Baseball Game Preview: East Providence Townies vs. La Salle Academy Rams

The East Providence Townies will face off against the La Salle Academy Rams at 4:30 p.m. on Monday. The last three games East Providence has played have been within two runs, so don't be surprised if it's a close one.

East Providence is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Rhode Island's top teams: Coventry, who was ranked 18th at the time (East Providence was ranked eighth). The Townies fell just short of the Oakers by a score of 6-5 on Friday. The Townies have struggled against the Oakers recently, as the game was their fourth consecutive lost meeting.

Aidan Martins was cooking despite his team's loss, getting on base in all four of his plate appearances with two stolen bases and one run.

Meanwhile, La Salle Academy came tearing into Friday's contest with three straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 3.3 runs), and they left with even more momentum. They came out on top against the Hawks by a score of 11-7. La Salle Academy's win was all the more impressive since the Hawks were averaging only 2.72 runs allowed on the season.

The team relied heavily on Jayce Bessette, who went 3-for-4 with two runs, two RBI, and one double. Those three hits gave him a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Thomas Malloy, who went 2-for-3 with one stolen base, two RBI, and one run.

La Salle Academy hit smart and finished the game with only two strikeouts. The team has now struck out at least three batters in four consecutive games.

La Salle Academy's victory was their sixth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 14-4. Those road wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 7.8 runs over those games. As for East Providence, their defeat dropped their record down to 10-6.

East Providence came up short against La Salle Academy when the teams last played back in May of 2022, falling 5-1. Can the Townies avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.