Rhode Island high school baseball this spring is a lot like New England weather –– if you don’t like the results, wait a minute –– or a few days.

Just ask the fans in North Kingstown.

It’s a safe bet that the Skippers’ followers weren’t too excited last Thursday when North Kingstown, which had come into a game against Cranston East boasting an 8-1 record, dropped a 7-6 decision to the Thunderbolts. At the time, Cranston East was only 5-3 in league play.

But only two days later, North Kingstown’s fans were smiling again when the Skippers handed Hendricken its first loss of the season, 8-5 Saturday afternoon at Hendricken.

South Kingstown fans also went from despair to delirium in only two days. On Thursday afternoon, the previously undefeated Rebels could manage only two hits in a 7-2 loss to Hendricken. But then the Rebels exploded for 13 hits in a 16-4 victory over two-time defending state champion Cranston West on Saturday afternoon.

The bottom line is, you can’t safely predict the weather or high school baseball results in Rhode Island this spring.

All’s well in Portsmouth

Of course, it has been sunshine every day in Portsmouth this spring –– at least baseball-wise.

With only three weeks of the regular season remaining, Portsmouth is now the only undefeated team among the Interscholastic League’s 50 baseball entries after the Patriots improved to 10-0 with victories over Cumberland and St. Raphael last Thursday and Friday.

Honor for NK’s Normand

North Kingstown pitcher Cody Normand earned the HS GameTime Athlete of the Week award for his performance Saturday afternoon against Hendricken. The Skippers’ junior right-hander handed the Hawks their first loss as he tossed a complete game and scattered nine hits en route to the 8-5 victory.

Gilbane heads for Cornell

J.J. Gilbane, the former Providence Country Day All-American lacrosse player who spent this school year at Deerfield (Mass.) Academy, will be playing at Cornell next year. Gilbane, who amassed 328 points during his four-year Interscholastic League career at PCD, is one three players on this year’s Deerfield team headed to Cornell in the fall.

All roads lead to Cranston

It looks like all of the 2008 Citizens Football Super Bowls will be played on the new artificial turf field at Cranston Stadium.

The Interscholastic League and Cranston mayor Michael Napolitano have scheduled a press conference for this morning in Napolitano’s office, where it is expected to be announced that the four state title games will be played on Sunday, Dec.7, and Monday, Dec. 8, in Cranston.

Over the last few decades, the games have been played at several different natural-grass fields. Last fall, two Super Bowls were played at Cranston Stadium, where the artificial turf was installed prior to the start of the 2007 football season.

The artificial turf reduced the chances of the games being postponed because of wet grounds, especially from snow. Over the last two decades, the games have been postponed a couple of times because of snow on the grass fields.

It definitely makes sense for the Interscholastic League to move all of the Super Bowls to the artificial surface at Cranston Stadium.

But, with that said, there’s still no better place in New England to watch a high school football game than East Providence’s Pierce Stadium, where the Division I Super Bowl had been played for the last two decades and once was home to all of the Super Bowl games.

Emery proves versatile

They don’t keep these types of records at the R.I. Interscholastic League office, but I assure you that North Providence’s Pam Emery is the first three-time girls state singles tennis champion who also hits home runs for her high school softball team.

Two locals help Bryant

Speaking of tennis, apparently former La Salle star Kate Francazio has the championship touch.

In her senior season at La Salle in the fall of 2006, Francazio’s play at first singles led the Lady Rams to the Division I state team title. Now a freshman at Bryant University, Francazio helped the Bulldogs’ women’s tennis team capture the title at the Northeast-10 Conference tournament last weekend when she won the fourth-flight singles championship and was a member of the championship team in the third-flight doubles.

Former Barrington High All-Stater Michelle Burke also played a big role in the Bulldogs’ title drive as a member of the second flight championship doubles team.

Rogers opens its Hall

Ten individuals whose accomplishments spanned six decades of Rogers High School sports and one of the most successful teams in school history will be inducted into the Rogers Athletic Hall of Fame at the Hall’s first induction dinner Saturday night at the school gym.

Legendary football coach John Toppa, girls cross country coach Pat Caswell and former Vikings star athletes Townsend Clarke, Mardie Corcoran, Ernie DeWitt, Frank Newsome, Jack Donovan, Charlie Gibbons, Jack Donovan and John Mellekas join the 1985 girls cross country team as the members of the first induction class.

For dinner-ticket information contact Joe Buckley at (401) 849-2614; Mardie Corcoran at (401) 862-6256; John Dias at (401) 862-0954; John Heino at (401) 862-0635, or Jim Psaras at (401) 641-2316.

RIIL to induct 11

Speaking of Hall of Fame inductions, tomorrow is the deadline for ordering tickets for the R.I. Interscholastic League’s May 7 Hall of Fame induction dinner.

This year’s inductees include Brian Lawton, Don Panciera, Thom Spann, Maureen Dyer, Joe Conley, Dick Ernst, Leroy Archibald, Joanne Fitts and the late Jim Ahern, Skip Kenyon and Louis “Duke” Abbruzzi.

Tickets can be ordered by calling the Interscholastic League office at (401) 277-9844.

Hopkins off to UMass

Brent Hopkins, the La Salle senior shortstop who had key hits in the Rams’ victories over Tiverton and East Providence last week, will be joining his cousin, Cranston West All-Stater Dan Hopkins, at UMass-Amherst next fall.

Award for Montague

Congratulations to Wayne Montague, principal of the Hope High Leadership Academy and an R.I. Interscholastic League boys basketball director, on his selection as a Rhode Island College alumni honor roll recipient. Montague and the other two Hope principals, Arthur Petrosinelli and Scott Sutherland, were named recipients of the RIC Alumni Association honor award in secondary education.

Sure enough, someone did

A few weeks ago I wrote that I was sure it had been done, but I could not remember another Rhode Island high school pitcher facing only 22 batters in a seven-inning game and striking out 20 of them, as Portsmouth’s Ryan Westmoreland did against Barrington earlier this month.

Well, Curt D’Aguanno wrote: “In 1968, Ed Laborio of Cranston West struck out 20 of 21 versus Ponaganset. He struck out the first 10, fielded a grounder back to the mound, then struck out the final 10 batters.”

That was 40 years ago. I have a tough time remembering what I had for dinner last night.

jgillool@projo.com