As I wrote back in June, it seemed that Division I baseball was even for the first time in a while.

D-I was vulnerable and multiple teams had a chance to strike, such as Johnston, Cranston West or runner-up South Kingstown, in order to pry the mantle away from Bishop Hendricken.

Instead, it was the usual suspects. Hendricken shut down the Rebels’ bats at McCoy Stadium to notch its 21st Division I baseball title. South Kingstown came into the series winning 22 in a row and with just one loss on the year, but the Hawks had simply been there before.

Senior ace Matt Kennedy whirled one of his best performances of the year, silencing the Rebels during a 3-1 win. Captain Brendan Conley, playing through five stitches on his hand, sealed the victory in Game 2 with what would be the game-winning double.

“A lot of kids have been here before and they know what it takes to get here,” infielder Elijah Brown, who went 2-for-2 in baseball championships since transferring to Hendricken from Moses Brown, said. “So really [it] just came from the heart. It had to be a real team effort.”

- J.M.