Looking back over the past year, there were several championship seasons in 2011 and several near misses too. Last spring yielded three state champion teams at East Greenwich High School. Then, this fall, EGHS saw state championships slip from their grasp three different times.
For all the field teams, Carcieri Field is really home now, a year and a half after its delayed opening. Over the summer, town Public Works employees built the snack bar for the field, fulfulling a long-held dream for members of both the Booster Club and the Fields Committee.
One sports story that didn’t make our top five this year but deserves a mention is the addition of lights at Cragan Field last May. Through its citrus drive, the EG Rotary Club continues to help offset the cost of the new lights.
Now, the top five sports stories of the year:
1. Girls Softball Team win state championship for first time ever with a 4-0 win over Portsmouth on the strength of a no-hitter by ace pitcher Molly Anderson.
2. Boys Lacrosse Team wins state championship. Playing under the lights at Rhode Island College in June, EGHS beats Prout 8-5.
3. Boys Tennis Team wins state championship. The boys tennis team beat Cranston West 4-0 in the D-2 finals in May at Slater Park.
4. The East Greenwich Basketball Association ranks number four in this year’s list because it has grown so quickly since its inception less than two years ago. This season, EGBA has more than 700 players - 620 kids from kindergarten and tenth grade as well as 80 players in a new league for over-35 men. It is holding its second big tournament over MLK weekend in January.
5. Five other EGHS teams make it to the state finals in 2011: Boys Basketball loses to the Prout Crusaders, 47-35; Field Hockey team loses to Barrington in a battle of titans 1-0; Boys Soccer loses to the Smithfield Sentinals for the second year in a row; and Girls Tennis also loses to Smithfield in the final. While they didn't make the finals, the Boys Baseball team made it to the semis, losing to Cranston West in a series of three.
Did we miss one? Let us know in the comments.
