Saturdays in September mean cooler temperatures, college football games on TV, fall colors in the trees in my yard, and taking those last few dips in the pool or at the beach. And for me personally, Saturdays in September also mean updating my bracket to determine who the Rhode Island Baseball Community thinks is the Best Rhode Island High School Baseball Team since 1972. This week, we had 10 “matchups” featuring RIHS baseball teams from as far back as 1982 and as recent as 2021. Fans were asked to select a “winner” between two teams and place their vote via social media or email or through the contact page on my website. Here are the “winners” of this week’s matchup and a slight deviation format wise going forward in the project:

• Cranston East, 1979

• St Raphael’s Academy, 1996

• Bishop Hendricken High School (BHHS), 1999

• BHHS, 2015

• Tiverton, 1982

Here are some comments from voters this week:

“Tiverton 1982- Tigers won 17 straight games. 6-0 in the playoffs with 2 extra inning wins and 4 straight shutouts yes 4,that I guarantee will never happen again ,Towers(1),Reid(1) and Phillips (2),Towers pitched the final. Phillips/Towers best 3-4 hitters ever. Out scored opponents 16-1 over the last 5 games with 0 yes 0 earned runs to win the State Championship. Voted best Defensive team as well.”

“1996 St Rays. Playoffs through the city of Warwick. Pilgrim, Toll Gate, Hendricken, Warwick Vets. St Rays 1996 D1 champs went 26-3 and were dominant all season. 17-1 in League play. The 1995 Saints D1 championship team was a very close second. Back to back with a combined record of 54-6. Hard for me to pick which team was better.”

“The team with the most talented players I have ever seen would be the 1998/99 Hendricken team.”

“Cahill, Ray Warren and Dave Stenhouse. All future pro ball players. Team also had great hitters in Mike Cantone and Alan Pelli. The Metropolitan division was stacked with great teams from Pilgrim, Lasalle and Rogers. Cahill threw 3 no hitters, including 2 back to back. At the time only 9 players were selected for 1st team all state honors. CE took 3 on the 1st team and 1 on the 2nd team.”

“Tiverton has always been one of the smallest schools in RI. The school only has maybe two Division 1 State Titles. Lead by legendary coach Steve Lake, the Tigers did the impossible by winning the 82 State Title. Players like Dick Phillips, Carl Reid, and Mark Von Villas we’re truly a Cinderella Story.”

Thank you again to the fans who voted this week and helped me get one step closer to finding out more about Rhode Island High School Baseball since 1972. Now for the format deviation. Because fans are busy with work, school, other sports besides baseball (huh???), and life in general, I am adjusting the bracket matchups to simply this – make your selection out of the 5 remaining teams as to who you think is the Best Rhode Island High School Baseball Team since 1972 and message me. You can email me at ribaseballexperience@gmail.com or through social media or by filling out this contact form. I will let the project run its course for the next 2 Saturdays and announce the fan vote winner on Saturday October 1st. Once again, the 5 finalists for this project are:

• Cranston East, 1979
• Tiverton, 1982
• Bishop Hendricken, 1999
• Bishop Hendricken, 2015
• St. Raphael’s Academy, 1996

Let the voting begin…

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