Seekonk Baseball Games Allegedly Cut Due to Coach's Firing

Editor's note: In a previous version of the story, it was reported Classical High School dropped baseball games in Seekonk. It was Providence's Central High School.

Coach Joe Demelo does not say much about the last minute changes to his baseball team’s schedule. “We had twenty games, and now we have 17,” is all the coach would say about the loss of games with Tolman, Shea and Central high schools from his schedule this season.

Seekonk softball also lost two games with Rhode Island teams, but softball coach Gary Miller was only willing to acknowledge that fact. He offered no further comment. The softball team may wish they had the additional two games, but their playoff predicament is still the same.

Prior to the changes, softball needed a 10-10 record to make the playoffs. Now, they need to reach the 9-9 mark. Baseball’s road is harder, due to the loss of three games. With their original schedule, baseball also needed to go 10-10. Now, with a 17 game schedule, baseball would need a 9-8 record.

 Why did this happen?

 Athletic directors from Central and Tolman high schools could not be reached for comment. Only Dino Campopiano, head coach of Pawtucket’s Shea High School baseball was willing to speak on the matter.

 “I will never play Seekonk again,” said Campopiano on Wednesday. Campopiano was obviously not happy as he discussed the situation between his team and Seekonk.

 “My loyalty in this case goes to one person, it goes to Dave Hanson,” said Campopiano of the former Seekonk baseball coach who was fired this spring and who teaches at Shea High School. Hanson himself called the decision "a real surprise back in February," adding that he thought "The whole way things went down was very poor."

Campopiano, who called Hanson his “brother,” let it be known that the schedule change (at least on Shea High School’s part) is directly related to the firing of Hanson. “We played Seekonk because of our loyalty to him. I feel as if he didn’t get a fair shake. The way they treated him was not fair.”

The Shea coach also pointed out that Seekonk’s position would have been helped logistically if a coaching decision had been made earlier in the offseason. “To me, the athletic director should have known Hanson wasn’t going to be the coach. Dave had his schedule laid out, he was scheduling practices. The new coach could have set his own schedule.”