This past July 4th weekend was buzzing with baseball news that stretched from Cimalore Field to Cardines Field to Nashville, Tennessee. Parents, coaches, players, fans, and the Rhode Island Baseball Community were spread out all over Rhode Island and parts of Massachusetts participating in the massive and highly successful Firecracker Sports 4th of July Showcase Tournament. Travel teams like the RI Devils, Ocean State Bandits, KR Express, and the Ocean State Makos took their talents south and southwest in national tournaments – and Wow, did they do an amazing job representing RI baseball! For me, I attended a few games locally here in Rhode Island and kept my eye on social media for what else was happening in the baseball world. Here are a few snapshots, social media posts, and updates from a busy weekend of Rhode Island Baseball Experiences.
This was sent to me by Westerly Baseball High School’s Head Coach Ronnie Sposato, Jr. I mean Rhode Island State Baseball Champion Head Coach Ronnie Sposato, Jr of the 2022 Rhode Island State Baseball Champion (D2) Westerly Bulldogs Baseball Club.
RI Devils Baseball with a strong showing at Lasorda Legacy Complex for the 2022 18U PG New England Elite Championships.
Chris Collins Wiffle Ball Tournament announcement: Registration is open for the 4th annual Chris Collins Wiffle Ball Tournament Saturday, August 6 at Tuckertown Park from 10 – 3 pm. Registration link. Come join the fun and support a great cause!
Friday, July 1st I stopped in at Brown Baseball’s Attanasio Field to watch the PSL Tigers in their opening round game of the Firecracker 4th of July Showcase Tournament. PSL, Providence Sports & Leadership, took on Swanson Baseball on a very hot and steamy Friday morning. I watched part of the game behind home plate, which gave me an awesome view of the field and the pitchers. Then, I switched spots to behind the bullpen area, where I found some shade. I captured a photo from there of a home run hit and then retrieved the ball and tossed it to Coach Franklin Salcedo. The mother of the home run hitter came down and I asked her if that was her son that hit the ball. “Yes, my son Rafael,” referring to the PSL left fielder. Awesome game, ton of talent on the field from both teams and wow was it HOT!!!
I stopped in at RIC’s Pontarelli Field for the 15U finals in Firecracker Sports 4th of July Showcase Tournament. The finals featured RI based New England Scorpions vs the MDB (Matt Duffy Baseball) Knights. Blue skies, puffy clouds, no wind, and 80+ degree temps – great baseball weather. Scorpions are loaded to top underclassmen talent from Rhode Island, many names you will be reading about for years to come in Rhode Island High School news! And speaking of news, I caught up with Lauren and Cody Ortega of the NE Scorpions on the team, summer plans, and the incredible college season of one Ben Sears, a former NE Scorpion and current University of Houston Cougar Pitcher. Well, for now at least because the MLB Draft starts July 17th, so keep your ears ready and you may very well hear Sears name called.
This from the Ocean State Makos Instagram page: WOW! Congratulations to 16u White’s Mike Mita on tossing a PERFECT GAME this morning in the @firecrackerbsb 4th of July Tournament! Incredible! Here is Mike pictured with 16uW Head Coach Bob Downey. Way to go Mike! 🦈⚾️
The live video feature on the GameChanger app is just so cool. This snapshot to my right features a game with RI’s KR Express Elite 14U club, who are playing in the 2022 PG 14U Mid-Atlantic Elite Championship in New Jersey. In fact, they will be playing today at 11:20am this morning, and I will be checking in on their game via my GameChanger app.
These photos, social media posts and updates are just a small sample of the many, many amazing Rhode Island Baseball Experiences from this past weekend. As always, you can check my social media pages daily for photos, game highlights, updates, and more that I post and that you send to me. In addition, on the home page of my website, you can check the social media posts of teams like the Ocean State Bandits, the Ocean State Waves, The New England Collegiate Baseball League, the Futures Collegiate Baseball League, the Cape Cod Baseball League, and many others. And read the tweets from some of my favorite local sports writers and newspapers. Stay informed this summer and help others stay informed by sharing your baseball news with me, so I can share it with the Rhode Island Baseball Community!!!
The Rhiter 
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