Before I reveal the results of the “matchups” featured in my online project – The Best Rhode Island High School Team Since 1972 – I wanted thank the voters who contributed to this project over the past several weeks. I have received some incredibly detailed emails and analysis of teams vs players, eras vs era, and why one team should be considered the #1 team of all time, not just since 1972. The leaves are turning, the pools are closing, the baseball worlds for many are turning to school, soccer, football, I am well aware and 100% okay with all of that. For me and for many, baseball lives on inside us 365 days a year and this project is meant to dust off our baseball knowledge while we change the channel from the MLB Network to Alabama vs Texas. So thank you Rhode Island Baseball Community members for helping me navigate through this project.

Here are the “matchups” one more time for Round 1:

• Tolman, 1981 vs Bishop Hendricken (BHHS), 2012
• Portsmouth, 2006 vs Cranston East, 1979
• BHHS, 2004 vs Cumberland, 1985
• BHHS, 1998 vs St Raphael’s, 1996
• Warwick Vets, 1983 vs South Kingstown, 2002
• Chariho, 2002 vs BHHS, 1999
• Westerly, 2022 vs BHHS, 2015
• Pilgrim, 1973 vs North Kingstown, 2021
• Tiverton, 1982 vs BHHS, 2005
• North Kingstown, 2022 vs BHHS, 2008

And here is how the fans voted and the ten teams that will move on to Round 2 of The Best Rhode Island High School Baseball Team Since 1972 Tournament:

• Bishop Hendricken, 2012 over Tolman. Here is a quote from a voter – “Tolman had some great players Like Kinch and Haggerty.  Hendricken was loaded and hard to pick against a team with King and Pannone.”
• Cranston East, 1979 edges Portsmouth, 2006. Here is a quote from a voter – “My #1 team. Saw firsthand and Cranston East was by far the most dominant team I’ve seen in the most competitive environment-  Met -1 ,  Every team was stacked.  CE had 3 pros and virtually every player on that team went on to college to play at a time when that didn’t happen too often.   Nothing against Portsmouth – Div 2 – south, but they’re up against a giant here in CE.”
• Bishop Hendricken, 2004 over Cumberland, 1985. Here is a quote from a voter – “A difficult one as that Cumberland team was great that year, but an 18-0 team with players like Rainville and Beliveau is hard to pick against.”
• St. Raphael’s, 1996 edges Bishop Hendricken, 1998. This was the closest margin of victory in the voting and many felt this St. Ray’s team was the best in the tournament overall.
• South Kingstown, 2002 in a close one over Warwick Vets. Here is a quote from a voter – “Warwick had great players in McManus and Branson but SK had a dominant year in 2002.”
• Bishop Hendricken, 1999 over Chariho, 2002. One voter chimed in “not going to beat Baldelli’s Hawks of 99,” referring of course to the legendary Hawk, now Minnesota Twins Manager – Rocco Baldelli.
• Bishop Hendricken, 2015 edges Westerly, 2022. This one had the most fan votes of any matchup and it went down to the last vote cast yesterday.
• North Kingstown, 2021 over Pilgrim, 1973. A generational matchup for me personally and a very happy moment for many NKHS baseball alums to see NKHS, 21 capture their first state title since 1967.
• Tiverton, 1982 over Bishop Hendricken, 2005. The fans spoke loudly on this one, with one chiming in “The east bay division was very very competitive that year.”
• Bishop Hendricken, 2008 edges North Kingstown, 2022. I had a few former coaches of RIHS baseball actually write me and express their very detailed views on this matchup. Wow, what an education and all I can say is this one was the most debated matchup of the tournament. From a voting standpoint, very close!

So, in order of appearance and nomination, here are Round 2’s “matchups” of games to further this debate as to who is the Best Rhode Island High School Baseball Team Since 1972:

• Bishop Hendricken (BHHS), 2012 vs. Cranston East, 1979

• BHHS, 2004 vs St. Raphael’s, 1996

• South Kingstown, 2002 vs BHHS, 1999

• North Kingstown, 2021 vs BHHS, 2015

• BHHS, 2008 vs Tiverton, 1982

As with Round 1, I will allow voting up until next Saturday morning, September 17th. Cast your votes, add your detailed comments, throw in a few photos from when you or your brother or your Dad or Granddad (perhaps) played for one of these teams. This upcoming week, I will be reaching out to players, coaches, and ADs from these teams to gain some further perspective on their huge success. Look for that about mid-week. So, to cast your votes, send me an email at ribaseballexperience@gmail.com or message me through social media or simply fill out the contact form below. And thanks again for being a valued part of this project.