Baseball Game Preview: South Kingstown Rebels vs. Cumberland Clippers

For the second straight game, South Kingstown will face off against Cumberland. The Rebels are taking a road trip to square off against the Clippers at 4:00 p.m. on Monday. South Kingstown's pitching crew has only allowed 2.2 runs per game this season, so Cumberland's hitters will have their work cut out for them.

South Kingstown is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Rhode Island's top teams: Cumberland, who was ranked second at the time (South Kingstown was ranked third). The Rebels fell just short of the Clippers by a score of 3-2 on Sunday. Rebels fans who chose to attend the game sure picked the wrong one: it was the first time the team's lost against the Clippers since on Sunday.

For Cumberland's part, Ben Jahnz spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered two runs (both of which were unearned) on five hits. Jahnz has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up a single earned run in three consecutive appearances.

On the hitting side, Andrew Nocera was incredible, going 3-for-4 with one home run, two runs, and two RBI. That's the most hits he has posted since back in April. Tyler Hurteau was another key player, going 3-for-5 with one double and one RBI.

Cumberland hit smart and finished the game with only one strikeout. The team has now struck out at least three batters in four consecutive matches.

Cumberland's win was their seventh straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 19-5. Those road victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 8.7 runs over those games. As for South Kingstown, their loss dropped their record down to 18-6.