Above: Ava Fairbanks winding up for a pitch.

The East Greenwich Softball team – last year’s D2 state champion – came close to reaching the final in D1 this year but fell short Thursday (6/6/24), losing to Cranston West, 1-0. West scored on a walk in the top of the first, a stolen base and a 2-out single. That was all the scoring in the game. East Greenwich finished third in the state with a 14-9 record. 

“This past season has been nothing short of memorable,” said senior ace pitcher Ava Fairbanks. “I know it didn’t end how we wanted it but I’m so proud of the team and how we grew over the season. Coming from D2 to D1 was a big step and we did have some ups and downs but overall the outcome was better than we could have ever expected.

“We grinded from the start to the finish and I saw improvement in each and every one of the players every day. We were for sure the underdogs in D1 but we without a doubt did make a statement,” Fairbanks said. 

She noted that all six seniors had played softball together since they were 5 or 6 years old. While they are all leaving high school and their teammates behind, for Ava Fairbanks, she is also leaving behind her sister – and catcher – Brooke, a rising senior. 

“When it comes to thinking about not being able to ever play with my sister again, I have a heavy heart,” she said. “We grew up together playing this sport, it has brought us closer and being able to share a battery connection* with her since I started pitching till our last inning together on the field is something truly special.”

Fairbanks also credited Head Coach Rob Petrucci and Asst. Coach Karen Lockhart.

“The coaches have been great and so supportive over the past four years,” she said. “They really have impacted our journey positively and motivated us to be better.”

Fairbanks will be attending Roger Williams University and playing softball for them in the fall. 

“Ava Fairbanks is one of the best pitchers to ever put on an Avengers uniform,” said Coach Petrucci. “The official statistics for softball at EGHS date back to 1996. While she is in the running for some offensive records, I can confirm that she finished one game behind Jenn Stanley in career wins, Jenn has 52 and Ava has 51. Ava had 18 wins – the record is 20, held by Mollie Anderson, Class of 2012. Ava blew away strikeouts record both for a season (278 in 2022) and for a career (773).  If not for an injury in her freshman year, she would hold every pitching record in school history.”

*The relationship between a pitcher and a catcher is called a battery.

Allie Falcon at third base.

EG catcher Brooke Fairbanks.

Teaghan Bristol at second base.

Ava Fairbanks at the plate.

Margaret Neville at shortstop.