Much like the weather might have forced some of you to do over the long Memorial Day weekend, we’ve switched things up on the fly here.
The last edition wasn’t the final Longplex Baseball Player of the Week poll for the regular season (and a little extra). It’s here now.
A few stray games remained on the schedule through Wednesday before preliminary playoff action got underway. Division I, Division II and Division III started with single-elimination contests before Pod play commenced. Two losses will be required to send teams home for the summer from there, and it all builds toward three best-of-3 title series at Rhode Island College.
North Kingstown, Lincoln, Smithfield and Moses Brown advanced in Division I. Narragansett, Chariho, St. Raphael and Johnston moved on in Division II. Hope and Tiverton staged the biggest upsets to date in Division III by toppling Providence Country Day and Juanita Sanchez, respectively – Blackstone Valley Prep/Central Falls and North Smithfield also went through.
Winners will be announced in the following Player of the Week poll. The prize is pretty simple – nothing tangible. Bragging rights, a bit of extra exposure on social media, the right to belong to an exclusive club by the start of June – that’s about it.
Who was last week’s Longplex Athlete of the Week in Baseball?
Mason Hunt of West Warwick earned 63% of the nearly 15,000 votes cast. North Providence’s Mike Ryan was second with 36%.
Hunt played a key role in the Wizards’ home-and-home sweep of Ponaganset two weeks ago. He picked up a save in a 1-0 win in the opener and was outstanding in the rematch, allowing five hits and striking out six in a 3-1 triumph. Hunt helped himself at the plate with a 3-for-3 day that included a triple, an RBI and a run scored.
We still need your help
We can’t do this alone. We need your help – engagement, reporting scores, spreading the word about the poll. That’s all up to you. We can facilitate in a few different ways, but this weekly competition will be what you make of it – we appreciate you for it.
Coaches and athletic administrators from either team in a given game are asked to contact us through the Game Changer app, by phone at (401) 277-7340 or via email at pjsports@providencejournal.com. We’ll accept phone and email submissions Monday through Friday from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., and we’ll also check email over the course of the weekend. Getting in touch as early as possible will always be preferable.
Meet this week’s nominees
That’s enough of a preamble. It’s time for the Week 8 nominees (in alphabetical order).
Noah Ferreira, Blackstone Valley Prep/Central Falls
The Warrior Pride won four games last week, including a Division III playoff contest over returning finalist Pawtucket Co-op. Ferreira was key in all of them, including against the Tigers – a hit, a walk, a run scored and nine strikeouts in a one-hit gem on the mound. Ferreira added a combined seven hits in victories over Paul Cuffee, Times2 and North Smithfield, driving in a pair of runs apiece against the Eagles and Northmen.
Bodie Forsell, North Kingstown
Forsell authored one of the best outings of his high school career exactly when it was needed most. He carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning as the Skippers shut out Cranston East, 5-0, in a Division I preliminary matchup. Forsell allowed just two infield singles, walked one and struck out 10 in a complete game that pushed North Kingstown into Pod 1 play.
Brayden Menard, Moses Brown
Menard delivered under pressure on the mound as the Quakers outlasted Barrington, 4-3, in a 12-inning Division I preliminary thriller. He allowed just two hits and struck out eight in 5 1/3 scoreless innings of relief to earn the victory over the Eagles. Menard escaped a bases-loaded jam in the bottom of the 12th while Moses Brown sealed a place in Pod 1.
Alex Monkevicz, Tiverton
The Tigers upset their way into Pod 2 of the Division III playoffs by avenging a loss earlier in the week to Juaniat Sanchez. Monkevicz had two hits in the defeat and went to work on the mound in the 12-4 triumph, striking out eight through six innings to go along with his two hits, two runs and three RBI. He also knocked in three runs and scored twice against Scituate and drove home another pair against Davies.
Josh Tejada, Hope
The Blue Wave advanced as the 12th-seeded team in Division III partly thanks to Tejada, who fired a gem in a 2-1 upset of Providence Country Day. He struck out five, allowed just two hits and scored a run on a Chris Bernard homer that decided it. Tejada also threw five innings in a win over Davies and collected two hits and two RBI in a victory against Paul Cuffee.
On X: @BillKoch25
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Vote for The Providence Journal Baseball Player of the Week sponsored by Longplex
