Cranston West graduate Paige Cote is starting to make herself at home inside the pitching circle for the Assumption softball team, chalking up seven appearances during the opening weeks of the campaign for the Greyhounds.

For the most part functioning in a relief role, the former Falcon has been entrusted with starting duties on a pair of occasions, getting the call for Assumption’s March 6 meeting with Tampa and the opening game of Sunday’s doubleheader versus Caldwell.

In her first start against the Spartans, Cote hurled four innings of shutout ball, scattering three hits while issuing four walks before giving way to the bullpen, who went on to surrender nine runs in the Tampa half of the sixth en route to a 9-3 setback.

A better outcome awaited the freshman righty when she toed the rubber to face Caldwell, going the distance and receiving ample run support from the Assumption lineup, claiming a 9-3 triumph to pick up her second victory in as many days.

The Greyhounds broke open what was a scoreless contest in the third inning, batting around and hanging a five-spot on the previously-untouched scoreboard, which they followed up with runs in each of the remaining frames to account for the Cougars.

Caldwell exacted their revenge in the nightcap, blanking Assumption 4-0 due in large part to a three-run blast over the center field fence in the fifth inning from Ashleigh Tavakska to split the four-game series.

Saturday’s twin bill went in the opposite direction, with the host Cougars surviving a late charge to eke out a 9-8 decision in game one and Cote striking out three in a four-inning stint as the Greyhounds emerged victorious in the second tilt via a 7-4 score.

Wednesday’s scheduled double-dip with Post serves as the final tune-up for Assumption before the start of Northeast-10 competition, which will commence on March 27 with a trip to Southern New Hampshire for a pair of games versus the Penmen.

Heading into the visit from the Eagles, Cote is the lone pitcher on the Greyhound staff with a winning record, compiling a personal mark of 2-1 with a team-high six strikeouts in 18.2 innings of work.

Bursting out of the gate to an 11-1 start, the Salve Regina baseball team has started the 2024 season on a roll, with contributions from Cranston native and La Salle product Gianfranco Messina.

Taking part in nine of the dozen games the Seahawks have played thus far, the ex-Ram has accrued three hits with a double and a run driven in, plating Tyler Petrosino during Salve’s eason opener on February 23, a 6-0 shutout of Catholic.

Sharing catching duties alongside a quartet of other backstops, Messina is usually called upon to take over behind home plate in the latter portion of games, but has managed to rack up three starts, most recently last Wednesday versus RIT.

The Tigers jumped out to a 5-0 lead before the Seahawks could respond, but 13th-ranked Salve worked their way back into proceedings, leading up to a walk-off single from Shea Donovan in the tenth inning to grab a 6-5 victory.

Currently on a ten-game winning streak that was bolstered by a 6-0 trip to Florida, the Seahawks will resume their campaign Thursday afternoon with a contest against Mitchell before welcoming Husson for a doubleheader two days later.