The Chariho Chargers will face off against the North Providence Cougars at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday. Both come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Chariho is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Rhode Island's top teams: Narragansett, who was ranked 16th at the time (Chariho was ranked 19th). The Chargers walked away with a 6-3 win over the Mariners on Tuesday. The Chargers have beaten the Mariners the last three times they've met, but they better watch out: this was the closest the Mariners has come to flipping the script.
Landon Sumner
| 04/29/25 @ Narragansett | 7 |
| 04/23/25 vs Middletown | 2 |
| 04/19/25 vs Westerly | 5 |
| 04/17/25 vs Narragansett | 1 |
| 04/11/25 vs Central | 5 |
| 04/04/25 @ Johnston | 7 |
Landon Sumner was a major factor while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he struck out seven batters over five innings while giving up three earned runs off seven hits. That's the most strikeouts he has posted since April 4th. He was also big at the plate, going 2-for-4 with one run and one RBI.
Sumner wasn't the only one making solid contact as eight players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Adam Carpenter, who got on base in three of his four plate appearances with one run. Another was Gavin Apice, who got on base in four of his five plate appearances with one stolen base and one run.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask North Providence). They put the hurt on Central with a sharp 13-3 victory on Tuesday. The result was nothing new for the Cougars, who have now won five games by seven runs or more so far this season.
Like Chariho, North Providence also got a great game from a two-way player: Vin Pontarelli. He didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only two hits over four innings pitched. Pontarelli was also solid in the batter's box, going 1-for-2 with two runs and two RBI.
In other batting news, North Providence got a massive performance out of Ronnie Paux, who went 2-for-4 with five RBI and one run. Mike Allard was another key player, getting on base in three of his four plate appearances with four runs and one stolen base.
North Providence's win was their ninth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 9-1. Those home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.3 runs on average over those games. As for Chariho, their win bumped their record up to 7-5.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Thursday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Chariho has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.8 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like North Providence struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one. Check MaxPreps after the match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other baseball content.
