Few could have blamed JJ Renaud had he melted under the heat of the spring sun.

The sophomore hurler was at the end of a complete game effort at East Providence High School on a hot Thursday evening against the vaunted (and defending champion) Bishop Hendricken Hawks — and the raptors were circling.

In the top of the final frame, with no outs, Hendricken loaded up the bases. With the go-ahead run at the plate — the Townies nursing a narrow lead that Renaud had held since the first inning when the Townies scored three runs before all bats went cold — things looked tenuous a best.

Then came a strikeout in three commanding pitches. Then he fanned another on a 2-2 count. With the momentum on his side, he forced a soft grounder and ended the contest in an unlikely, complete game shutout. He finished with seven strikeouts, two walks and three hits allowed.

It was another marquee performance in an already impressive season for Renaud, who transferred to East Providence this season from Bishop Hendricken. He pitched a no-hitter in his first varsity start against Portsmouth two weeks back.

“He’s playing the big games, the big teams,” said coach Bobby Rodericks. Renaud also pitched against South Kingstown, striking out nine in five and two-thirds innings with only one run earned. The Townies lost that game in extra innings, 2-1. They are currently 8-2 overall and 6-1 in Division 1, trailing only La Salle.

Rodericks said that there was undoubtedly some added excitement following the win over the always-contending Hendricken team, particularly so because of Renaud’s status as a former Hawk.

“Not gonna lie, we both wanted this more than anything. You always try to look at it game by game, but we knew he wanted Hendricken since he transferred over here. I was giving it to him no matter what. We adjusted the rotation for it,” Rodericks said. “I know he’s only a sophomore but I’m throwing him to the wolves and seeing what he has, and he’s been proving himself every single start. So it was definitely a special win. We’re definitely going to celebrate this one.”

The Townies will now embark on a five-game away stretch, starting in Narragansett on Saturday, followed by Cranston West on April 29.