The Bishop Hendricken baseball team’s championship defense is off to a nice start, as the Hawks beat Coventry 11-1 in the opener and then followed it up by rolling past Cranston East, 12-1.

Hendricken ace and Vanderbilt commit Patrick Clemmey impressed in his debut this spring when he led the Hawks past the Oakers by pitching four innings and racking up nine strikeouts. Jack DePalma drove in a pair of runs while Parker Boyd knocked in another and had two hits. Mason Marchessault tossed two innings of relief and registered four strikeouts. 

East grabbed a lead in the bottom of the second inning when Ethan Torres hit a solo home run. However, the Hawks would waste no time responding when they put up eight runs in the top of the third and continued to roll until the game was ended after the fifth.

The Hawks got multi-RBI efforts from Braeden Campbell, Edgar Rodriguez, Cooper Maher and Cameron Daley in the win. Mason Crain earned the win on the mound as he tossed four innings and allowed one run while striking out five batters. Steve Maynard pitched an inning of relief and struck out two batters.

Campbell and Rodriguez each hit home runs, and it was the latter’s first career varsity homer as he missed his entire freshman season recovering from injury. 

“It felt amazing. I was excited to be able to start today and to (hit that home run) was amazing. Just motivation. I worked hard to get back here and I’m grateful,” said Rodriguez.

Campbell added: “It’s good to see. We’re not as offensively strong this year but we’re going to make things happen. We put up 12 runs, got a few bunts, stole bases. Kids like Edgar and a couple other younger guys this year are good to have. He’s a good player.”

As reigning champs, the Hawks are confident in their experience and are looking forward to going for consecutive titles. Although some key returners are back in the mix, including guys like Campbell and Maher, the Hawks will need some newcomers like Rodriguez to fill out the rest of the roster.

“We want to be as good as possible. It’s important for us to do good because we’re next year’s future,” said Rodriguez of his and the underclassmen’s needed contributions. “We’re just going one game at a time, focusing on every game, every inning, every out. We’re focused on winning, it doesn’t matter how.”

Hendricken took on Cumberland on Monday, but the game was postponed after 10 innings due to darkness. The teams were tied at 4-4 and Boyd drove in a pair of runs.