Softball Preview: Smithfield Sentinels vs. Cranston West Falcons
Smithfield is 2-7 against Cranston West since April of 2015 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Monday. The Smithfield Sentinels will head out on the road to take on the Cranston West Falcons at 4:30 p.m. Smithfield will be hoping to continue their three-game streak of scoring more runs each matchup than the last.
Smithfield is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Rhode Island's top teams: Chariho, who was ranked 12th in their home state at the time (Smithfield was ranked eighth). Smithfield was the clear victor by a 6-0 margin over Chariho on Tuesday.
Not much got past Crystal Cacador, who gave up just two hits and racked up seven Ks to keep Chariho off the board. Those seven strikeouts set a new season-high mark for her.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Lily Riggin, who went 2-for-4 with a home run, three RBI, and a double. Madison Kennedy was another key contributor, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 2-for-4.
Meanwhile, after soaring to 16 runs the game before, Cranston West was a bit more limited in their game on Thursday. They fell just short of Coventry by a score of 3-2. Cranston West's defeat signaled the end of their four-game winning streak.
Mia Crudale spent all ten innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered only one earned (and one unearned) run on five hits and racked up 11 Ks. She has been consistent recently: she hasn't tossed less than six strikeouts every time she's pitched this season.
At the plate, Sam Healy made the most of her time at bat despite the final result and went 1-for-4 with a home run and two RBI.
Smithfield's win ended a four-game drought on the road dating back to last season and puts them at 2-3. As for Cranston West, their loss was their first of the season and makes their record 4-1.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Monday. Smithfield hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 0.6 home runs per game. However, it's not like Cranston West struggles in that department as they've been averaging 1.2. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
Smithfield came up short against Cranston West in their previous meeting back in May of 2023, falling 7-3. Can Smithfield avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
