Baseball Game Preview: Woonsocket Villa Novans vs. Times Squared Academy Eagles

The Woonsocket Villa Novans will face off against the Times Squared Academy Eagles at 5:00 p.m. on Friday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Woonsocket has ten straight wins, Times Squared Academy has six straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the field.

If Woonsocket beats Times Squared Academy with eight runs on Friday, it's going to be the squad's new lucky number: they've won their past two contests with that exact score. The Villa Novans had just enough and edged out Providence Country Day 8-6. While the Villa Novans didn't have the best season last year (they finished 5-14), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past.

Braylon Guilbeault made a splash no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, keeping things locked down with no earned runs or hits while striking out nine over 4.1 innings pitched. Those nine strikeouts gave him a new career-high. He was also solid in the batter's box, going 1-for-3 with two stolen bases and one double. He is on a roll when it comes to stolen bases, as he's now snagged at least one in each of the last four games he's played.

In other batting news, CJ Bousquet and Joseph Greenless did most of the damage at the plate: Bousquet went 2-for-4 with two runs, one stolen base, and one double, while Greenless earned three runs and two stolen bases. That double was Bousquet's first of the season.

Meanwhile, Wednesday just wasn't the day for Times Squared Academy's offense. They came up short against Mt. Pleasant on Wednesday, falling 25-0.

Woonsocket's victory was their sixth straight on the road dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 8-0. As for Times Squared Academy, their loss dropped their record down to 0-5.

Times Squared Academy's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Woonsocket hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .401. It's a different story for Times Squared Academy, though, as they've only averaged .078. Will they be able to contain Woonsocket's hitters? Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more baseball content.