Softball Preview: Coventry Oakers vs. East Greenwich Avengers
Coventry is 5-0 against East Greenwich since April of 2015, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Saturday. The Coventry Oakers will look to defend their home field against the East Greenwich Avengers at 12:00 p.m. Both teams have allowed few runs on average, (Coventry: 3.8, East Greenwich: 3.8) so any runs scored will be well earned.
Coventry is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Rhode Island's top teams: La Salle Academy, who was ranked first in their home state at the time (Coventry was ranked fifth). Coventry lost 13-0 to La Salle Academy on Tuesday. The matchup marked the first time this season in which Coventry was not able to get on the board.
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for East Greenwich, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Tuesday. They walked away with a 6-3 win over Cranston West on Thursday.
Ava Fairbanks spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered just two earned (and one unearned) runs on four hits and racked up ten Ks. She has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't pitched less than five innings every time she's pitched this season.
At the plate, East Greenwich let Brooke Fairbanks and Catherine Neville loose on the outfield. Fairbanks scored three runs while going 3-for-4, while Neville went 3-for-3 with four RBI and a double. Margaret Neville was another key contributor, scoring two runs while going 3-for-3.
Coventry's defeat ended a five-game streak of away wins and brought them to 10-3. As for East Greenwich, they have been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four games, which provided a nice bump to their 8-6 record this season.
Coventry beat East Greenwich 6-2 in their previous meeting back in April. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Fairbanks, who struck out 11 batters over seven innings while giving up just two earned (and four unearned) runs off six hits. Now that she's got a second chance to win this matchup, will Coventry still be able to contain Fairbanks? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
