Baseball Game Preview: Johnston Panthers vs. Toll Gate Titans

The Johnston Panthers will square off against the Toll Gate Titans at 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Given that the two teams suffered a loss in their last games, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this contest.

Johnston made up a huge gap compared to their last game against North Providence, but they still couldn't quite topple them. The Panthers fell just short of the Cougars by a score of 6-4 on Monday. The defeat continues a trend for the Panthers in their meetings with the Cougars: they've now lost four in a row.

Johnston saw six different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Luca Ricci, who went 2-for-4 with one stolen base, one run, and one RBI. Another was Ethan Bracey, who went 1-for-3 with one stolen base and one run.

Meanwhile, Toll Gate came up short against Central on Wednesday and fell 5-1.

Toll Gate had to settle for second despite strong performances on the mound from Geoffrey Laliberte and Brady Fales Laliberte struck out eight batters over four innings while giving up just two earned (and three unearned) runs off six hits, while Fales tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs off three hits. Fales has been consistent: he hasn't given up more than one walk in five consecutive appearances.

Toll Gate's loss was their fifth straight on the road, which dropped their record down to 3-13. As for Johnston, their defeat dropped their record down to 3-11.

The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Tuesday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Johnston has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Toll Gate struggles in that department as they've been averaging 6.9 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.

Johnston couldn't quite get it done against Toll Gate when the teams last played back in May of 2018 as they fell 7-3. Can the Panthers avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.