We're hitting the home stretch of the softball season. Here are Rhode Island's best teams

The picture has been painted for a while, but the last three weeks of the regular season put the finishing strokes on everything before we get ready for the madness of the RIIL softball postseason.

While playoff season appears to be the most stressful, the reality is this time of year is. There are so many teams I want to cover and balancing softball with all the other sports and my family life is downright impossible.

Got to see the Marlins and Braves play but I rather would have seen Adriana Jeannenot pitch once this spring. Smithfield is one of the closest schools to home and the schedule hasn’t worked in my favor to see the Sentinels. West Warwick is on my list in D-II and Tiverton, Davies and Narragansett are teams I want to see in D-III.  Throw in any big game featuring two teams I may have already seen and there just isn’t enough time left.

So basically right now my FOMO is killing me and I’m having internal debates about going to watch a random game on days off or watching my own kids play lacrosse and trying to spend time with my wife before the playoffs hit and I’m never home.

The good news is my kids lax games take place early on Saturdays and I’ve managed to talk my wife into coming to afternoon games with me. She saw a wild one Saturday and this week, I’m bringing her to Warwick for La Salle-Pilgrim and she’s demanded at least one bat flip if someone hits a bomb (OK, maybe she didn’t but I did and I think girls should be allowed to bat flip without people getting whiny about it).

This is the fun time of year. The weather is terrific. The games are even better. We’re going to blink and it’s going to be over.

Let’s enjoy the ride – and let’s get on to the rankings.

RIIL Division I Softball Power Rankings

1. La Salle (14-0)

I’m writing this prior to the Rams’ Sunday matinee against Silver Lake (Mass.) and Phoenyx Silva could go full Izzy Alcantara and a bean-ball war could break out and it won’t change. The target on La Salle’s back is huge and it’s handling it’s business. This week is their toughest and we’ll see how the Rams handled it hosting Coventry Tuesday, playing at Chariho Thursday and at Pilgrim Saturday.

2. Pilgrim (10-2)

Are the Patriots built different? Seniors Genna D’Amato and Marin Prest have been huge this spring with their bats and leadership and young guns Skyler Hawes and Maddie Tuirok continue to produce. La Salle looms on Saturday, but the Patriots cannot look that far ahead with a tough game Tuesday against Smithfield and hosting rival Coventry on Thursday.

3. Chariho (8-5)

With three wins last week – and Adriana Jeannenot continuing to be one of RI’s best players – the Chargers deserve a bump this week. The offense has recently come alive and Chariho will need it to be there Thursday when it hosts La Salle. First, the Chargers have to play at Moses Brown Tuesday and end the week at Cumberland on Saturday.

4. Coventry (7-2)

The Oakers strengths are obvious – pitching and defense. Their weakness is too – offense. Coventry struggled to hit in a loss to Prout, but the bats worked Saturday against Cumberland. Which team shows up this week will determine a lot. The Oakers have some big matchups, traveling to play La Salle Tuesday and Pilgrim Thursday before hosting East Providence Saturday.

5. Cranston West (7-5)

The lower the Falcons drop in these rankings, the more dangerous they are. Cranston West has has more big-game experience than everyone minus La Salle and that’s why it handles swoons of the season. This week is busy for the Falcons, as they host Ponaganset Monday before traveling to play East Providence Tuesday, Cumberland Friday and St. Raphael on Saturday.

ON THE BUBBLE: Prout (6-5)

RIIL Division II Softball Power Rankings

1. St. Raphael

If the RIIL did RPI correctly, the Saints would be battling for seeding in the Division I playoffs (they’d currently be seventh) and to be quite honest, it would be better for the sport because the Saints look impossible to beat. St. Raphael has the arm, has the bats and play great defense. The Saints play at Mt. Hope Wednesday and will play a prove-it game Saturday against D-I Cranston West.

2. Johnston (7-1)

How many teams in Division I wish they could put an NIL together and see if Haley Boudreau would be interested in transferring? With a 0.68 ERA and 100 strikeouts in 41 innings, she’s more than handled the pressure put on her coming into the spring. Johnston plays three this week, traveling to take on Scituate Monday, a revenge game at West Warwick Wednesday before finishing up at South Kingstown Friday.

3. West Warwick (6-4)

Here come the Wizards. Their first half schedule was loaded with D-I teams and D-IIs you won’t find in these rankings, so West Warwick got battled tested and built confidence at the same time. Now the Wizards get to show it, starting with Tuesday’s game at Toll Gate, which is followed by a home game against Johnston before hosting the Titans on Saturday. By this time next week, they could be No. 2.

4. Barrington (8-4)

There’s not much separating the next four or five teams, but the Eagles look like they have the most potential. Having a solid starter in Kendall Fisher helps, but the lineup can do some damage and that might be what it takes to win D-II. After getting shut down by St. Raphael, Barrington will be hungry for two interesting contests – playing at defending D-III champ Cranston East Monday and at East Greenwich on Wednesday.

5. Toll Gate (6-4)

The Titans have a viable weapon in Delaney Wilson, who’s made a meteoric leap this spring and handled the pressures of being an ace well. This week will be her biggest test, as the Titans play a home-and-home with West Warwick on Tuesday and Saturday with a home game against Lincoln squeezed in on Wednesday.

ON THE BUBBLE: East Greenwich (8-3)

RIIL Division III Softball Power Rankings

1. Tiverton (12-0)

At this point there’s really no reason to doubt the Tigers’ prowess, but there’s a good chance they’ll go into Friday’s game against Davies without having played a full game in over two weeks. Will that affect them in any way? Of course, that could change during the week as Tiverton travels to play Juanita Sanchez Monday and Mount Pleasant on Wednesday.

2. Cranston East (8-3)

The Thunderbolts bounced back nicely with two smooth wins and this week’s schedule is a terrific test as they hit the homestretch of the season. Monday East is set to host D-II Barrington in a rematch from earlier this spring won by the Eagles, 16-1. Wednesday the Thunderbolts travel to play Exeter-West Greenwich before wrapping up the week with D-II Mt. Hope on Friday.

3. Davies (8-4)

With all the attention being paid toward undefeated Tiverton and Cranston East, the defending D-III champs, the Patriots are sitting back just biding their time. This team has the makings of a champion and can prove it this week up against a hot Classical team Monday and not falling into a trap Thursday against Paul Cuffee before Friday’s big game at Tiverton.

4. Narragansett (6-5)

Speaking of teams quietly sitting and waiting for their chance to shine, the Mariners’ powerful offense is ready to put on a show and win a championship. Next week is the big one for Narragansett when it plays at Tiverton, but the Mariners can’t think that far ahead. They host Rogers on Monday and Times2 Wednesday and then can start planning.

5. Classical (5-2)

With the top four teams being so strong, it’s hard to figure out who No. 5 is but as long as the Purple keep winning, this is their spot. Their schedule is about to get busy and this week starts with a big game at Davies on Monday. Classical then has a home-and-home with Hope on Thursday and Friday and in two games that are going to look like football scores.

ON THE BUBBLE: Hope (6-5)

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Rhode Island 2025 High School Softball Power Rankings after Week 5