EAST PROVIDENCE — East Providence High School spring sports teams lost two of three playoffs outings Thursday, June 1, the host Townie baseball club the only one to come away with a victory.

Top-seeded in their four-team pod in the Division II baseball tourney, the locals recorded a relatively comfortable 9-1 win over Ponaganset. Tim Robitaille and Dylan Annicelli combined to toss a two-hitter, while Austin Martins drove in the game-winning run in the bottom of the first inning.

East Providence remained unbeaten in the double-elimination event. The Townies host Chariho, winners over Westerly as well Thursday, on Sunday morning, June 4, at 11.

Softball falls...
The news wasn't so great for the EPHS softball and boys' volleyball squads.

The seventh-seeded Townies, who bested Chariho in their Division I softball opener earlier in the week, traveled to Cranston West Thursday in their first game in the double-elimination main draw of the state tourney.

The host Falcons scored twice in the bottom of the third inning to break a 2-2 tie en route to a 5-2 victory. West had taken a quick 2-0 lead, scoring two in the home half of the first. The second seeds added another tally in the fourth.

East Providence plated a pair of runs in the second inning to level the score, but couldn't touch West pitcher Paige Cote for any more runs the rest of the way. The Falcons' hurler allowed three hits. Both of the EP runs were earned.

West advances to face the winner of third-seeded LaSalle vs. sixth-seeded Cumberland. East Providence faces the loser of that contest in an elimination game.

...So does boys' volleyball
In Lincoln, the fifth-seeded EPHS spikers lost in four sets, 3-1, to the fourth-seeded Lions in the quarterfinals of the single-elimination Division II boys' volleyball tournament.

The home side won games one and two by the scores of 25-10 and 25-11. The Townies came to life a bit in game 3 to win 25-23, but Lincoln, one of the tallest teams in the state, managed to hang in game four to end the match with a 25-22 win.

DJ Lepine led the locals with 15 kills. Senior Xavier Graca had 11 kills in what was his final high school contest. Setter Loden Broe had 30 assists.

East Providence's season came to a close with an 8-9 record in league matches, 11-9 overall.

More aseball notes
In their commanding win over the Chieftains, with whom they split two games late in the regular season, the Townies scored all the runs they would prove to need while plating three in the bottom of the first inning off of Ponaganset starter Evan Gray.

With one out, Steven Estrella drew a walk. Next, the left-handed hitting Manny Santos ripped the first pitch he saw to the opposite field down the left field line for a run-scoring double. He in turn came around on Austin Martins' solid single to right centerfield.

In between, Ziurel Vargas drew a walk. He went to second on Martin's single, then to third on a Robitaille base hit. Vargas would score the third run of the frame on an Oliver Andrews sacrifice fly to right.

Andrews later had two more RBI-singles while Martin had another run-scoring base hit as well and drove in one more on a ground out. Kyler Lorenz plated an EP run on a fielder's choice grounder. Estrella plated Jack McKnight, who tripled before him, on a sacrifice fly. And

All the while, Robitaille was he usual solid self on the hill. He allowed a two-out single in the top of the first, then not another hit in his six innings of work.

The Chieftains scored their lone tally in the top of the fifth after Robitaille walked the lead off batter and threw a wild pitch. He got the next two batters looking, but allowed the runner to steal third and tossed another wild pitch to let the run score.

Annicelli sandwiched a pair of Ks around a flyout and an infield single in the top of the seventh.