
The Wizards won Game 2 handily to set up a winner-take-all championship back at McCarthy.
And Donahue saved the best for last. The young star tossed a one-hitter to lead Rogers to the title in a memorable finish to the season.
More from the title game: Rogers' Donahue dominates again, stuns West Warwick
Freshmen golfers make waves
I’m not a golf aficionado — we leave that to Eric Rueb — but I did get to Triggs Memorial in April to watch La Salle gear up for its title run.
I was there to chronicle Rams’ freshman Drew MacLeod. The budding star shot a 6-under 30 at Kirkbrae Country Club earlier in the season and it got our attention. Unfortunately, MacLeod was competing in a qualifier in Massachusetts and we never got to see him ahead of the championship.
He wasn’t the only freshman we didn’t see during the regular season. On the opposite side of the state, Prout’s Rocco Capalbo was sinking putts all spring and the two were neck-and-neck at the state championship. A late run from North Kingstown’s Will Owens split up the pair as Capalbo seized the title shooting a 72-70 — 142.
MacLeod finished third (72-72) making for an exciting next three seasons for the duo.
Cydnee Meekins' home run in Division IV softball
William Geoghegan handled the Division IV softball championship between Central Falls/Blackstone Valley Prep and Times2 Academy/Paul Cuffee for us.
Central Falls rallied and won its repeat bid, 12-8, at Rhode Island College.
The comeback caught our eye, but as Geoghegan wrote, “Meekins delivered one of the day’s best highlights.”
Meekins drove a two-run homer un over the left-field wall for maybe the longest hit of the season. The 225-foot barrier had no chance of holding Meekins’ blast to the pull side as the power hitter muscled the riser out. Meekins finished 2-for-3 with the homer, plus a double and an intentional walk with the bases loaded.
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jrousseau@providencejournal.com
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This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Five stories we missed during the high school spring sports season
