SPORTS

College Notes: Former Falcons breaking out at RIC

By BRENDEN SOARES
Posted 5/3/23

With the possibility of a first winning season since 2019 within their reach, the Rhode Island College softball team have counted upon the services of Cranston West products Sophia Crudale and Gabby …

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SPORTS

College Notes: Former Falcons breaking out at RIC

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With the possibility of a first winning season since 2019 within their reach, the Rhode Island College softball team have counted upon the services of Cranston West products Sophia Crudale and Gabby Cunha this spring.

Both ex-Falcons have become instant contributors this campaign as freshmen, with Crudale inking her name onto the Anchorwomen’s starting lineup and Cunha making frequent appearances as a part of the RIC pitching staff.

Starting all but two games to date, Crudale has been a quick study at the plate, compiling a .309 batting average with nine doubles and ten runs batted in, the former placing her level with Noelle Simmons for the team lead.

While there hasn’t been a truly standout effort from her bat, the left fielder has posted a half-dozen two-hit performances on the season, including Little East meetings with Plymouth State and Southern Maine.

In the latter contest, a 6-2 tripling up of the Huskies on April 11, Crudale led off the Anchorwomen’s half of the sixth inning by taking an offering from USM pitcher Alana DeLisle beyond the fence for her first collegiate home run.

Shifting gears to the circle, Cunha has hurled in 13 games as a member of a three-strong pitching corps, stringing together a 2-3 record with 36 strikeouts and a pair of complete games over 52 innings of work.

Both complete games came in her two most recent starts, beginning with a 6-1 setback to Eastern Connecticut on April 25 that saw RIC take an early lead with an Avery Katz home run in the first inning before the Warriors provided the remaining scoring.

In contrast to her meeting with ECSU, Cunha received a far better level of run support when she settled in to face the Keene State lineup four days later, fanning six Owls while Crudale drove home three runners in an 8-1 triumph for the Anchorwomen.

Heading into the final two games of their slate, RIC is currently sporting an overall record of 16-16 with a 7-7 mark in Little East play, reaching .500 last Saturday via a doubleheader sweep of Keene State.

The adversary standing between the Anchorwomen and a winning season is UMass-Boston, who have no lost five of their last six after dropping both ends of a twinbill versus Curry the previous Thursday.

Although he has played more of a supporting role in the team’s success, Cranston West alum Tyler Di Nezza has nonetheless chipped in for the Lasell baseball team as they finished second in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference standings.

As a result of their 14-4 record in league play, the Lasers earned a first round bye in the six-team conference tournament and will enter the fray on Thursday against the winner of the matchup between Rivier and Anna Maria.

DiNezza took to the field for Lasell on seven occasions this spring, mainly coming off the bench but also starting the team’s April 15 game versus Colby-Sawyer, smacking a double in the second inning of the Lasers’ 6-5 decision over the Chargers.

It was one of three hits that came off the former Falcon’s bat during the campaign, as he also picked up base hits versus Gallaudet and Bridgewater State, driving home a run against the latter during a ninth-inning rally that fell short in a 10-8 defeat to the Bears.

RIC, Falcon

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