St. Raphael Academy has gone a perfect 4-0 against Ponaganset recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Wednesday. The Saints will be playing in front of their home fans against the Chieftains at 4:30 p.m. The timing is sure in St. Raphael Academy's favor as the team sits on four straight wins at home while Ponaganset has been banged up by five consecutive losses on the road.
While St. Raphael Academy 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. They were the clear victors by an 8-2 margin over South Kingstown on Tuesday. Considering the Saints have won three matchups by more than five runs this season, Tuesday's blowout was nothing new.
Emma Martin
| 04/29/25 vs South Kingstown | 1 |
| 04/23/25 vs Toll Gate | 1 |
| 04/10/25 vs Woonsocket | 0 |
Emma Martin was a major factor while hitting and pitching. She looked comfortable on the mound, striking out ten batters over seven innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off seven hits. She has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't given up more than one earned run in three consecutive appearances. She was also solid in the batter's box, going 2-for-4 with three runs, one stolen base, and one RBI.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Jaliyah De Los Santos, who went 2-for-3 with two stolen bases, one run, and one RBI. Those stolen bases were her first of the season. Another player making a difference was Sophie Roman, who got on base in three of her four plate appearances with one run.
St. Raphael Academy hit smart and finished the game with only two strikeouts. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their strikeout total in four consecutive games.
Meanwhile, Ponaganset faced Smithfield in a battle between two of the state's top teams on Monday. The Chieftains lost 15-4 to the Sentinels.
Maia Salvo made the most of her time at bat despite the final result and went 1-for-3 with one triple, one run, and one RBI. The team also got some help courtesy of Kyla Angell, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with two RBI.
St. Raphael Academy's victory bumped their record up to 6-1. As for Ponaganset, their loss dropped their record down to 2-7.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Wednesday. St. Raphael Academy hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 0.4 home runs per game. However, it's not like Ponaganset struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 0.8 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
St. Raphael Academy skirted past Ponaganset 9-8 when the teams last played back in May of 2023. Do the Saints have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Chieftains turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
