For Cranston West graduate Olivia Conti, the 2024 season has been an opportunity for her to show off the primary facets to her game for the Emmanuel softball team, as she has been a main source of offense for the Saints.

Hitting at a .327 clip, the ex-Falcon is not just making contact and getting on base, but is also flexing on opposing pitchers to the tune of a team-leading 10 home runs, all of which have come since the start of April.

Conti began her power surge on April 2 in the second game of a doubleheader versus Wentworth, taking Leopard starting pitcher Jess Rowe deep in the fifth and sixth innings of what was eventually a 12-8 setback for the Emmanuel nine.

After finally getting off the mark, the junior had to wait a bit longer to add to her personal tally, doing so in a 6-3 doubling up of Rivier on April 15 and then homering in both ends of a twinbill with Elms the next day that the Saints swept by a combined 31-7 score.

The doubleheader against the Blazers was the first of two this spring in which Conti drilled a longball in both games, accomplishing the feat again last Saturday as Emmanuel obtained a split with New England College.

In the opener, the host Pilgrims earned a 6-5 walk-off victory in extra innings but were run-ruled after five in the nightcap by the Saints, who wrapped up the regular season with a 10-0 blanking that netted them their 20th win of the campaign.

With the Great Northeast Athletic Conference tournament appearing on the horizon, focus for Emmanuel now shifts towards reclaiming the crown they last wore in 2021 and has since become a holy grail of sorts for the program.

First on the Saints’ docket is a Thursday afternoon tilt with Simmons, with the winner advancing to face the victor of a contest featuring regular season champions Lasell and an opponent to be determined via a play-in game to be held on Tuesday.

Heading into action against the Sharks, Conti is pacing Emmanuel with ten stolen bases and 40 runs batted in, with the latter placing her one off the conference lead owned by Caroline Amorelli of Johnson & Wales.

Athletes from Cranston made their presence felt in the throwing events for Rhode Island College as the Anchormen took part in the Little East Conference championships last Saturday, claiming a couple of podiums in the process.

Cranston East alumna Samantha Sainristil took top honors in the hammer throw, with her best heave measuring out at 46.05 meters, while she also found time to set a new program record in the shot put, picking up fourth place with an 11.75-meter effort.

Another former Thunderbolt that delivered on the big stage was Bethanie Jean-Philippe, who finished second behind Eastern Connecticut’s Kate Malczynski-Griffin in the javelin courtesy of a throw which reached the ground after sailing 33.31 meters.

While the green half of Cranston had a pair of standout performances, the red portion of the city can hang its hat on Christopher McCarthy’s fifth place in the hammer throw, going 45.42 meters to round out a quartet of RIC competitors inside the top five.

Sainristil and Jean-Philippe’s contributions helped the women’s squad improve on last year’s 49-point haul, remaining in sixth with a total of 73 points, whereas the men gained a spot relative to 2023, scoring 48 points to come home in sixth position.