Senior third baseman Jason Romano was one of Prout's top hitters this season.

Journal photo / Mary Murphy

PAWTUCKET –– It was the spring of 1935, the R.I. Interscholastic League was three years old and Mount St. Charles was one of the new league’s athletic powers.

In the winter the Mounties had won the state hockey title, and that spring the Mount St. Charles baseball team captured the Division I state title.

Mount St. Charles hockey teams have won a few more state titles since 1935 –– 37 to be exact –– but that 1935 title is the only state baseball crown Mount St. Charles has won in 76 years of Interscholastic League play.

But when the Mounties take the field at McCoy Stadium on Wednesday for the opening game of the best-of-three RIIL Division II baseball title series, they will have one more state baseball title on their résumé than their opponent.

Of course, Prout has been playing Interscholastic League baseball for only six years.

First title ever or first title in 74 years –– there will be some serious historic significance playing out at McCoy over the next few days.

Prout vs. Mount St. Charles, it’s the natural rivalry that doesn’t have much history.

They are both small parochial schools, but Mount has a long history of excellence in some boys sports — such as hockey, tennis and soccer, while Prout is basically a newcomer to Interscholastic League boys sports competition. So the two schools play in different divisions in several sports.

But one thing the Mounties and the Crusaders had in common this spring was that they were the best teams RIIL Division II baseball had to offer.

Prout won the Division II-South regular-season title with a 16-2 record. Mount St. Charles won the II-North regular-season crown with a 15-3 slate. They were the two best records among the 21 teams in Division II this spring. The Crusaders and the Mounties then earned their berths in the finals by rolling through the two Division II double-elimination qualifying tournaments with undefeated records.

Mount St. Charles outscored the opposition, 27-1, en route to its three regional tournament victories. Prout took the other route to McCoy, winning three close games, two of them by one run.

Mount St. Charles will come into the title series riding a 16-game undefeated string. The last team to beat the Mounties in Interscholastic League play was Prout, back on April 17 in the only regular-season subdivision crossover meeting between the two.

You don’t need history for a great rivalry.

“We are sincerely excited to have the opportunity to compete for a state championship in baseball,” Prout coach Mike Labarbera said.

This will be the second straight year the Crusaders have played in the Division II finals. Two state title series berths in only six years of competition is a relatively short trip to the top of the Division II baseball ranks, but that doesn’t mean Prout baseball players haven’t payed their dues.

In their first year of Interscholastic League competition in 2004, the Crusaders were 0-18. They improved to 8-10 in 2005, then began a string of four consecutive winning seasons in which they posted a combined regular-season record of 58-12. Last season, they were 15-3 in regular-season play, then reached the state title series, where they lost to North Smithfield in three games.

Several of the key members of last year’s team are back this year.

Senior shortstop Joe Anzeveno ledthe Crusaders in batting average (.482) and runs scored (20) during the regular season. Jason Romano, a senior third baseman, also was one of the team’s top hitters with 20 hits in 60 plate appearance for a .333 average. Senior Brad Horsfield was the workhorse of the Crusaders’ pitching staff as he tossed 40 2/3 innings en route to a 5-0 record and a 2.58 E.R.A. Horsfield then allowed only three earned runs in two complete-game playoff performances.

Labarbera also has received substantial contributions from newcomers this season.

Freshman Marshall Vigneault posted a 5-0 regular-season record with a 2.36 E.R.A. and freshman Shane Sandoval was the second-leading hitter among the everyday players, with 17 hits in 45 official trips for a .386 average.

A corps of talented veterans also has played a major role in Mount earning its first finals berth since 1992.

“Everything starts with them,” Mount coach Tom Seaver said of the five seniors on his roster. “They have a lot of poise. They know what they are doing.”

Apparently, Vaughn Hayward has known what to do on the mound since he started pitching for the Mounties as a sophomore. In those three years, Hayward has never lost an Interscholastic League game.

“He has never lost a game. I think he has won 14 or 15 games,” Seaver said about Hayward.

Hayward upped this season’s record to 6-0 last Saturday when he tossed five-plus innings of one-hit ball in the 4-1 victory over Johnston that put Mount in the finals.

“He came into that game with a 0.96 E.R.A., so it’s probably just about 1.00 now,” Seaver continued about Hayward.

In addition to his impressive pitching stats, Hayward also is the Mounties’ top hitter with his .491 batting average.

Senior twins Josh and Ryan Pangborn have made major contributions in both the batter’s box and on the mound. Josh, the starting catcher for the past four years, is hitting .471, and Ryan has a 6-1 pitching record with a 1.62 E.R.A.

Senior second baseman Ryan Levesque is hitting .423 with 23 RBI, while classmate Nick Bowen is hitting .333.

Two afternoon games

The Mounties and the Crusaders will play at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday. If a third game is necessary, it will be played Friday at a time to be determined.

Thanks to PawSox, Amica

Once again this season, both the Division I and Division II tournaments are sponsored by the Pawtucket Red Sox and Amica Insurance.

jgillool@projo.com