Baseball Game Preview: Prout Crusaders vs. St. Raphael Academy Saints

The Prout Crusaders will challenge the St. Raphael Academy Saints at 4:30 p.m. on Friday. Both come into the match bolstered by wins in their previous matches.

The scorekeeper got an easy start on Wednesday as neither Prout nor Johnston made it on the board until the sixth inning. The Crusaders never let the Panthers get on the board and left with a 4-0 victory.

Gavin McCoy

Batters Struck Out (Career)

05/07/25 @ Johnston	11
04/21/25 vs Rogers	9
04/27/24 vs North Providence	7
05/02/24 vs Chariho	6
04/29/25 vs Toll Gate	5

Gavin McCoy made a big impact no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run while striking out 11 over seven innings pitched. Those 11 strikeouts gave him a new career-high. He was also big at the plate, going 3-for-4 with two doubles, one run, and one RBI.

McCoy wasn't the only one making solid contact as three players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Andrew Nowell, who got on base in three of his four plate appearances with one run. Joe Hennings also deserves some recognition as he snagged his first stolen base of the season.

Meanwhile, St. Raphael Academy faced Chariho in a battle between two of the state's top teams on Wednesday. The Saints won by a run and slipped past the Chargers 3-2. Winning may never get old, but the Saints sure are getting used to it with their fifth in a row.

St. Raphael Academy pushed their record up to 9-4 with the win, which was their fifth straight on the road. They've had to fight for that success though, as they only beat their opponents by an average of 2.6 runs across that stretch. As for Prout, their victory ended a three-game drought on the road and puts them at 6-8.

Prout was able to grind out a solid win over St. Raphael Academy in their previous matchup two weeks ago, winning 10-6. Do the Crusaders have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Saints turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.