The Coventry Oakers will head out to challenge the Ponaganset Chieftains at 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Coventry will aim to continue their three-game streak of scoring more runs each matchup than the last.
Coventry is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Rhode Island's top teams: St. Mary Academy-Bay View, who was ranked 24th at the time (Coventry was ranked fourth). The Oakers blew past the Bengals 17-0 on Saturday. The Oakers have beaten the Bengals the last three times they've met, but they better watch out: this was the closest the Bengals has come to flipping the script.
Mary Mcgovern
| 04/19/25 @ St. Mary Academy-Bay View | 1 |
| 04/15/25 @ Cumberland | 1 |
| 04/04/25 vs Westerly | 1 |
Mary Mcgovern made a big impact no matter where she played. On the mound, she kept things locked down with no earned runs or hits while striking out six over four innings pitched. She has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't given up more than one walk in three consecutive appearances. She was also big at the plate, going a perfect 2-for-2 with one home run and four RBI.
In other batting news, LiLyana BeLL was a standout: she went 1-for-3 with one home run, four RBI, and two runs. Emily Spadoni also deserves some recognition as she snagged her first stolen base of the season.
Coventry was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .400. The last time their batting average was this high was back in May of 2024.
Meanwhile, Ponaganset scored the most runs they've had this season on Monday, but it wasn't enough. They fell just short of Moses Brown by a score of 14-13. Despite running the score up even higher than they did in their prior game last Monday (12), the Chieftains still had to take the loss.
Maia Salvo made the most of her time at bat despite the final result and fired off two home runs, six RBI, and one double while going 3-for-5. The team also got some help courtesy of Cora Miller, who went 3-for-5 with three RBI, two runs, and one stolen base.
Ponaganset now has a losing record of 2-3. As for Coventry, their record now sits at 4-1.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Tuesday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Coventry has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.8 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Ponaganset struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 7 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Coventry couldn't quite finish off Ponaganset in their previous meeting back in April of 2024 and fell 6-4. Can the Oakers avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
