Baseball Game Preview: Ponaganset Chieftains vs. Prout Crusaders

The Ponaganset Chieftains will venture away from home to challenge the Prout Crusaders at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday. Ponaganset's pitching crew has only allowed 2.6 runs per game this season, so Prout's hitters will have their work cut out for them.

Ponaganset is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Rhode Island's top teams: West Warwick, who was ranked fifth at the time (Ponaganset was ranked 12th). The Chieftains fell just short of the Wizards by a score of 3-1 on Tuesday. The Chieftains just can't catch a break and have now endured three losses in a row.

North Providence hit Prout with a five-run second inning on Tuesday, which goes a long way in explaining the final result. The Crusaders came up short against the Cougars, falling 8-1.

Prout saw six different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Ryan Antonucci, who went a perfect 1-for-1 with one double.

Ponaganset's defeat dropped their record down to 11-6. As for Prout, their loss dropped their record down to 2-13.

Ponaganset was able to grind out a solid victory over Prout when the teams last played back in May of 2025, winning 8-5. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Chieftains since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.